House of the Future returning!

[groovysqirrel]

The House of the Future is returning!

From the International Herald Tribune:

QUOTE
Disney revives 'House of the Future' concept to showcase future technology

ANAHEIM, California: Millions of Disneyland visitors lined up a half-century ago to catch a glimpse of the future: a home teeming with mind-blowing gadgets such as handsfree phones, wall-sized televisions, plastic chairs, and electric razors and toothbrushes.

The "House of the Future," a pod-shaped, all-plastic dwelling that quickly seemed quaint closed its doors a decade later. Now Disney is set to open a new abode in Tomorrowland — this time in partnership with 21st century technology giants.

The 5,000-square-foot (465-square-meter) home scheduled to open in May will look like a normal suburban home outside, but inside it will feature hardware, software and touch-screen systems that could simplify everyday living.

Lights and thermostats will automatically adjust when people walk into a room. Closets will help pick out the right dress for a party. Countertops will be able to identify groceries set on them and make menu suggestions.

The $15 million (€10.32 million) home is a collaboration of The Walt Disney Co., Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., software maker LifeWare and homebuilder Taylor Morrison.

Visitors will experience the look of tomorrow by watching Disney actors playing a family of four preparing for a trip to China.

"It's much different than a spiel that you would get at a trade show," said Dave Miller, director of alliance development for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. "We won't get into the bits and the bytes. It will be about the digital lifestyle and how that lifestyle can help you."

The actors will be in a flurry of cooking, packing and picture-taking designed to emphasize cutting-edge features in the home's two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, dining room, study and back yard.

Much of the project will showcase a network that makes the house "smart" and follows family members from room to room — even adjusting artwork — to preset personal preferences.

When a resident clicks a TV remote, for example, lights will dim, music will shut off and the shades will draw as the network realizes a movie is about to start.

The system will allow residents to transfer digital photos, videos and music among televisions and computers in different rooms at the click of a button. Other applications still in development could include touch-screen technology built into appliances, furniture and countertops, said Joe Belfiore, Microsoft's vice president for entertainment services.

In the kitchen, for example, touchpad software on the countertop would be able to identify groceries and produce recipes and meal suggestions. Similar programs could turn a desktop into a computer screen, allowing residents to load photos, music or e-mail onto a cell phone by placing it on the desk.

Mirrors and closets could identify clothes and suggest matching outfits, complimentary colors or track what apparel is at the cleaners or in the wash.

The home will also feature new uses for devices that many visitors may already own, as well as technologies that are still five or 10 years down the road, said Mike Seamons, vice president of marketing at LifeWare, which makes home automation software.

"If people walk through there and say, 'I don't have anything in this house at all,' then we've totally failed," Seamons said. "We're not waiting for robots to happen in order for it to be a reality."

When it comes to aesthetics, designers decided to stray from the Jetsons-style House of the Future — an all-plastic cross design with four wing-shaped bays that appeared to float. The house was so tough that wrecking balls bounced off it when Disney ripped it down in 1967.

The new home will be made of wood and steel and finished in muted browns and beiges, said Sheryl Palmer, president and chief executive of Taylor Morrison in North America.

"The 1950s home didn't look like anything, anywhere. It was space-age and kind of cold," she said. "We didn't want the (new) home to intimidate the visitors. We want the house to be real accessible to our guests."

[Jacques]

Sounds interesting.

Where's it going?

[SpinMarty]

Originally Posted by Jacques

Sounds interesting.

Where's it going?

I was wondering the same thing!

I would be interested in seeing it.

[groovysqirrel]

It looks as if it's going in Innoventions and is going to be called "The Innoventions Future Dream House" or something along those lines. They are trying to use the word dreams a lot this year, so it seems.

I have a link to a page on it, but it's not a disney site.

[TheFireworkZach]

It seems like it will be like the House of the Future they have at EPCOT and even though I didn't go in there, it does seem interesting. I hope they don't close all of Innoventions during this addition because that is a pretty nice place just to hang out.

