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This article describes the layout and specifications for accessible kitchens and kitchen work spaces. We cover Accessible kitchen work aisles, passageways. Knee space requirements for accessible kitchens.

Clear floor space specifications for accessible kitchens. Counter & appliance height in accessible kitchens. Storage height, handles, & controls for accessible kitchen design.
How To Design A Commercial Kitchen: The Complete Technical Guide
We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need.
This article series discusses current best design practices for kitchens and bathrooms, including layout, clearances, work space, and accessible kitchen and bathroom layout, clearances, turning space, grab bars, controls, etc.
We include advice on choosing and installing kitchen countertops, cabinets, and kitchen or bathroom flooring, sinks, and other plumbing fixtures and fixture controls such as faucets. A list of kitchen and bath product manufactures and sources is included.
Design A Commercial Kitchen Layout Yourself
To make a kitchen fully functional for wheelchair users and other seated occupants requires simple commonsense changes, like placing knobs within reach, as well as more significant changes, such as lowering counters and providing knee space below.
The guidelines below, based on ANSI (American National Standards Institute) A117.1 standards, are a good starting point in design, but they should be tailored to the size, reach, and specific capabilities of the occupants.
Clear space at doorways and passageways must be at least 32 inches wide and no more than 24 inches long in the direction of travel. Eliminate any thresholds at doorways.
Commercial Kitchen Design Rules
Walkways with counters or appliances on only one side can be 36 inches wide, but if a walkway turns a corner, as in Figure 6-10 (at left), one leg of the walkway space should be widened to 42 inches for a wheelchair to make the turn.
To accommodate a seated user, below-counter knee space should be a minimum of 30 inches wide, 27 inches high in front, and 19 inches deep, with a minimum 9-inch-high toe space, which will accommodate most wheelchair footrests.
To make work centers universally accessible, provide a clear floor space of 30x48 inches or 48x30 inches, centered in front of the sink, dishwasher, cooktop, oven, and refrigerator.
Kitchen Planning: An Expert Guide To Designing A New Kitchen
In an accessible (or other) kitchen design layout, clear floor spaces for different work areas may overlap, and the long dimension can include up to 19 inches deep of knee space below counters (Figure 6-13).
He optimal height for most seated occupants at counters, sinks, and cooktops is about 32 inches and should be no higher than 34 inches.
In an accessible-designed kitchen you should use open shelving, shelf racks on pantry doors, and drawers or roll-out shelving for easy access (Figure 6-14).
Kitchen Planning 101: A Quick Study Of Kitchen Layout Design
Controls, handles, and door and drawer pulls should be operable with one hand, require minimal strength, and not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrists. Lever-action handles work well for doors and faucets. A simple test is to try to operate the controls with a closed fist.
Use a shallow sink mounted at 32 to 34 inches (32 preferred) with the drain in the rear so it does not interfere with knee space (Figure 6-15 below).
The garbage disposal must also be offset so it does not interfere with knee space. A tall faucet and pullout spray attachment are recommended to simplify work at the sink. Locate the dishwasher adjacent to the sink or no more than 12 inches away.

Lighting Guide: 7 Golden Rules To Plan & Light Your Kitchen
Lighting levels should be up to twice normal levels. Using light-colored floors, walls, ceilings, and counters will help keep all areas well illuminated. Light colors on the insides of cabinets and drawers will help make items more visible.
If possible, place the cooktop and sink on the same wall so users do not have to carry heavy pots across the room. Electric cooktops with a smooth surface and controls on the front work best so the user does not have to reach over the top. Look for units with staggered burners for easier access to back burners.
Use a separate wall-mounted oven, not an under-counter design. An oven with a side-hinged door rather than the usual pull-down style works well.
Commercial Kitchen Extraction Regulations
Side-by-side units with doors that swing back a full 180 degrees are preferable to up-and-down models. Provide at least 18 inches of counter space adjacent to the refrigerator.
Below in the article references section we provide a DOJ article that gives a high-level gloss on the topic of meeting the accessibility requirements for people using a power-driven motorized device - a concept more broad than only motorized wheelchairs.
Even within the category of motorized wheelchairs and excluding other power-driven mobility devices such as Segways®, motorized wheelchairs vary in dimensions, weight, speed, and turning radius as well as operating controls.
Expert Commercial Kitchen Design
If you have additional motorized wheelchair accessibility design suggestions and/or detailed specifications, or examples of designs that work well, please CONTACT US.
Typical ADA cabinet and drawer pulls are a bar raised off of the cabinet or drawer face - I'll show those in a moment. But first, here is an interesting product, shown above:

DoorWave™ by Functional Form, LLC is a hands-free door pull that allows you to open the door with your foot, sold by https://www.ameraproducts.com/ and other vendors.
Commercial Kitchen Ventilation Best Practices
Shown below are are more-typical ADA-compliant cabinet door or drawer pulls, sold just about everywhere including at building suppliers like Lowes and Home Depot
I've seen upper cabinet and lower door pulls mounted at a 45-degee angle to make them easier to grasp for an individual with arthritis. This also made it easier to open the cabinet or door using a spoon as a lever,
I'm researching the question further and; I've posted some additional information in the article above on this page and in a reader Q&A answered earlier (seen below) - you may need to clear your browser cache or wait a few hours to see the update; I'd welcome specific technical questions as well.
Fundamental Kitchen Design Guidelines To Know Before You Remodel
I, like Wayne, am looking for kitchen specifications for a motorized wheelchair as opposed to a manual wheelchair. Have you made any progress in this area?
If you have a specific question you're welcome to ask here and we'll do our best to answer. If you need an accessible design architect or builder - contractor then of course you'll need to find a local expert.
Using 33 as a typical height from floor to top of joystick for a power wheelchair, that's 3 higher than a conventional adult wheelchair (30 from floor to top surface of arm rest).
Kitchen Design Tips
I looked at the specifications for several elevating wheelchair models but none provided a height from armrest or joystick top to floor. Can you give me that dimension for the brand and model chair that interests you?

It is difficult to get under counters so low. Elevated foot plates look to need a minimum of 18 vertical clearance instead of the 9 you reference.
I thought I would need to think about this redo in about 10 years. Things changed for me in I step. This is important for everyone to think about.
Redesigning The Kitchen Layout... Again! But This Time I May Have A Winner?!? — The Gold Hive
I remodeled my grandmother's house and added a 2d bath with a wide door, as the 'main bath door was just 18. i was planning for my mom. Overnight, my daughter needed it--fer several years. I dont see hmes the same way anymore.
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When Does A Replacement Kitchen Or Bathroom Need Building Regulations Approval?
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A technical guide with everything you need to know about how to design a kitchen correctly together with rules, standards, layouts, examples and 3D project files ready for download
Planning the space and the location of the most important appliances, so to enable frequent tasks to be completed comfortably and efficiently, is key to a well-structured and highly organised kitchen.

Commercial Kitchen Design Principles
The space that is being designed is also known as the “work triangle”, which is the area of activity where the tasks carried out in a kitchen involve the sink, the cooker and the refrigerator. The primary idea is that these three elements, connected by imaginary lines, are in close proximity (but not too close) to one another. Hence, the work triangle is designed to minimise traffic within the kitchen and to facilitate access to the three
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