A bunch of school kids designed ‘houses of the future’ and the results are AWESOME!
Design a ‘house of the future.’ What does it look like?
If you’re an adult, it will probably look similar to the homes we live in now. Perhaps SMART homes will be the ‘standard’ and we won’t have to leave our sofa during the Coronation Street ad break. Maybe you’d banish pointless third bedrooms which are no bigger than a cupboard. That’s all very nice…but a little unimaginative and not so fun.
LABC Warranty, a building insurance firm based in the UK wanted to unleash the power of imagination. So, they asked a group of school kids to dig out their colouring pencils and design their home of the future. The ideas were ‘out there’ to say the least. They’re wacky, and a little disturbing in some cases. LABC Warranty has a professional designer bring the drawings to life and the results are pretty AWESOME!
According to kids, pop-up homes and SMART technology barely scratch the surface of what the future holds. Think of homes that can move location at any given moment; bubble houses that float in the sky or UFO homes that can turn into boats. Oh, and that standard brick colour we all conform to? Scrap that. Instead, we’ll have multicoloured houses that can change colour to reflect our mood.
“There were lots of childish elements to the designs, as you would expect,” commented Craig Ross, a spokesperson for LABC Warranty. “ However, many of the ideas touched on challenges that might affect the way we live in the future, such as overcrowding and global warming. It was also interesting to see how technology and science influence young minds- the robot servants and the house on Mars springs to mind!”
So which ones are the favourites?
Let’s start with the ‘Underwater House’, designed by 11-year-old Luis. Luis wants to live under the sea, with his underwater car and pet shark, a traditional set up in some ways. But why underwater? Well, according to Luis, it would help to solve overcrowding, not to mention the fact that we wouldn’t have to cut down trees to make way for more houses. Plus, with rising sea-levels, we might not have a choice!
‘My House’ which has been designed by 5-year-old Freddy, is particularly grown-up for such a little person. There are no walls made out of chocolate or flying unicorns to see here. Instead, Freddy focuses on the environment, placing a handy vegetable patch on the roof along with a mini wind turbine which produces energy. He’s even created a water recycling feature. There IS a flying car but we can forgive him for such a childish addition because it’s eco-friendly and powered by electric.
Next up is the Hypnotising House, designed by six-year-old Molly. This house can read your mind, which is a bit unsettling. Before you start imagining it in a Black Mirror episode, it’s worth pointing out that the mind-reading feature tells the alien robots what chores they should be cracking on with around the house. So, it’s less Charlie Brooker and more of a mother of two’s ultimate dream.
Maybe none of these ‘houses of the future’ take your fancy? Well, there were more properties designed and you can take a look at the full gallery by clicking here.
