Research co-director re-imagines the future for kitchens & baths
Joseph Wheeler thinks he’s seen the future, and if reality mirrors his crystal ball, kitchens and baths will assume an exciting new dimension.
Co-director of the Virginia Tech Center for Design Research, Wheeler is the driving force behind “FutureHAUS,” a revolutionary prototype that’s providing a preview of how digital technologies, cutting-edge products and smart building design may soon unite to make homes more efficient, sustainable and affordable.
Unveiled in four phases, Wheeler’s research project, partnering faculty and students with industry supporters, proposes an alternative to conventional construction: a pre-fabricated delivery method for assembling inexpensive, energy-efficient, high-quality housing. FutureHAUS would see kitchens, bathrooms and other rooms assembled as pre-finished, pre-plumbed, pre-wired, plug-and-play “cartridges” that are then delivered from the factory to job sites.
Virginia Tech’s kitchen prototype demonstrated ways that smart technologies can assist with a wide range of daily tasks. The bathroom prototype integrated fixtures, technologies and materials to help control water and temperature flow, monitor energy and water consumption and accommodate working heights for multi-generational users.
Wheeler’s team plans to construct a complete FutureHAUS at a local research complex. The concept itself, he predicts, could one day be arriving in homes.
