Parents of a friend lived in one of those high rise apartment buildings that had some connection to the the Teacher's Union near Macy's in NY and there was a 36 inch stove with that burner configuration in the kitchen, but it was an older design with the rounded corners and edges. I think this cooktop design is maybe meant to keep the flames away from walls, counters, cabinets and other flammable surfaces
Looks like it sold, but I've seen some with the burners "in the middle" - I wonder if it was a "design feature" or just using the same tooling/parts as a smaller range?