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Here’s What People In The 1900s Predicted Our Homes Would Look Like Today (7 Pics)
Raise your hands if you think that by 2100, we will have flying cars, robots with artificial intelligence, holidays on Mars, and utterly intelligent architecture design.
People have been making predictions about what the future would look like for ages. Sadly, they are usually far-fetched or even utopian and society doesn’t seem to keep up with those creative ideas. So, are the predictions extremely ambitious or we don’t put enough effort into bringing wild ideas to life? There’s a huge question mark tied to what’s coming in the future. And although modern technology moves at a fast pace and many ideas that seemed outlandish in the past are more than real nowadays, we shouldn’t be carried away by fantasies because the future might disappoint.
Angie’s List teamed up with Neomam Studios to visualize 7 of the most eccentric futuristic ideas people had about our future home design with their realistic digital artworks. A team of researchers and artists gathered science-fiction style concepts of cool houses our ancestors imagined for us from various decades of the 20th century. “Sometimes astute, sometimes idealistic, often absurd, reflecting today on these dreams of how we might have lived creates a sense of nostalgia for that lost innocence,” – notes Angie’s List.
Seems like folks had serious hopes for the future. How would they react to what we’ve actually achieved? See the interesting pictures of the beautiful houses that were never built. But who knows what the future holds…
More info: angieslist.com
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Moving House (1900s)
Image credits: www.angieslist.com
Jean-Marc Côté’s “House Rolling Through The Countryside” featured in a collection of cigarette cards drawn up around the turn of the 19th century, imagining what life would look like in the year 2000.
Equal parts Mad Max: Fury Road and Wacky Races, this utopian vision posits a very social mobile home version of architectural tendencies that we’re actually seeing today. Its rooftop garden, for example, might offset the carbon footprint of the vehicle, easing the conscience of the steam-powered digital nomads onboard.
Glass House (1920s)
Image credits: www.angieslist.com
Utilizing a special new kind of glass designed to admit the ultraviolet, ahem, “health rays” of the sun, the Vitaglass house would offer a year-round summer thanks to the addition of mercury arc lamps for gloomy days.
Like all the best new architectural innovations, Vitaglass was first tested in the monkey house of a city zoo. But even plain glass was controversial during the interwar years, with worries that its new popularity would discourage people from ever going outside. Unfortunately, even though the advert that inspired our creation was amazing, Vitaglass was a commercial failure so you’ll have to hit the street if you want to soak up some UV rays.
Rolling House (1930s)
Image credits: www.angieslist.com
The September, 1934 issue of Everyday Science and Mechanics assured readers that spherical houses would soon become highly fashionable, even if the appeal of living in a giant hamster ball isn’t immediately obvious. The innovation was intended to make the remote construction and delivery of new homes more straightforward, as travelling in the ball would be a bad idea if you valued your crockery and ornaments.
Lightweight House (1940s)
Image credits: www.angieslist.com
A far more civilized way of moving house is to simply have it transported atop a tray carried by a dozen strong men. Okay, so this creepy image was only suggested for illustration purposes, but seriously: why do our houses have to be so dangerously heavy?
The January, 1942 authors of “This Unfinished World” offered a vision that gets closer every day: using super-light “aerogel” to create buildings that are earthquake-resistant and require less resources to build. Today, the lightest material in the world is graphene aerogel, which can be 3D printed, and boffins are hard at working figuring how to use the material to lighten the environmental toll of conventional construction techniques.
Space House (1950s)
Image credits: www.angieslist.com
Just four years prior to the Dome House, the cover of the December 1953 Science Fiction Adventures magazine proposed a glass dome – but in outer space. Puerto Rican cover artist Alex Schomburg’s free-floating snow globes come complete with rooftop chutes for launching space hatchbacks out into the great unknown.
Curiously, Schomburg had been the artist and company partner of a window display studio in the 1920s. His house design incorporates a double layer of glass: the dome protecting the property from the space atmosphere, and tinted wall-to-wall windows on the exterior of the house.
Dome House (1950s)
Image credits: www.angieslist.com
“Current research in solar energy and architecture indicates that by 1989 you may be living in a house with an exterior made entirely of steel-hard glass,” claimed the cover story of Mechanix Illustrated’s June 1957 issue.
The dome house’s ecopunk utopianism took sustainability as its driving factor. The rotating dome would allow homeowners to make efficient use of the sun’s energy. And while hydroponic vegetable patches like those outside the dome house do not yet feature in the average 21st century garden, the hydroponics industry in general is set to triple in value to $725m between now and 2023.
