Kitchen For Everyone

This presentation is the result of a self-initiative design research collaborative led by three Chinese social designers and Dutch-based designer Boey Wang. With the soft support of the Shanghai Industrial Design Association, they developed and facilitated a series of research and workshops with Chinese design students and young practitioners to explore inclusive design through the lens of everyday cooking in the Chinese context. Traditional kitchens often exclude: standardised layouts ignore body diversity; tools assume two-handed users; interfaces rely solely on vision. This exhibition is showing the kitchen as a research place to unpack the norms and innovate for a more inclusive life. Each product reveals a corner of the kitchen that can be thought of as deeper beyond the common standards, but towards more diverse physical capabilities. The exhibition collects a range of research and products from their workshop to go deep into the kitchen norms. and demonstrate how Chinese diets, daily habits and sensory experiences can inform a more inclusive approach to kitchen design. The exhibition shows two features: 1. Designing Through Behaviour — Breaking cooking into steps and restructuring them through sensory and functional adaptations. 2. Cultural Translation — Embedding Chinese cooking gestures and rhythms into a Western kitchen context, offering new perspectives for European audiences. Each design acts as a “small lens” onto broader social questions: How can kitchens become spaces of dignity, access, and freedom for everyone?