- Zach

[Neoteny]

This is the first new attraction to excite me in a long time. Only quibble: Real actors? I want my audio-animatronic family! They should use the same family from the old Carousel of Progress.

[groovysqirrel]

Originally Posted by TheFireworkZach

It seems like it will be like the House of the Future they have at EPCOT and even though I didn't go in there, it does seem interesting. I hope they don't close all of Innoventions during this addition because that is a pretty nice place just to hang out.

- Zach

That is also what I was guessing. Same kind of theme.

[Stemaboat_Tyler]

Cool. Sounds interesting. Did EPCOT ever have one?

[prisoner]

Ok... nevermind that they've had an exhibit like this at Epcot for a few years now. Nevermind that this will be in Innoventions, not visible from the hub. Nevermind that 5000 square feet sounds awfully big for a family of four. The real issue is that this house won't be made of plastic - commenting that the original house was "space-aged and kind of cold". I think thats at least part of why people won't get excited about whats being shown. It doesn't look "futuristic" enough. (Course, it might not help that it also doesn't look very useful either.)

Mind you, I think not being made of plastic is good - plastic is a lousy material to live inside of. But it projected the image of The Future to visitors. And I just don't get that feeling coming from this exhibit.

[thundermtkid]

Sounds pretty cool!

[Flea]

That's awesome! I can't wait to see this.

[alice]

Originally Posted by prisoner

Ok... nevermind that they've had an exhibit like this at Epcot for a few years now.

Well, that's the other coast. About time they added something to our Tomorrowland other than Pixar!

Originally Posted by prisoner

Nevermind that this will be in Innoventions, not visible from the hub. Nevermind that 5000 square feet sounds awfully big for a family of four.

Not really sure where else they would put it; Tomorrowland is pretty cramped as it is.

Originally Posted by prisoner

The real issue is that this house won't be made of plastic - commenting that the original house was "space-aged and kind of cold". I think thats at least part of why people won't get excited about whats being shown. It doesn't look "futuristic" enough. (Course, it might not help that it also doesn't look very useful either.)

Mind you, I think not being made of plastic is good - plastic is a lousy material to live inside of. But it projected the image of The Future to visitors. And I just don't get that feeling coming from this exhibit.

Tomorrowland has always been the trickiest area to keep updated. And with the current population of park-goers for whom high-end technology is a part of daily life, it gets even trickier. (Asimo the robot is a perfect example; it just doesn't have a lot of impact for kids, especially, who've come to expect "impossible" stuff on their computers and home theater screens.)

Personally, I think Disneyland should have quit while they were ahead and left Tomorrowland's 1967 design untouched and frozen in time. That really symbolized an optimistic vision of the future for so many people, and the architecture was brilliant. If they put their efforts into the exhibits themselves (and hey, either take out the People Mover track or use it for something else!) they could get that futuristic feel back.

With that in mind, I've got to give them an "A" for effort regarding their plans for a new House of the Future. The only thing with a "home" theme in Innoventions so far has been a short, disappointing show that was nothing but a commercial (for what; I don't even remember). The whole exhibit needs a serious redo, and if they can get anything inside Innoventions that evokes some of the spirit of the old "Carousel of Progress", I'm all for it. (Although I think a show with animatronics would have a lot more popularity than one with live actors.)

As for the visibility factor, as much as the old "House of the Future" became an icon during it's brief life, it was truly out of place in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle!

The big challenge is going to be for Disneyland to keep the features of this exhibit far enough ahead of the real consumer market.

[NaviMap]

I'm really interested in what kind of "suburban" house design they're doing. Building 5,000 sq ft homes is not new to Taylor Morrison/Taylor Woodrow, especially after seeing models for a $2 million home development they did in Newport Beach. I hope the home design and room layout make an impressive showcase of interior design with technology and not see something I would expect to be slapped together for some weekend home and garden show.