Meet The Jetsons

Futuristic homes have been the stuff of dreams for decades. What baby boomer doesn't recall Jane Jetson whipping up a meal with the tough of a button. Our topic for week 4 is the moving target of technology and you. Having spent the better part of the week  frustrated by a program ill-suited to online submission I have admit to having mixed feelings about the ever-increasing use of technology in our field.



I was first exposed to technology in sixth grade. My teacher arranged for me to learn about computer science with a mentor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA. The mainframe took up an entire floor of the Goddard Library and after several days of programming on punch cards I successfully printed a banner on a dot-matrix printer that read, "Happy Birthday, Mom!"

Keypunch machine

Mainframe computer that filled an entire floor of a library.

Dot matrix printer

Fast forward a few years and I was building my first desktop computer from a Heathkit purchased from an ad in the back of Popular Mechanics magazine. Besides vastly improving the efficiency of writing and editing college papers, if you were lucky to have friends in the computer science department you might score a floppy disk with a version of an early computer game. Compared to today's games they were downright primitive.

Loved those floppy discs!

The hardware and programs of my youth are now relics in museums and technology has evolved almost to the point of surpassing our own intelligence. There are computers that can beat us at chess and create algorithms maximizing efficiencies in air and space travel, military maneuvers and online retail order fulfillment.

In the design fields, we are fortunate to have tools like AutoCad, Revit, Sketchup and enhancements like Podium that make our creations photo-realisitc. Some programs are so life-like that it's almost impossible to distinguish between man-made and reality.

Residential Studio Final Project - Jane Linn Keil

USC's Bravemind Virtual Reality Simulator

And in addition to the plethora of technology we have at our fingertips for creating and designing spaces, there is now a parallel track of technology emerging in the field of finishes. Appliances like refrigerators that let you remotely see what you need to pickup at the store and manage the family schedule, and  security systems that allow homeowners to remotely answer their door and check in on latch-key children are now common place.

Samsung Family Hub Refrigerator

Ring Doorbell with Smartphone App

There are also emerging technologies the the field of construction finishes. SmartGlass for windows that allow the user to change interior and exterior glass from clear to opaque and blackout is becoming more affordable as companies compete for market share and innovative solar design promises the possibility of homes that are more energy efficient and self-sufficient.

SmartGlass - opaque above and clear below

Tesla Solar Shingles

 

The target of technology will continue to move and the imperative for designers is to keep pace with this evolution so that we can advise clients on which technologies are expensive fads and which will provide actual quality of life enhancements. Some may see this as a burden but I prefer to view this as an opportunity to grow professionally and provide state-of-the art service to my clientele.

Resources
http://www.samsung.com/us/explore/family-hub-refrigerator/overview/ 

https://ring.com/video-doorbell?gclid=CMnQmevI_NQCFRaaswodmUIFIA&gclsrc=ds

http://www.smartglassinternational.com/

http://teslasolarshingles.com/