Residential architecture is being changed by modern technology in countless ways. Not only are advanced construction materials changing the way homes are being designed and built, but the demands and expectations of the next generation of homeowners are too. Modern homes have to integrate smart tech as well as use smart construction materials to provide people with the homes they will need in the 2030s and beyond.
Green Homes for a Green Future
Carbon footprints and surging costs of energy are at the forefront of modern homebuyers’ minds. Whether motivated by environmental or economic concerns, or both, people are looking for smart technology that reduces power consumption and generates power on-site at home.
Solar panels are quickly becoming one of the must-have features that homebuyers are looking for. When designing and building homes for the future, or renovating existing homes with an eye on the coming years, features like solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations need to be integrated into the architecture. This is such a crucial concern, that architects need to design houses around features like solar panels to squeeze out as much energy efficiency as possible rather than simply adding them as an afterthought.
Smarter Home Infrastructure
Everything is connected. Homes usually need to be built with utilities like water and power in mind, but now homes also require high-speed, reliable internet service to give homeowners and their families the connectivity they need to a variety of web-based services.
Fiber internet is crucial to give houses enough bandwidth so that multiple users can stream movies at home without interruption, and connected devices throughout the home remain fully functional. All homes being built or renovated today must integrate high-speed internet infrastructure to provide the families of the future with the connectivity they not only demand but will need in the coming decades.
Intelligent Homes Require Intelligent Design
Home appliances are becoming smarter and smarter. The homes of the future will be filled with interconnected tech, from refrigerators and washing machines to thermostats and home security systems. Designing and building homes for the future requires architects and contractors to integrate IoT technology from the ground up.
By designing homes with features like security cameras and smart home heating and air conditioning systems already built in, home builders provide more value to potential buyers and more profit to their bottom lines. The housing developments that fail to add these features will fail as economic investments, and those that do will be the ones that succeed. Homes of the future are going to be very different places to live from the homes constructed in the last ten years.
The smart homes of the future are going to require the smart architects of the future to learn new skills and develop their knowledge of technology to ensure homebuyer's demands are met. Adding value to a residential property development is no longer about maximizing square feet of space, but maximizing the technological conveniences they offer.
