Frankfurter Küche, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, 1926/29, © Deutsches Historisches Museum
For the first time ever, the Weimar constitution guaranteed everyone a home—so Frankfurt’s legendary city commissioner Ernst May had projects erected that made such ingenious use of built-in furniture that few additional pieces of furniture had to be purchased by residents. Many flats featured the famous “Frankfurt kitchen”: the six sqm spaces featured built-in-cabinets that were designed to optimally assist the domestic lives of working middle and lower class women and were produced in large quantities at low prices. These “Frankfurt kitchens” still embody the Weimar spirit of “Neues Bauen” and are the ancestors of today’s fitted kitchens.
