The shaft decides the plan
In a fifty-storey tower the kitchen extract discharges into a dedicated shaft with a fixed position, a rated capacity and, usually, a building-installed riser fan. You cannot core a new route to the facade and you should not try — on a high floor the pressure differential across an external wall penetration is enough to make a cheap flap valve rattle all night. We take the shaft position from the building drawing before the first layout, and the hob is placed within the run length the manufacturer's static pressure curve will actually support.
| Floor band | Chimney selection | Duct run to the shaft | What goes wrong otherwise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 15 | Standard ducted unit, 1,000 – 1,200 m³/hr | Up to 4 m with two bends | Little; conventional selection works |
| 15 – 35 | Higher static pressure unit, sealed duct joints | Up to 3 m with one bend | Smoke lingering at the hob on windy days |
| Above 35 | High static pressure unit, non-return damper, sealed joints | Under 2.5 m, ideally one bend | Backdraught, whistling and odour returning from the shaft |
| Rehab building, low rise | Standard unit or a ducted-out wall vent | Direct to the external wall | Nothing, if the wall route exists |
Static pressure, not airflow, is the number that matters at height. A 1,400 m³/hr chimney rated at low static pressure will underperform a 1,100 m³/hr unit with a proper pressure curve on the fortieth floor.
Worked example: 12 running foot kitchen, 38th floor
Membrane finish at ₹36,000 per running foot, mid-band for the district. Twelve running feet of counter, thirty-eighth floor, one shared service lift.
| Component | ₹ lakh | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Membrane shutters — 12 rft base, 10 rft wall, one tall unit | 1.16 | 2 mm edge; modules capped at 1,550 mm for the lift car |
| BWP carcass, 18 mm, with WPC under the sink | 1.09 | Edges sealed before the modules left the workshop |
| Hettich hardware and tandem drawers | 0.52 | Tall-unit pull-out on the bulk-storage column |
| Quartz counter — 24 sq ft, in two pieces to suit the lift car | 0.46 | Seamed on site with a colour-matched epoxy |
| Dado and backsplash | 0.17 | Large-format porcelain behind the hob run |
| High static pressure chimney with a non-return damper, and the hob | 0.38 | 2.1 m duct to the shaft, one bend |
| Electrical, and the shaft duct connection by the building's contractor | 0.25 | The shaft connection is a nominated-vendor item |
| Loft and utility-balcony run | 0.16 | Full-length loft; the balcony run in exterior specification |
| Hoisting, booked lift slots and installation | 0.13 | Eleven booked trips; the counter went up in a single morning slot |
| Total, ex-GST | 4.32 | ₹36,000 per running foot on 12 running feet |
Add 18% GST, and add free-standing appliances separately. Note the hoisting line at ₹0.13 lakh — 3% of the kitchen, and the reason the installation took four days rather than nine.
Tower kitchens selected on static pressure
The other Lower Parel kitchen
Behind the towers are the rehabilitation buildings, where the kitchen is 30 to 45 square feet with a single window and a 2.4 metre ceiling. These are not scaled-down tower kitchens; they are a different problem. The working answer is a single-wall run of six to seven running feet with a full-height loft, a 450 mm deep tall unit rather than a 600 mm one so the gangway stays usable, the platform edge detailed to serve as the dining surface, and a wall-vented exhaust rather than a chimney where the external wall allows it. Complete, these run ₹1.5 to ₹2.1 lakh ex-GST, at ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 per running foot — below the district band because the finish set is basic — and they are some of the most satisfying kitchens we build, because every decision has to earn itself.
Getting a kitchen up a shared service lift
A twelve running foot kitchen is roughly eleven service-lift trips once the carcass modules, shutters, counter pieces, appliances, chimney and packaging removal are counted. On a tower where sixty floors share one car, that is the difference between a four-day installation and a nine-day one, and it is entirely a planning problem. We book a standing morning slot for the installation week, sequence the deliveries so nothing waits in the lobby, size every module to the car rather than to the drawing, and take the counter up in a single dedicated run. Packaging goes back down on the same trips, which the building's facilities team cares about more than most clients expect — a lobby full of cardboard is the fastest way to lose a lift slot.
Protection is the other fixed cost. Lift blanketing, floor covering from the service lobby to the apartment door and corner guards on the corridor are required by nearly every tower here, inspected before the first delivery, and chargeable against the fit-out deposit if they are not in place.
Wind is the last variable. Above the thirtieth floor an openable kitchen window is not a reliable ventilation strategy — on a gusty day it will not open safely, and on a still day the stack effect pulls air the wrong way through it. The mechanical extract has to work on its own, with a make-up air path from the apartment rather than from the window, which is a detail worth drawing rather than assuming.
For the district see interior designers in Lower Parel; for whole flats see residential interior designers in Lower Parel. Brands and specification are on modular kitchen designers in Mumbai.
Tower apartment work by Greenbox Design Studio.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my chimney not work properly on a high floor?+
Almost always because it was selected on airflow rather than static pressure. Above the thirtieth floor, stack effect and wind pressure across the shaft mean the unit has to push against a real back pressure, and a high-CFM chimney with a weak pressure curve will underperform a lower-CFM unit with a strong one. A non-return damper and sealed duct joints matter as much as the fan.
Can I move the hob away from the extract shaft?+
By a short distance — under 2.5 metres with one bend above the thirty-fifth floor, up to about 4 metres lower down. Beyond that the duct run costs you more static pressure than the chimney has to give, and you get smoke lingering at the hob on windy days. The shaft position is effectively a fixed point in the plan.
Is the developer's kitchen platform worth keeping?+
Rarely. The granite platform and token dado in a new Lower Parel tower are provided to meet a specification, not to be used, and they almost never match the layout you actually want. Budget ₹18,000–₹35,000 for the strip-out, debris bagging and lift trips — and note that the debris has to leave through the same service lift your material comes up in.
What does a kitchen in a rehab building cost?+
₹1.5 to ₹2.1 lakh ex-GST complete for a 30–45 sq ft kitchen — six to seven running feet single-wall at ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 per running foot, with a full-height loft, a 450 mm tall unit, a platform edge that works as the dining surface and a wall-vented exhaust. That is below the district band because the finish set is basic, not because the work is. It is dense, careful work, and the litres-per-rupee return is better than in any tower kitchen we build.