Welcome to shape-shifting responsive homes
Concrete that heals itself and smart systems that know your daily habits better than you do – the ‘tech home’ is on our doorstep, writes Georgia Madden.
From climate-responsive materials and artificial intelligence to soothing, natural colour palettes, today’s architecture and design trends are all about making our homes greener, smarter and cheaper to run, while boosting our wellbeing.
Designing homes in a way that’s gentle on the earth is the focus for architects and designers today, says Amy Smith, architectural graduate at Breathe Architecture. She points to all-electric homes that harness renewable energy sources and reduce carbon emissions as a growing trend.
“We’re already seeing high-performing, electric houses delivered en masse by volume builders,” she says. “Carbon-neutral buildings that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by prioritising recycled and recyclable materials, minimising demolition, construction and unnecessary material consumption, and choosing locally sourced materials are also on the rise.
We’re looking to live smaller, too. “It’s about buildings that can do more with less,” she says. “Think smaller, more thermally efficient homes that need minimal heating or cooling, or none at all.”
Sustainability and energy efficiency are leading the charge when it comes to innovation in construction materials.
Building or renovating sometime soon? Consider windows in photovoltaic glass that generate electricity, and new alternatives for your cladding, flooring or kitchen, such as Australian-made 3RT timber, which converts low-value, sustainably sourced juvenile plantation logs into premium hardwoods with the look, feel and properties of 100-year-old trees. Meanwhile, the housing crisis has resulted in a push for homes that go up faster and cheaper. Business is booming for companies, such as Wild Modular, which make prefabricated, modular homes offsite to the same standard as traditional homes but for a fraction of the price and in a matter of weeks.
As for what’s next, expect to see selfhealing concrete, which contains bacteria that fills in cracks and repairs damage; bendable and 3D-printed concrete that lets you create complex and intricate shapes for one-of-a-kind homes; bioclimatic building materials that control the temperature, humidity and ventilation inside your home so there’s less pressure on your air-conditioning; and smart materials that change shape when there’s a spike in temperature or humidity.
Ever-smarter homes
Smart home technology has revolutionised homes, and with the advent of AI it’s about to go next level. According to Jacob Russo, director of Robot Smart Homes, in the
The buzz is all about human presence sensors that detect where you are in the home and tweak your interior conditions accordingly.
not-too-distant future AI-powered smart home technology will actively learn from your lifestyle patterns and adjust elements such as lighting, heating and cooling to suit your movements, keep your home safe by alerting you to unusual activity, and offer personalised advice, such as changes to your routine so you get a better night’s sleep.
For now, the buzz in smart homes is all about human presence sensors that detect where you are in the home and tweak your interior conditions accordingly, such as only heating or cooling the room you’re in (great for power bills) or having music follow you as you move from one space to the next.
Other innovations gaining traction, says Russo, include Matter, a ‘gamechanging’ system that promises to simplify your life by allowing devices from different brands to work together, and smart front-door locks with facial recognition that grant access to people they recognise.
Georgia Madden is Australia’s leading renovation and homes writer. She writes for the highestselling homes publications and tech platforms in Australia, the UK and the US, covering everything from property and sustainability to architecture and design trends.