Home of the future
Encyclopedia
The home of the future, similar 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 Fair
s 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.
The film Design for Dreaming
(1956) shows a Frigidaire
"Kitchen of the Future" -- part of the 1956 General Motors
Motorama
-- which features centralized controls and a "computer screen" showing a completed recipe. General Motors also presented A Touch of Magic
(1961) which also showed a Frigidaire kitchen of the future.
In the 1960s and 1970s, such exhibits usually included videophone
s. While such technology has actually existed since the 1960s and has been developed and improved since, many new mobile phones can now make video calls and use of a home web camera on an instant messaging
client and sending of pictures via cell-phone cameras has become prevalent. 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 in Disneyland from 1957 to 1967, was a famous example in this genre.
Office of the future
The office of the future is a concept dating from the 1940s. It is also known as the "paperless office". After sixty years of unfulfilled prophecies the phrase "paperless office" has been discredited somewhat...
, 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 Fair
World's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
s 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.
The film Design for Dreaming
Design for Dreaming
Design for Dreaming is a musical sponsored film about a woman who dreams about a masked man taking her to the 1956 General Motors Motorama at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Frigidaire's "Kitchen of the Future." The entirety of the dialogue is sung, though the actors...
(1956) shows a Frigidaire
Frigidaire
Frigidaire is a brand of consumer and commercial appliances. Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first self-contained refrigerator in 1916. In 1918, William C...
"Kitchen of the Future" -- part of the 1956 General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
Motorama
Motorama
The General Motors Motorama was an auto show staged by GM from 1949 to 1961. These automobile extravaganzas were designed to whet public appetite and boost automobile sales with displays of fancy prototypes, concept vehicles and other special or halo models. Motorama grew out of Alfred P. Sloan's...
-- which features centralized controls and a "computer screen" showing a completed recipe. General Motors also presented A Touch of Magic
A Touch of Magic
A Touch of Magic is a musical sponsored film.The film begins with a designer at the drawing board, daydreaming about a 1920s couple who travel to the Middle Ages; the Man saves the Woman from a wizard and a dragon, only to abruptly discover that they are all performing for an audience in the 1960s...
(1961) which also showed a Frigidaire kitchen of the future.
In the 1960s and 1970s, such exhibits usually included videophone
Videophone
A videophone is a telephone with a video screen, and is capable of full duplex video and audio transmissions for communication between people in real-time...
s. While such technology has actually existed since the 1960s and has been developed and improved since, many new mobile phones can now make video calls and use of a home web camera on an instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
client and sending of pictures via cell-phone cameras has become prevalent. 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
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
technology has figured heavily in the design of these homes.
The Monsanto House of the Future
Monsanto House of the Future
The Monsanto House of the Future was an attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, USA, from 1957 to 1967.-History:...
, a house made entirely of plastics in Disneyland from 1957 to 1967, was a famous example in this genre.