In 1989 , General Electric unveil a so - called “ house of the futurity ” in Pittsfield , Massachusetts . The company ’s primary aim was toshowcasethe versatility of plastics in domesticated computer architecture , which had historically been monopolized by definitive material like Grant Wood and brick .
But the $ 10 million project was n’t only about structure . The house , whichended upbeing about one - third charge card , also include paradigm for a whole horde of newfangled technologies that designers thought would finally enter the mainstream . And , as far aspredictions for the futurego , they did n’t do a bad job .
For the 16thepisodeofThis Old House ’s 11th season , host Steve Thomas take a break from follow thereconstructionof a nineteenth - hundred b in Concord , Massachusetts , to visit General Electric ’s impressive building . Mark Tilley , General Electric ’s manager of building and construction programs , walk Thomas through the sign of the zodiac , highlight all the shiny new toy dog and , of course , the revolutionary uses of plastic : a charge plate cap designed to look like ticket , a moldable wall design to look like stucco , etc .
Not every piece of technology has caught on . Most bathrooms do n’t , unfortunately , have a body dryer that has rendered your classic bath towel obsolete ; and not many faucets have been fuck to turn on via foot pedal . You in all likelihood do n’t store food in compartment cleverly concealed beneath kitchen floor panels , either . ( Thomas , for his part , seemed skeptical about the occult floor bins , take , “ Now , would anybody actually apply something like this ? ” )
But you ’ll no doubt recognize sealed conception from your own modern life — like the savourless - silver screen goggle box in the living way ; the mite - concealment protection system ; and the phonation - activated assistant that can play music , exchange the lighting , and obey other commands . As Nerdistpoints out , the phonation itself even sounds a circumstances like Amazon ’s Alexa .
you may watch a cartridge holder from the episode , which first aired on June 1 , 1989 , below .
[ h / tNerdist ]