Underwater House (1960s)
Image credits: www.angieslist.com
General Motors created the Futurama II Pavilion to blow the minds of visitors to the New York World’s Fair in 1964. You can see their underwater world in motion in a promotional movie from the time.
While the rest of the world was staring at the stars, GM noted that we still have whole oceans that remain unconquered. “Our new knowledge and skills — new power and mobility — have given us a new and wondrous underwater world,” guide Ray Dashner told visitors on the tour. “A miracle of gifts from the limitless treasury of the sea.” Put that in your real estate brochure!
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What do you think ?
better version of alex 5 years ago
that's what i thought, he looks like w***y wonka
Load More Replies...
DemPugs 5 years ago (edited)
The first two have kind of come true. The "moving house" is like a Camper or a caravan, and the glass house looks like a modern house in LA. All of them look really cool, especially the dome house.
Daria B 5 years ago
I thought the same thing, although with different examples in my mind. The "glass house" is a typical skyscraper filled with offices here in Seoul. Also, the "mobile house", again, in Korea, it's some kind of small cabin kind of house that you can put on a truck and move.
Load More Replies...
Daria B 5 years ago
That would solve all the earthquake related problems... *sigh*
Load More Replies...
tuzdayschild 5 years ago
I want the ping pong ball looking rolling house. Do you know how thin I would be if my house made me run like a hamster?
Grumble O'Pug 5 years ago
No one thought a lick about garbage, sustainability, etc. The glass house needs a tall lawn to hide the bodies from the bird strikes.
danielw 5 years ago
round houses are also very wasteful in terms of materials. Especially when you consider that they have a lot of wasted/unusable spaces.
Load More Replies...
Lizzie the Crayon 5 years ago
If you know what "The Jetsons" is, the creators thought that life would be as advanced as they are in the show as of today...but we aren't...this article made me think of it 😂
Full Name 5 years ago
Flying cars technically do exist, people read newspapers on tablets, we can video chat with our boss in real time, we have robots that vacuum, people live in space (ISS) etc. It's actually not as far off as people think.
Load More Replies...
better version of alex 5 years ago
It's really funny and sad to see what people expected of us back then... they had such high hopes for us... everyone should aspire to live their life like people in the 20s thought we would be
Kathy Baylis 5 years ago
Well, though they might not look exactly like the original concept drawing, we DO have motorhomes, glass-sided buildings, dome buildings, and underwater hotels, soooo...
Nubmaeme 5 years ago
The lightweight house might be fine for earthquake regions, although I see it being tossed around during a shaker, but I would not want to be in one during a hurricane or tornado. The same goes for the rolling house. The underwater house, for me, is a no-go. Long ago, I made a pact with the denizens of the oceans that I would stay out of their realm if they would stay out of mine. So far, both sides have kept that pact. It was made after I made an excruciatingly painful connection with the business end of one while riding waves on a raft. The rest of the houses are fun to look at but don't seem very practical.
Letitia Hedding 5 years ago
w***y Wonka is driving the moving house! also some of these kind of already exist which is cool!
BusLady 5 years ago
I like the open design. Like being outdoors without having to worry about the weather.
Load More Replies...
recoveryforeva 5 years ago
Nah, we didn't accomplish any of these things...but we did destroy the earth though!
Turnip and a Frog 5 years ago (edited)
Definitely the underwater house for me 😃 Would feel like a villain from Bond movies😁
Michaela Fieberling 5 years ago
I'd totally buy the underwater house... As long as its not too deep down^^ But a nice shallow sea with the fishes swimming by the living room window... yep, I'd be very much down for that^^
Robert Pacl 5 years ago
Re heavy houses, an article about a 2nd floor porch collapsing in Chicago killing 2 people as I recall. Not quite heavy enough. My custom built house in Philadelphia proposed 2x8 joists for the living room (Longest span in the house). Went to the builder's home nearby, also 2X8 joists. Grand piano in the middle of the floor. Dropped a marble all around it. Fast roll to the piano. I got 2X10 joists like we had in Chicago. Twice as stiff
Ahnnah Newell 5 years ago
these are some creative house ideas that will probably never happen-especially the space house with very thin glass protection.
Mavia Kainaat 5 years ago
These type of houses will possibly exist in a few years hence.We would have had such houses had the world not been pushed back approx.50 years by World Wars 1 and 2 and Colonisation.
danielw 5 years ago
okay... so I'm gonna have to be that grinch who stole peoples flying cars. The reasons we don't already have them is because a car's form factor is terrible for aircraft. and an aircraft's form factor is terrible for cars- and because flying will always take more energy than rolling. Meaning, the only people who're going to be getting flying cars, are probably rich engineers.
