FutureHAUS kitchen is factory-manufactured–much like today’s cars and smart phones–so technology is able to be fully integrated. This redesign could change the way we build homes, according to one of its creators, Joseph Wheeler, AIA , professor and co-director of The Virginia Tech Center for Design Research.
The project explores off-site construction methods to deliver a home that can accommodate electronics and technologies as well as sustainability requirements that buyers want in a home today. Entire rooms can be prebuilt as cartridges and then “plugged in” by connecting them structurally and electronically to a new home. For example, the kitchen is one cartridge and the bathroom would be another. This streamlined manufacturing process means less waste, more quality control, and faster lead times. Site construction could begin at the same time as rooms are being manufactured.
His team doesn’t plan to stop with the FutureHAUS kitchen. It’s the first phase of a three-year-long research project that will lead to the construction of a two-story prototype. Level one will be an example of a smart home, while the second story will demonstrate the use of cost-effective prefabricated cartridges.
Watch the video below on the manufacturing process for the kitchen of the future and plans for FutureHAUS.
