Home of the future

The home of the future, similarly to the office of the future, is a concept that has been popular to explore since the early 20th century, or perhaps earlier. There have been many exhibits, such as at World's Fairs and theme parks, purporting to show how future homes will look and work, as well as standalone model "homes of the future" sponsored by builders, developers, or technology companies. After a few years, each successive version of such an exhibit will start to look dated and old-fashioned, with some of its "futuristic" things becoming commonplace and others never catching on at all.

In the 1960s and 1970s, such exhibits usually included video phones; however, while such technology has actually existed since the 1960s and has been developed and improved since, it has never actually caught on, although the sending of static pictures via cell-phone cameras is now common. Other common features of "home of the future" exhibits include centralized and automated control of all appliances, and the use of voice commands to operate devices. Since the 1980s, computer technology has figured heavily in the design of these homes.

The Monsanto House of the Future, a house made entirely of plastics that was set up in 1957 in Disneyland, was a famous example in this genre. [Laura Sydell, "Chasing a Habitable 'Home of the Future'", NPR "Morning Edition". [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5360871] ]

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.ibm.com/investor/viewpoint/podcast/30-08-05-1.phtml IBM podcast on the future of the home]
* [http://architecture.mit.edu/house_n/web/resources/research-info.html Home of the future research resources (MIT)]
* [http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/commentary/imomus/2007/01/72368 Touring the home of the future (Wired)]