Virginia Tech FutureHaus

The Virginia Tech FutureHaus which won the Solar Decathlon in Dubai last fall is on display in Alexandria, Virginia. The smart home prototype is a 900 sqft modular structure that was created by a cross functional team in the VaTech School of Architecture & Design.  

It is built with Lego like components so someone can mix and match rooms, as well as, even stack the components 6 stories high. Some walls are adjustable so you can expand and contract living spaces as needed. It even has accessibility features like toilet and cabinets that can move up and down based on gestures like highlighted in the FutureHaus Bathroom. 

Its solar panel array generates 18Kw enough to power the house, recharge your car and make energy positive contribution to the power grid. It has an 15Kw Tesla battery wall for backup, smart electronics controlled by Amazon’s Alexa and thousands of leds for lighting. The LED lights in the ceilings can be adjusted to your mood or even pulsate to your favorite tunes. There is even a virtual closet mirror in which you can pick an outfit for the day and the closet will light up with the location of the specific items. 

There are vertical screens in every room including the bathroom which can be used for entertainment or communications. There is  even a horizontal screen on the kitchen counter to control household systems. 

We are looking forward to potentially applying some of these concepts to our next Property Improvement Enterprises project in the near future.