TheExtremeSmell 5 years ago
I mean when most of these were thought up the idea of people with different color skin having the same rights wasn’t a thing so showing them a back yard BBQ with various ethnicities they would of been like omfg?!?!
Eagle Girl 5 years ago
I would live in any of those. The sphere is hot if you don't live in Hurricane area.
better version of alex 5 years ago
that's what i thought, he looks like w***y wonka
Load More Replies... DemPugs 5 years ago (edited)
The first two have kind of come true. The "moving house" is like a Camper or a caravan, and the glass house looks like a modern house in LA. All of them look really cool, especially the dome house.
Daria B 5 years ago
I thought the same thing, although with different examples in my mind. The "glass house" is a typical skyscraper filled with offices here in Seoul. Also, the "mobile house", again, in Korea, it's some kind of small cabin kind of house that you can put on a truck and move.
Load More Replies... Daria B 5 years ago
That would solve all the earthquake related problems... *sigh*
Load More Replies... tuzdayschild 5 years ago
I want the ping pong ball looking rolling house. Do you know how thin I would be if my house made me run like a hamster?
Grumble O'Pug 5 years ago
No one thought a lick about garbage, sustainability, etc. The glass house needs a tall lawn to hide the bodies from the bird strikes.
danielw 5 years ago
round houses are also very wasteful in terms of materials. Especially when you consider that they have a lot of wasted/unusable spaces.
Load More Replies... Lizzie the Crayon 5 years ago
If you know what "The Jetsons" is, the creators thought that life would be as advanced as they are in the show as of today...but we aren't...this article made me think of it 😂
Full Name 5 years ago
Flying cars technically do exist, people read newspapers on tablets, we can video chat with our boss in real time, we have robots that vacuum, people live in space (ISS) etc. It's actually not as far off as people think.
Load More Replies... better version of alex 5 years ago
It's really funny and sad to see what people expected of us back then... they had such high hopes for us... everyone should aspire to live their life like people in the 20s thought we would be
Kathy Baylis 5 years ago
Well, though they might not look exactly like the original concept drawing, we DO have motorhomes, glass-sided buildings, dome buildings, and underwater hotels, soooo...
Nubmaeme 5 years ago
The lightweight house might be fine for earthquake regions, although I see it being tossed around during a shaker, but I would not want to be in one during a hurricane or tornado. The same goes for the rolling house. The underwater house, for me, is a no-go. Long ago, I made a pact with the denizens of the oceans that I would stay out of their realm if they would stay out of mine. So far, both sides have kept that pact. It was made after I made an excruciatingly painful connection with the business end of one while riding waves on a raft. The rest of the houses are fun to look at but don't seem very practical.
Letitia Hedding 5 years ago
w***y Wonka is driving the moving house! also some of these kind of already exist which is cool!
BusLady 5 years ago
I like the open design. Like being outdoors without having to worry about the weather.
Load More Replies... recoveryforeva 5 years ago
Nah, we didn't accomplish any of these things...but we did destroy the earth though!
Turnip and a Frog 5 years ago (edited)
Definitely the underwater house for me 😃 Would feel like a villain from Bond movies😁
Michaela Fieberling 5 years ago
I'd totally buy the underwater house... As long as its not too deep down^^ But a nice shallow sea with the fishes swimming by the living room window... yep, I'd be very much down for that^^
Robert Pacl 5 years ago
Re heavy houses, an article about a 2nd floor porch collapsing in Chicago killing 2 people as I recall. Not quite heavy enough. My custom built house in Philadelphia proposed 2x8 joists for the living room (Longest span in the house). Went to the builder's home nearby, also 2X8 joists. Grand piano in the middle of the floor. Dropped a marble all around it. Fast roll to the piano. I got 2X10 joists like we had in Chicago. Twice as stiff
Ahnnah Newell 5 years ago
these are some creative house ideas that will probably never happen-especially the space house with very thin glass protection.
Mavia Kainaat 5 years ago
These type of houses will possibly exist in a few years hence.We would have had such houses had the world not been pushed back approx.50 years by World Wars 1 and 2 and Colonisation.
danielw 5 years ago
okay... so I'm gonna have to be that grinch who stole peoples flying cars. The reasons we don't already have them is because a car's form factor is terrible for aircraft. and an aircraft's form factor is terrible for cars- and because flying will always take more energy than rolling. Meaning, the only people who're going to be getting flying cars, are probably rich engineers.
TheExtremeSmell 5 years ago
I mean when most of these were thought up the idea of people with different color skin having the same rights wasn’t a thing so showing them a back yard BBQ with various ethnicities they would of been like omfg?!?!
Eagle Girl 5 years ago
I would live in any of those. The sphere is hot if you don't live in Hurricane area.
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