Futuristic Sustainable Home Design Trends

There are many products available for homeowners to purchase and add to their décor to create a more sustainable and eco-minded living space. But along with the trends in eco-friendly home products, the market is also seeing a number of alternative structures that are sustainable and reinvent the definition of an eco-structure or green home.

These new green homes come in all shapes and sizes and are made of a variety of materials – but across the board they are unique structures resembling anything but today’s average American dwelling.

Here are a few structures that caught our design eye, and the predictions they’ve helped us make about the futuristic housing landscape:

• Structures will be smaller – providing only what families need to live a simple yet comfortable life; by cutting out the excess we cut out the waste
• Historical homes are here to stay – it’s a type of recycling that goes beyond melted down glass bottles and reused paper products from last week, month or year. Green structures will look to capitalize on more sizable pieces of recycled material over a greater time period
• Homes will be built for a purpose – structures will be built for the unique environment they are intended for. By building homes equipped to withstand their natural surroundings we will capitalize on the sustainable use of organic resources to limit unnecessary energy usage.
• Prefab, prefab, prefab – it’s one of the hottest materials in eco-housing design. We like the modern stylish look that comes along with it.
• Structures will be designed in high style – whether small, recycled, prefab or organic, homes and offices of the future will be anything but boring.
• Dwellings will be healthy – with smaller spaces and simpler living comes a healthier lifestyle. Structures will be designed with environmental and human health in mind.
• Temps or permanent, these qualities translate to all types of shelter – consumers won’t have to let a weekend away from home interrupt their sustainable living with these temporary sustainable shelter options.

When we look at images of these structures it’s hard not to imagine a whole community of oddly shaped pods or modules made from recycled and sustainable materials. We aren’t sure how quickly these communities will become commonplace – but in the meantime its entertaining to imagine the masses taking more drastic steps towards ultimate green living, and making these futuristic structures homes of today.

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Sure the landscape of the suburbs seems to be more eco-friendly then cities – you can find more parks, more green space – but “bigger” and “more” also point to America’s bad habit of McMansions and SUVs.  Bigger is always better to families in most neighborhoods across the U.S., and this mantra doesn’t add up to a green lifestyle.

In today’s economy the suburbs are seeing more foreclosures, more unemployment and more crime – the burbs are hurting, and though once seen as the perfect place for the green movement to take root, today it’s not such an obvious fit.  But if we play our cards right, the fall in the economy could be the kick that suburbanites needed to leave behind the bigger is better lifestyle and go green.  Keeping up with the Jones isn’t the main concern for today’s families, because for most of them it’s not an option, this is the time to learn and instill a new lifestyle centered around using only what is necessary and cutting out the overly flashy and meaningless extras.

Towns across America need a makeover, and with a back to basics plan the green movement could breathe new life into suburban communities.  Though the green plan for cities doesn’t directly translate to the suburbs, there is one constant:  eco-living starts at home. 

For now, homeowners are focusing on bringing green elements into their homes in smaller ways. Homes filled with eco appliances and materials that run on solar or wind power are the future of suburbs. 

The change doesn’t lie solely home design, for suburbs to be green the entire lifestyle must adjust:

• Eco communities developing in Europe and the U.S. feature eco-structures and programs that encourage neighbors to ride-share, garden communally and share renewable energy
• European co-housing communities put a suburban spin on the city’s multifamily housing, or apartments and town homes

Even with options like these becoming more mainstream, some are skeptic that the suburbs will ever become as green as cities.  The transformation to green will be much more difficult for suburbs then cities, and it will take completely new thinking. 

What do you envision when you think about green suburbs?

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Complements of Teacher to Teacher

The team is constantly pulling stats on green product penetration in consumer spending habits. Because it’s the numbers that always get people thinking, we thought we’d put together a little roundup of stats from all across the internet that made us stop and say, “Wow, there’s progress.”

• In a phone survey of 1,000 consumers, 50% said they purchased just as many green products as they did before the economy went into decline. 19% say they are buying even more. (Greenwashing Forum, University of Oregon, 2009)

• 71% of the people surveyed by The Shelton Group cited saving money as a reason to buy energy-efficient products. Fewer chose to “protect the environment” (55%) or “to protect the quality of life for future generations” (49%).

• Consumers over 55 years old are the biggest purchasers of green products in the US. (According to ICOM Information and Communications, 2008)

• More and more consumers are seeking green products, especially those that focus on energy- and water-efficiency (According to the NAHB Research Center)

• Buying green products remains a priority despite economic downturn, SocialFunds.com reports.  More consumers purchased green products in 2008 than in 2007, the survey found.

• 50% believe that green products are of a higher quality, especially in the category of digestible products. (SocialFunds.com)

• Majority consumers expressed a willingness to pay a premium of 5% or more for green products, especially those in the food and electronics and appliances categories. (SocialFunds.com)

• Consumer motivation for LEED homes (Shelton Group):

21% – Our children’s future

19% – Increasing energy prices

16% – Reliance on foreign oil

14% – Global warming

With so many stats pointing toward continued growth, Green should be a mainstay in corporate values and, therefore, the marketing mix. Smart marketing that incorporates the FTC’s Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, in addition to other industry best practices is the surest way to tap into that growth.

Want more? Visit Build Intel where the list goes on…

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