I always wonder what the future will be like. Will people be half bionic, will robots be our household buddies and will we teleport instead of walking? All interesting and intriguing thoughts, but will they become reality? Although some of these are possible some I feel some are way in the future. A typical day in 2050 may include…
LIVING
I would wake up in my apartment on the 100th floor in the centre of Paris, walk to the window to look out onto the metropolis below.
If this design by Rochambeau Cyrille, Bertin Joel, Herizo Randrianarison is an indication of my future apartment block I would be very happy. The mixture of shapes and forms reminds me of the game Tetris and leads your eye through the design. The building boasts parks, shops, housing and cultural facilities so it is really a mini city. Maybe in 2050 I will have the possibility that I could sleep wherever I wanted? Just think of a location and mentally I was transported there, similar to the film Avatar where your mind was taken to another world.
Next would be the preparations for the day, breakfast and clothing. For cooking and food storage I would have installed my Electrolux modular kitchen.
This design oozes modern living. The modular aspect creates a very personal area that is individual and unique for your needs. For food preparation and cooking I would not have to lift a finger. I would simply think cut this carrot into strips and I would get a carrot that was cut in strips, maybe you could even buy food by thinking this way, which is not dissimilar from home delivery we have today just a lot quicker, well instant.
Clothing myself has drastically changed by the year 2050. I now simply print the clothing I want to wear in the morning and recycle it at night by the device shown above, no more washing dirty clothes.
TRAVEL
Although by the year 2050 I would like to think I could just imagine a location and appear there, a little like the film ‘jumper’, I cant see this being a reality. However I do think that that individual eco transportation is a definite reality. Such as this BMW ‘Halbo’ concept, and if it could drive on air then even better. Sucking air in like a vacuum and pushing out like a pressure washer to propel myself through the skies would be great fun. With this flying transport method I could live in Spain and work in London, great!
FOOD
Isle 10 is where I can find the eggs I believe, not in 2050! Vertical skyscraper farms are a reality now. I realise some may say we will be taking food pills but I am not a fan of this future prediction, I like eating. Therefore vertical farms are the solution. Everything you need contained within levels. Chickens on one floor and wheat on the next. The design below by Lee Dongjin, Park Jinkyu and Lee Jeongwoo of South Korea considers everything from the cycles of grazing, alternative uses such as restaurants and urban markets to eco sustainability. Great design. Of course shopping may also involve you not having to travel. Maybe when cooking your tea you realise ‘oh I need flour’. Currently you would have to stop cooking and rush to the shops, but this is 2050, just think I need flour and it instantly appears. Obviously this is being quite imaginative but hey its 2050 now.
Of course these are not the only aspects to consider. Will we be working 9-5 or will by then we have the ability to split the brain in half, working in London and swimming in the Mediterranean at the same time? Will we actually move from place to place of will we just move the environment to us?
Below is a small Q and A with Michael Goatman, Head of Industrial Design at Coventry University, about the future of lifestyles and the design industry.
Q AND A – MICHAEL GOATMAN
What is your background within product design?
Graduated in 1977 and spent 5 years involved with various design consultancies. Following this 10 years was spent at Phillips, in the UK and Eindhoven. Upon moving back to the UK Michael moved into higher education whilst also recently working with Cannon and Samsung as a design consultant.
How do you feel the future design industry will develop both within the UK / Worldwide?
The design industry will develop into a worldwide platform, instead of many national platforms that currently operate, with China being key in mass production. The UK will still remain famous for design intelligence throughout the worldwide platform however there will be a increase in individual product production, with the consumer being involved with the design process designing their own products.
For the younger generations that are thinking of or currently undertaking design studies what advice would you give them?
Do not think that your careers will be like mine, designing particular types of products. You will be the designers that think how, when and where can we enable / use this dynamic product methodology. You will be thinkers.
In 2050 how would you like to live?
Imagination is the key here. Transportation without having to control things manually, shopping without having to leave your chair by thinking I would like a chocolate bar and one appears and sleeping anywhere you wish like a beach not a bed.
During the discussion with Michael he was very enthusiastic and passionate about methodologies and design potential regarding the future. He mentioned there are already research programmes being undertaken into the area of individual product production. Now this may seem odd you being able to design/produce your own products but it’s not dissimilar to Apple allowing you to make your own music using Garage Band.
There are no limits for the future, just the limit of you imagination. There will be people that say, ‘you cannot think I want that and it appears’, but just remember one day people were saying man cant fly, it just needs that one spark of genius to snap in someone’s brain. Who will be the Leonardo da Vinci of the 21st century, is it you?
Although this is just a very small area of lifestyles in 2050 I hope it has been an interesting read and made you consider how you would like the future to develop.
Author – Nick Morris
