Future Housing - The Way I See It

[petrushkagoogol]

 

Here is my idea for future housing. It incorporates the following features

 

* PreFab

* 3D printed

* Made of biodegradable polymers

* single storeyed

* Use of temperature sensitive gels as binding agents instead of metal screws and nails

* Human excreta is used for bio-gas generation

* No paints used. Use of thermal sensors that are temperature sensitive and control -

  1. External appearence

  2. Internal temperature

* Solar energy used to power in-house generators

* Use of rain water harvesting

* No materials that can fracture so no earthquake damage

* Sylvan environs

* Potable water produced on site from river water through desalination plants

* Low setup costs

* Finance schemes with 0% interest options

* Economics of scale

* Customized templates

* Aggregation of individual units into communities

 

Do you think this kind of housing will solve the housing crisis (particularly in developing countries) and provide an alternative to the urban sprawl ?   

[Maine farmer]

 

 

 

* single storeyed

 

 

Do you think this kind of housing will solve the housing crisis (particularly in developing countries) and provide an alternative to the urban sprawl ?   

 

Single storied buildings will not decrease sprawl.  To save surface area, you need to build either up, or down.

[petrushkagoogol]

Single storied buildings will not decrease sprawl.  To save surface area, you need to build either up, or down.

 

Multi-storeyed architecture is not compatible with the "modular dwellings" advocated in the OP.

 

1. Assembly and disassembly becomes infeasible.

2. If you want to move your dwelling it becomes a practical reality, if the design is single storeyed. You don't need to scout for a new home.

3. The taller the structure is the higher is the center of gravity. The Leaning Tower of Pisa looks good only in pictures, but is a structural engineering nightmare.   

 

Surface area is not the primary design consideration when designing modular reusable housing.

Besides, the OP refers to modest dwellings for those who cannot afford to pay for more upmarket housing. (It does not include lavish palatial housing like Buckingham Palace.)   

 

P.S. It could be treated as a scaled-up version of a tent, with a complete set of amenities.

Edited December 15, 2017 by petrushkagoogol

[Maine farmer]

 

Multi-storeyed architecture is not compatible with the "modular dwellings" advocated in the OP.

 

 

 

Sure it is, you just make the modules stackable.  I read recently of a company converting storage pods into housing, and those are inexpensive as well as stackable.

[petrushkagoogol]

Sure it is, you just make the modules stackable.  I read recently of a company converting storage pods into housing, and those are inexpensive as well as stackable.

 

Floor access on the higher levels becomes frustrating - ask anyone who lives in a high-rise    

[Maine farmer]

Floor access on the higher levels becomes frustrating - ask anyone who lives in a high-rise    

What's wrong with elevators and stairs?  I don't know as I've never lived above the 4th floor, and I was young and could bound up the stairs with enthusiasm.

[petrushkagoogol]

What's wrong with elevators and stairs?  I don't know as I've never lived above the 4th floor, and I was young and could bound up the stairs with enthusiasm.

 

Elevators induce panic attacks in those individuals suffering from claustrophobia. Elevators have limited capacity. Children need a chaperone when using elevators. Staircases are not disabled-friendly,  :vava:

[Maine farmer]

Elevators induce panic attacks in those individuals suffering from claustrophobia. Elevators have limited capacity. Children need a chaperone when using elevators. Staircases are not disabled-friendly,  :vava:

These are not insurmountable issues.  With the improvements in virtual reality, one could be in an elevator without even realizing it, if one so chose.  Improvements in artificial intelligence and remote monitoring technology, children of the future need never be unsupervised. (those poor kids!)  It may even be that the disabled of the future will have better technology to help them get around.  Perhaps the modular units will even be self propelled and have climbing or even flying capabilities.

 

If your going to dream of the future, you may as well be optimistic, and dream big!

Edited December 15, 2017 by Farming guy

[petrushkagoogol]

These are not insurmountable issues.  With the improvements in virtual reality, one could be in an elevator without even realizing it, if one so chose.  Improvements in artificial intelligence and remote monitoring technology, children of the future need never be unsupervised. (those poor kids!)  It may even be that the disabled of the future will have better technology to help them get around.  Perhaps the modular units will even be self propelled and have climbing or even flying capabilities.

 

If your going to dream of the future, you may as well be optimistic, and dream big!

 

Technological implementation could be achieved through -

 

* Temperature sensors for heating / cooling

* LED matrices for dynamic lighting

* Cloud computing coupled with AI for crafting "crafty" bio-degradable polymers by tweaking structural formulae

* CC TV monitoring

 

and so on. These technologies exist and we don't have to use imagination or wishful thinking.

The key is to couple person-friendly dwellings with person-friendly technologies ....  :vava: 

[Buffy]

Elevators induce panic attacks in those individuals suffering from claustrophobia.

Pretty easy to let the 5% of the population that suffer from it have the lower floors.

 

 

Elevators have limited capacity.

You'd be amazed what elevator banks can do.

 

Children need a chaperone when using elevators.

Much less than stairs, although with the energy they have, I have sometimes told my daughter to take the stairs and I'll meet her at the top.

 

Staircases are not disabled-friendly,

That's what elevators are for.

 

 

 

Methinks someone has not spent any time living in a major city.

 

If they're all single-story, you end up with Los Angeles. "Where do we put all these cars?"

 

 

Los Angeles is 72 suburbs in search of a city, :phones:

Buffy

(Full disclosure, I live in LA)

[Deepwater6]

Plenty of space on the oceans, above ground that is. If we started to build mega cities in the water the displacement will eventually only exacerbate the rising ocean levels. Levels that already threaten many areas around the world. Not only floating cities, but maybe a few newly formed self proclaimed floating countries.