Construction Monthly Magazine | Dallas 2021 Build Expo Show Edition

HOUSE OF THE FUTURE
by Scott Specht, Specht Architects
What we consider to be a house in the “modern” style
today, actually got its start over 100 years ago. In the
1920’s through the 1970’s, however, there was an
explosion of interest in “futuristic” houses, and they
appeared in advertising, television shows, at theme parks,
and throughout popular culture across the country. Some
of these visions came to pass, such as the idea of the fully
computer-controlled home. Some others, such as the
spherical Rolling-House never saw the light of day. The
House of the Future explores interesting and crazy ideas
of how we’d be living in the 21st century. There would be
unusual construction systems -- that were proposed --
from mast-supported, cable-hung structures, to factorymade
fiberglass pods, to living bubbles made of foam.
Some of the concepts do exist today featuring newer
visions of tomorrow’s houses like the 3-D printed house
and modular constructions. A current and future trend is
the modern day version of the ‘tiny house.’ Tiny houses
may be trendy, but they’re hard to live in for extended
periods of time. The 21st century tiny home is realized in
a compact and efficient package – or what we like to call
a Comfort Capsule. This idea is composed of floor plans
that can be stacked or placed adjacent to build the type
of home that fits the homeowners needs.
Future home build and design concepts will continue
to include prefabricated houses -- easily shipped and
quickly assembled. Featuring a full kitchen, bath, it will
include all the elements to comfortably support single
living or family dwelling. What sets these designs apart
from other prefab structures is the ability to operate
independently, without the need for any external
connections. Another ongoing future trend is homes that
are sustainable, meaning they are made to generate their
own power, process waste, collect and store rainwater,
and require minimal maintenance.
20 CONSTRUCTIONMONTHLY.COM