Racetrack kitchen? Remodel is a modified corridor

Sunset, Nov, 1988

Racing around the kitchen often feels like running laps. In this remodeled kitchen, you could even count them; its layout is a bit like a racetrack.

For owners Ellen and Tony Lomonaco, Tucson architect Robert Nevins set out to create what sounds like a contradiction: a well-defined room with a sense of enclosure within an essentially open plan. His kitchen design, part of a larger remodel, deftly accomplishes that goal and creates an efficient workspace for two.

Really a modified corridor kitchen, this one is set within a larger space. Serving as a room divider, a center island was expanded to incorporate a sink and work counter, a four-seat breakfast table, and a four-bay pantry.

Across from the sink and workspace side of the pantry island are more counters, a stove, a second sink, and a refrigerator. Between sink and refrigerator, a broad, open counter connects with the family room beyond (see upper right corner of plan). A long, low window next to the stove and a window behind the second sink open and brighten the kitchen.

Overhead, a light well with operable clerestory windows lets even more natural light into the room and lets warm air escape. Doubled beams span the well, replacing joists.