Healthy, family-friendly apartment kitchen design: a study of practice in Melbourne, Australia

Abstract This study explored constraints and opportunities in apartment kitchen design for family home cooking and dining. An online audit of 115 two-bedroom apartments in three Melbourne suburbs of Australia was conducted, with images collected from the audit guiding photo-elicitation interviews on the kitchen designs, with architects from firms involved in apartment complex design. Affordance theory provided a conceptual lens to thematically analyse the design process and outcome in relation to architectural practice. Based on previously developed criteria, results from the audit revealed that only 18 (16%) had adequate kitchen design for families with children across five features assessed, with four themes emerging from interviews that identified constraints and facilitators to kitchen design practice: “Limited policy standards”; Architect assumptions align with market-led preferences”; “Built environment and apartment typology constraints”; and “Small scale design opportunities”. Findings provide unique insights into architects’ perspectives on apartment design, deepening understandings of how to support healthy family home food preparation and dining.