Collage Kitchen: A 2020 Winner for Kitchen Design

This year’s 2020 Builder’s Choice & Custom Home Design Awards for the Kitchen design category was selected by jurors Cary Bernstein of San Francisco–based Cary Bernstein Architect; Jay Kallos, senior vice president of architecture at Alpharetta, Ga.–based Ashton Woods; and Blaze Makoid of Bridgehampton, N.Y.–based Blaze Makoid Architecture

For this Washington, D.C.–based condominium renovation, local architecture studio KUBE Architecture executed a multiphase project that spanned a two-year period. During the design phase, the firm’s partners passed the project back and forth, each designing a new space, but working off the previous one. The process resulted in an “architectural collage” for the completed Collage Kitchen.

Three design strategies were employed—layering, framing, and folding—according to the firm. A limited palette of materials was set into different spatial planes to operate as a series of distinct layers. Select materials and elements in the foreground of the kitchen frame others in the distance, creating an episodic experience. Bamboo flooring folds from floor to wall, and wall to ceiling, creating a consistent look overall.

Finally, energy-efficient LED lighting is used throughout the space as “lines of light” either floating as objects or highlighting key defining elements.