DISHDRAWER
Thinking outside the box was the catalyst for a mini revolution in the kitchen, writes Chris Pearson.
One morning in 1987, Fisher & Paykel (F&P) engineer Adrian Sargeant and designer Phil Brace stood in a squeezy kitchen in Mosgiel, near Dunedin in New Zealand. Observing the chunky dishwasher and how tricky it was to open and close, they asked themselves how it might be improved. Perhaps they could house it in a drawer, like other kitchen essentials? Returning to F&P’s design centre in the South Island town, they made a mock-up resembling a filing cabinet, two drawers stacked one on top of the other.
The concept ticked all the boxes. It would save space; it would be easier to load and unload because of its sliding mechanism; it required less bending because it could be mounted at waist level; and it would use less power and water for one load. Later, they reasoned the drawers did not have to be stacked one on the other – you could have two at waist level, placed side by side. Or, if your kitchen was really cosy, you could install just one single drawer.
But everything, from the motor and electronics to the plumbing, would have to be rethought, and it took nearly a decade for their invention to emerge from the wash. From 1990 to 1995, F&P staffers secretly tested prototypes in their own homes. Dinner-party guests offering to help with the washing up were politely refused – F&P didn’t want to give rivals a whiff of what was whirring away in the kitchen.
In 1996, after spending $10 million in development, F&P unveiled its DishDrawer at global appliances fair Domotechnica in Cologne. It generated such a lather that, 12 months later, F&P launched the DishDrawer in Australia and New Zealand. Local Mosgiel homemaker Dawn Brockwell bought the first model hot off the production line. (When Dawn was gifted the company’s millionth DishDrawer 10 years later, she gave the original – which was still in perfect working order – to her daughter.)
On its launch in the US a year later, the DishDrawer starred on The Oprah Winfrey Show and in Time magazine. It also earned a string of international awards.
“The DishDrawer’s ergonomic design made it a favourite with customers, designers and architects,” says Mark Elmore, F&P general manager of Design and Integration. “You can also put it where it’s needed most.” And it can only grow more popular. “Medium- and high-density housing is becoming increasingly common. That’s where the space-saving flexibility of the single DishDrawer becomes paramount.”
Melbourne’s Whiting Architects outfitted a recent award-winning kitchen entirely with F&P appliances, including a 900mm-wide integrated DishDrawer. “The kitchen was not a typical layout and, as it merged into the living space, concealing the appliances required careful thought,” says co-founder Steven Whiting. “The DishDrawer hit the brief. We recommend the DishDrawer in almost every project now. It’s sleek, easy to integrate and, with so many size variants, it’s a practical solution for small apartments and large family homes.”
WHAT IT MEANS TO US
This is the little Kiwi that could. In 20 years, more than 1.8 million DishDrawers have been sold in 20 countries (including China, the world’s largest consumer market, from 2012). Now in its ninth generation, the DishDrawer has redefined dishwashing. Its ability to do smaller loads means there’s no need to wait for the dishes to pile up before washing. The latest models are also quieter and more energy- and water-efficient.
In 2008, F&P extended the drawer concept to refrigeration with the CoolDrawer and tapped into unexpected markets. Many Jewish people, whose faith requires meat and dairy to be stored separately, have embraced the design.
Such is the luck of the drawer. #