Super skyscrapers which will dwarf the Shard, underwater bubble cities and hyper-flexible living spaces are all likely to be reality in 100 years’ time.
At-home hydroponic farms, which don't require soil, may also become reality according to a public survey.
That’s the verdict of a new study which paints a vivid picture of our future lives – suggesting the way we live, work and play will change beyond all recognition over the course of the next century.
The report was authored by a team of leading academics including TV presenter – and one of the UK’s leading space scientists – Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, award-winning futurist architects and lecturers at the University of Westminster Arthur Mamou-Mani and Toby Burgess, as well as pioneering urbanists Linda Aitken and Els Leclerq.
The predictions for how we will live in the future have been brought to life via detailed animated architectural renders which show a futuristic London skyline where high rise apartments dwarf Europe’s highest building, The Shard, as well as showing drone transportation and bubble-like underwater cities.
Many of the predictions were influenced by environmental conditions, with growing populations leading to the development of structures that are better able to cope with space constraints and diminishing resources.
On top of looking at how we will live in 100 years’ time, SmartThings surveyed 2,000 British adults to pinpoint the predictions the nation thought were most likely to become a reality in the future. The survey shines a spotlight on the public perception of the future, and suggests that building further into the sky and colonising oceans are believed to be the biggest future trends as space and resources become scarce.
The top ten predictions for future living:
48% Virtual work meetings – the ability to work from anywhere and attend meetings remotely via avatars/holograms
41% Commercial take-offs into space
26% Virtual interior decoration so that you can program your own surroundings/ LED walls that adapt your surroundings to your mood
25% 3D printed houses/furniture/food - meaning you can download and print these things at home
24% At-home scanning capsules/pods that can diagnose health problems and administer medicines/treatments
19% Colonising other planets as we use up resources on Earth
18% AI becoming a normal part of daily life – taking over from humans in many industries
18% Giant skyscrapers that can house entire cities: the construction of which is allowed for by the development of new super strong materials
17% At-home hydroponic farms (that don't require soil) where you can grow your own food
16% Earth-scrapers – buildings that are built down into the ground, so entire cities are subterranean
Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture and is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil.
In a hydroponic system, a nutrient-dense water solution circulates through the plants’ roots and replaces the need for soil and traditional fertilizers. This sci fi-esque technique allows farmers and gardeners to grow food in kitchens and basements, on windowsills and roofs.
Could this prediction one day become a reality?
