Hi, that hood is a recirculating hood. There was no neat way of ducting out and the client did not want a duct going straight up to the 12 foot ceiling. The kitchen is in the center of the home with too much distance from an exterior wall. Had we been able to hide a small duct inside the wall, it would have lost efficiency by the time it made it to the outside. The hood would have had to be quite powerful to push the air out and that type of hood would require a larger duct, making it even harder to hide. The other option would have been to put a remote motor, but once again, there were too many inefficiencies to make it worthwhile. Also, the stronger motor would have required makeup air from the municipality so the client decided to leave well enough alone. That kitchen gets used every single day.

In design, we often have to make some compromises as the only perfect space is the one you design from scratch. Fortunately, there have never been nicer options for ventilation than now.

Thanks for your question.