How and where will future man kind live? The past had clear visions concerning that future: habitats at the bottom of the ocean, Earth’s orbit, or the moon and Mars. In 1970 the late American futurologist Alvin Toffler fantasized in “Future Shock” about moving houses, which could be freely altered and integrated according to one needs, feelings and ideas. One day this vision might still become reality, but as of now, none of it has been materialized. The current progression of architecture is lacking fantasy all together. If architecture and city planing were the poetry of space and time, we presently are tortured over and over with the same old poems, which admittingly is neither practical nor fun.
„Future habitats“? Here is Germany’s current living situation described in a nutshell: Exploding rents and housing shortage deluxe. Should you want to solve the problem concerning future habitats, it is necessary to look at the social circumstances, for they are closely connected. Offering more anonymous, large-scale housing would be fatal. Loitering about in forsaken and forgotten Banlieues can’t be an option, for it’s far from progressive and just a tad better than being homeless.
So let’s think about houses, which can be printed or even home grown. Or Nanotechnology and smart materials, made for building, shaping and designing. Or social networks and circumstances, which will make permanent residency obsolete or even superfluous for many. Or mobile tiny houses, which – in a blink of an eye – can be arranged to for communities. Let’s think about living in and under the sea, in orbit, on the moon and Mars.