The Study On Residential Kitchen & Dining Space Of Shanghai's Middle Class

Diet culture is one of the distinctive foundations around which Chinese ethnicity are centered on. Steeped in thousands of years of history, one would find it difficult to separate Chinese culture from its traditional emphasis on food. Therefore, it is of particular interest to study their residence, where the"Kitchen & Dining Space"is the link to their all-important diet.Besides cooking and eating, dwellers now endow the Kitchen & Dining Space with added significance depending on their social class. With China's middle-class population playing such an important role in modern society, it is useful to research and understand their residential Kitchen & Dining Space since this is the most representative area of a home to display the life-style changes and needs of a typical middle-class citizen.Based on the theory of social class divisions, characteristic research on China's middle-class, and the studied relationship between residential behavior, residential need and residential space, 21 residential needs were observed for the middle-class population using behavioral analysis. These are classified into three levels so-called function level, experience level and social level. Corresponding to the degree-increased residential need levels, China's middle-class Kitchen & Dining Space has functionality, spirituality and sociality.Further analysis into the relevant aspects that affected the Kitchen & Dining Space were investigated, which involved features such as the materials used, style and layout of the space, color scheme, cooking equipment, lighting, air circulation and noise levels. These formed the focal point for which idealistic models and innovative products have been designed, aiming to meet the transforming residential needs of the middle-class society.