AbstractsEngineering

The United States, with its large and changing immigrant population, has an enormous stake in international migration. Their influence is being felt not only in the economics of the United States but also at the cultural level. The emerging Asian Diaspora, especially the Indian Diaspora, are an important group and form a major portion of the professional smart-class in the American society. The Indian Diaspora in America recreates settings in their home in order to feel less estranged from their original identities. However, the average American kitchen and the allied appliances are not designed considering the socio-cultural background and culinary practices of users. There is a great opportunity for designers to identify and put forward product, spatial and or experiential design solutions for the Asian Indian Kitchen. This thesis challenges the American kitchen design principle of standardization and puts forward a strategy and a qualitative method to remedy the underserved needs of the Asian Indian Diaspora by understanding their preferences, their degree of assimilation to the American consumer society, and how they have adapted to their product environment.