House of the Future

What will the house of the future look like? How will it function? What will it provide for us? These are questions that people have been asking ever since humans moved out of caves. These are questions we ask today knowing the world’s population is increasing rapidly. Housing remains one of the world’s greatest needs after fresh air, water and food. Housing has evolved slowly over the centuries from mobile shelter to one multipurpose room to multiple room dwellings with rooms having discrete functions (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room, etc.) in many countries. Yet house design, construction and planning has changed slowly over the centuries, first establishing vernacular types that responded to climate, landscape, and culture. In periods of massive migration and expansion, housing is built expediently. Some are temporary and some are meant to contribute to identity and culture of place. In times of technological change such as today, exciting new innovations occur. Architects have proposed houses of the future at moments like today when new inventions excite new ideas. The public, too, is always imagining new ways of living. How can we conceive of housing in the future? What will it be made of? How will it be constructed? What size will it be? Think about what is really needed and how houses could be improved.

Imagine the future of habitation!