A Converted Flat in 2049: The Innovo Room of the Future

About

The Innovo Room of the Future takes an imaginative look at what real people’s homes might look like amidst future societal challenges such as climate change, social inequality, and technological advances. It is a dynamic, evolving space, which will be updated over time with interactive artefacts from forthcoming projects by the Interaction Research Studio, to reflect societal and technological change.

It is mid-afternoon, and Mila is laying the table while her son Ali sets his farm-free food machine to start producing protein patties for dinner.

Mila’s partners Yusuf and Bolanie are scrambling through the storage sofa to find the right clothes for their date night.

Meanwhile Jo, the eldest member of the household, has been lost for hours in the memory intensification system re-living their glory days raving in 1990s Ibiza.

Outside the flat’s windows, waves of autonomous vehicles crawl by, while energy kites, emissions patrol drones and green buildings soar above the hundreds of pelicans roosting on the fringe of the Great Hackney Marsh.

This room is an evolving design by the Interaction Research Studio of Northumbria University and supported by Innovo.

Objects to look out for

Having used similar food synthesisers in her job servicing offshore wind farms, Bolanie bought this domestic appliance for Ali. It suits his farm-free food diet and, she hopes, is more cost effective than buying groceries from the FarmLess store on Hackney Road.

Farm Free Protein Machine, Credit: Jaron James

Yusuf chuckled when Ali first suggested using mycelium to insulate the flat, but now the family could not imagine life without these fungal panels, which help protect against weather extremes. Most accommodation in older properties is still uninsulated, and so for renters moving frequently between homes, their own stock of insulation panels often proves a smart investment. The mycelium panels used in this room were kindly donated by Myceen.

Mycelium wall insulation, Credit: Museum of the Home

While Yusuf is concerned about Jo’s dependence on the memory machine, he secretly takes nostalgic trips based on Ali’s childhood videos during sleepless nights. He always sets an early alarm to recharge the device and revert to Jo’s high-intensity settings before they wake.

Highpoint memory intensification system, Credit: Jaron James

About

The Interaction Research Studio

The Interaction Research Studio use design-led methodologies to explore technologies for everyday life to provide an alternative to the industry-led versions of digital consumerism. Their practice-based research combines expert design and making skills, inventive research methods, and expertise in embedded and ubiquitous technologies. This allows them to produce highly finished products embodying new ideas about life with and through technologies, which they can produce and study at scale for long-term field studies and circulation to the public.

Their designs often create situations rather than solving problems, encouraging playfulness, exploration and insight in a wide variety of domains. Their work is inherently interdisciplinary, and the team works from the London campus of Northumbria University.

Innovo

Innovo, an industry leader in construction, development and innovation across the built environment, specialises in the design, engineering, construction and infrastructure financing of major real estate projects across four continents.

Building on 35 years’ experience as a leader in the middle eastern built environment, Innovo’s portfolio includes a vast range of major projects, including high-rise towers, luxury residential developments, villa communities, educational facilities, commercial hubs, and critical urban infrastructure. Innovo is defined by purpose – commitment to using cutting-edge technology; working sustainably across the value chain; and combining diverse expertise from across its extensive workforce to create trusted industry relationships.

Innovo is headquartered in London with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Toronto, Cairo, Senegal, and Riyadh.