The Home of the Future Will Have Solar Bricks and Popcorn Insulation, According to This Sustainability Report

By Tim Nelson

With trend cycles turning over more quickly than ever, it's not always easy to predict what the home of the future will look like one year from now—let alone 100. But in an era of ever-increasing energy prices, high cost of living, and the inescapable reality of climate change concerns, it never hurts to explore how today's homes might evolve to endure a century's worth of uncertainty and disruption—possibly thanks to popcorn.

Canadian firm Mitrex's solar panels can be made to match nearly any facade.

To that end, Swedish elevator company Aritco recently compiled a report on the "100-Year Home." Assembled in conjunction with innovation research firm Springwise, the report surveys a range of sustainability innovations that can help today's homes "not just to last a century, but to survive this century amid the disruptions and dislocations caused by climate changes." Through clever design features spanning from rooftops to underground garages, the highlighted breakthroughs could "enable dwellers to generate their own power, save money, and remain safe and secure in the face of unknown threats."

Aritco estimates that homes of the future will largely be able to power themselves, thanks in part to attractive design approaches that can take renewable tech from a potential eyesore to completely unobtrusive. For example, designer Joe Doucets's bespoke wind turbines essentially look like an art installation that just so happens to provide upwards of the 10,000 kilowatt hours per year that a typical family home uses. Similarly, the report spotlights multiple solutions for making solar panels seamlessly blend into their environment, including Mitrex's photovoltaic system that can design solar panels capable of matching façade materials like stone, brick, or wood. And when it comes to storing solar energy, Lavo's proposal to connect rooftop panels to hydrogen fuel cells hints at what a truly energy independent home could look like in the future.

Also highlighted within the report are Midsummer's solar tiles, which can be applied as a full roof renovation or retrofit to tiles.

Upcycled bricks by AquiPor's upcycled bricks, which can better separate runoff from rainwater.

Popcorn insulation produced by scientists from the University of Göttingen in Germany

Just as it needs to generate energy, the 100-Year Home will require unique means to reduce energy usage while saving money and minimizing emissions. Key components of that process will involve everything from retrofitting buildings with an insulating "second skin" to showers that refilter and recirculate water. But if research from the University of Göttingen in Germany is any indication, the exterior insulation of the future might just be made from popcorn, thanks to its ability to offer a water-repellent and fire-safe alternative to today's petroleum-based options.

To survive the next century, homes can't just be renewable. They must also be resilient, multifunctional, and ready for anything. In many ways, these solutions are about getting smarter and more efficient at the margins: Think modular, AI-powered kitchens that cut down on food waste, or porous, upcycled bricks that can better separate runoff from rainwater. And while Australian insurer Suncorp's concept for a weatherproof home seems capable of withstanding seemingly apocalyptic weather scenarios, Naturawall's idea for green exterior walls that limit noise pollution while creating animal habitats suggests that a resilient future need not be all gloom and doom.

Electrolux's GRO modular kitchen employs AI to track cooking habits and encourages more sustainable solutions.

Whether it's adapting to shifting coastlines or new energy regulations, there's little doubt that designing homes of the future using the approaches of the past won't cut it for much longer. The challenges of a changing climate loom large, but Aritco's report makes it clear that there are many ways to tackle the problem, and a variety of businesses, designers, and universities ready to rise to the occasion.