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Research dossier · Science & Nature

Home of the future

architectural genre exploring domestic effects of technology

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ17134307 ↗
Source-derived summary

The home of the future, similar to the office of the future, is a concept that has been popular to explore since the early 20th century, or perhaps earlier.

History

There have been many exhibits, such as at World's Fairs and theme parks, purporting to show how future homes will look and work, as well as standalone model "homes of the future" sponsored by builders, developers or technology companies. After a few years, each successive version of such an exhibit will start to look dated and old-fashioned, with some of its "futuristic" things becoming commonplace and others never catching on at all.

The film Design for Dreaming (1956) shows a Frigidaire "Kitchen of the Future"—part of the 1956 General Motors Motorama—which features centralized controls and a "computer screen" showing a completed recipe. General Motors also presented A Touch of Magic (1961), which also showed a Frigidaire kitchen of the future.

In the 1960s and 1970s, such exhibits usually included videophones. While such technology has actually existed since the 1960s and has been developed and improved since, many new mobile phones can now make video calls and use of a home web camera on an instant messaging client and sending of pictures via cell-phone cameras has become prevalent. Other common features of "home of the future" exhibits include centralized and automated control of all appliances, and the use of voice commands to operate devices. Since the 1980s, computer technology has figured heavily in the design of these homes.

The Monsanto House of the Future, a house made entirely of plastics in Disneyland from 1957 to 1967, was a famous example in this genre.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Home of the future” as architectural genre exploring domestic effects of technology. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewUseful for establishing the present vocabulary of the subject while preserving a route back to the evidence on which that vocabulary rests. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1956, 1961, 1957, 1967—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Home, future and architectural can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as architectural genre exploring domestic effects of technology. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q17134307. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1956, 1961, 1957 and 1967.

Critical limits

Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Home of the future”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Home of the future primary sources, Home of the future archive and Home research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Home of the future”?
  2. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
  3. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Home of the future” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.