Sci-fi-worthy homes
of the future
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Tornado-Proof Home
Ted Givens, an architect with Hong Kong's
10Design created this prototype for a tornado-safe home. Hydraulic levers pull
the Kevlar-coated house into the ground when high-velocity winds pass by. The
high-tech structure's roof then locks so water and wind can't enter. Once the
weather clears, the house unfolds and residents resume normal life.
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For most, the word “house” conjures images of rectangular dwellings with front porches and chimneys. Front lawns and garages too. But fast forward a few hundred years and the traditional four walls and a roof won’t be standard housing fare, according to urban experts. Climate change, population growth and geo-political shifts are already redefining the way we look at residential spaces of the future.
“The only path forward is to harness solar, wind and water
for power and to use the power of computers to design, build and maintain
homes,” says Victor Vetterlein, an architect residing in New York City.
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The Wolke 7
Flying first class takes on a new meaning with this house,
conceived by Switzerland-based designer Timon Sager. Durable cables suspend the
living space in the air. With multiple decks, a state-of-the-art entertainment
center and a luxury bedroom, the flying house has everything you could want.
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To this end, Vetterlein conceived of a self-sufficient,
eco-friendly dwelling called Reboot. Curvy and smooth on the outside, its
futuristic aesthetic includes an elliptical glass elevator encircled by a white
stairway with glass handrails, high-gloss floors and a change-able floor-plan.
Wind turbines and batteries supply the home’s power, taking into account a
predicted shortage of fossil fuels.
But as futuristic as Reboot may look, Vetterlein says it’s
not nearly as “out there” as it seems. While its smooth-and-shiny surface and
stem-like base may look like something out of Japanese Anime, most of the
technology that would make it possible already exists.
For Chad Mitchell, architect and founder of Meridian 105
Architecture, a project called Weave Housing came about to address housing
issues that include energy efficiency in a changing climate, affordability in a
struggling economy and quality of craftsmanship in an evolving marketplace. The
woven design of the multi-family project creates pockets of shade to keep the
building cool, and these pockets double as balconies for residents.
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Roll House
The heat of California
was a definite consideration for Korean designer Christopher Daniel who came up
with this roll-like home concept. Designed for arid environments, the house is
secured with a carbon fiber truss frame and has a hydraulic powered automatic
door. The upper half of the door opens overhead and the lower part unfolds onto
the ground. Depending on the amount of sun, residents can make skylights and
windows less or more transparent. Curtains and bookshelves act as dividers in
the rooms.
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The following five futuristic homes might sound far-fetched
now, but as architect Chad Mitchell reminds us, even the most
science-fiction-seeming homes are “… often grounded in logic and even feasible
from a construct-ability standpoint.” Architects and urban planners can’t
pinpoint exactly when these concepts will become necessary–it all depends on
how economic and geographic factors play out–but they’re confident the most
effective ideas will rise to the top.
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