One home, many rituals: The evolution of multi-zone living

For much of the last century, kitchen planning rested on a simple work triangle between the refrigerator, cooktop, and sink. It suited a narrower brief that prioritized speed: one main cook, a discreet service room, and a clearer line between cooking and living.

Today, the brief is more complex. As domestic spaces have opened up, design has had to become more layered and multi-zonal. Whether appliances are on show or integrated into bespoke cabinetry, the “living room-ification” of the kitchen and the accompanying decentralization of amenities have pushed appliances farther into the plan than ever before.

In practice, that means separating tasks the old triangle deliberately closed—cold storage, prep, cook, clean-up—so more than one person can use the room without collision. Multiple zones replace a single circuit with appliances placed for concurrent use and individual lifestyle needs. 

Functional forms that follow life

For designers, this context asks for a human-centered approach guided by each client’s habits. For Steve Koolloos, who directs MCK Architects and spoke at the Fisher & Paykel panel event “The Home Reimagined: Designing for the Way That We Actually Live,” the telling detail might be: “We like to wake up at 6 a.m., make a fresh pot of coffee, and start our day in the sunshine.”

How those rituals are expressed in architecture then becomes the design challenge. Guided by the principle of design freedom, built-in and integrated models in matching finishes and product styles support a personalized, cohesive architectural response. Fisher & Paykel’s State of the Art Collection, launched at this year’s Milan Design Week, is an example of this design flexibility.

“It’s those little details that the product allows the architect, the designer, to tweak,” says Mark Haydon, head of industrial design – refrigeration for Fisher & Paykel. “To change the material choices, the reveals, the toe-kick details—all of those elements that create slightly different spaces and environments.”

That freedom is clearest when appliances recede into one material language. At Naples Street House, a multigenerational home in Melbourne, Edition Office worked with Fisher & Paykel on the seamless integration of appliances into a singular material. The result is a visually cohesive, multifunctional kitchen that accommodates different habits, needs, and uses throughout the day.

From one work triangle to multiple work zones

So, what does the shift look like beyond the primary kitchen, and how might appliances within traditionally utilitarian spaces be reconsidered? Speaking during “The Home Reimagined,” Vien McArthur Nguyen, Fisher & Paykel’s head of industrial design – laundry, described the range of spaces now in play: “At the moment, we’re seeing very diverse and bespoke spaces. Everything from wardrobes to scullery extensions to entertainment rooms to wellness areas.”

These elevated spaces demand a new level of refinement and flexibility from the product—both functionally and aesthetically—so that appliances “feel like they belong,” Nguyen says. 

The kitchen as a mechanism for connection

Even as appliances move beyond strictly utilitarian zones, the kitchen remains the social heart of the home. Fisher & Paykel’s Social Kitchen philosophy anticipates that shift from both an end-user and a design perspective: accommodating people in the same space, while making room for individual routines. Underpinning that philosophy—and bringing it into practice—are Fisher & Paykel’s Ultimate Kitchen Solutions, which are coordinated product families that can be distributed and paired according to individual needs and usage patterns. 

Coopworth House shows how that logic plays out on a domestic scale. Designed by Australian practice FMD Architects for a working sheep farm, the kitchen had to flex from two people to 20 within a modest footprint. Rather than clustering appliances in one conventional run, suites were distributed across the room so activity could split and recombine through the day.

“There is an oven on one side of the kitchen under the cooktop, but we placed the other one on the island bench, so two people can cook independently of each other in the space, rather than collecting the two ovens together, which is more conventional in many ways,” says Fiona Dunin, director at FMD.

Speaking with Hassan Anderson of Monocle on Design during a session at Milan Design Week, Haydon explained: “In some ways it is about accommodating people in the same space, but equally it’s about individual routines. How the product caters to that is in the different choices that we have in the range. This allows products to be positioned, used in different parts of the kitchen, and arranged how people like to cook and entertain.”

Ultimately, this multi-zone approach recognizes that when appliances are positioned where life actually happens—not just in one room—the plan can support how people wish to cook, entertain, and live in the home.

Visit www.fisherpaykel.com to learn more about multi-zone kitchen strategies, architectural integration, and the State of the Art Collection. You can also connect with a design development manager for planning and specification support.

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