'Kitchen of the future' here, now

The kitchen is part of a research project exploring manufacturing strategies and the greater integration of technology with architecture or, in other words, the industrial production of smart homes.

Lead researcher Joseph Wheeler, professor of architecture and co-director of the Center for Design Research, was a lead for the LumenHAUS project that won the International Solar Decathlon competition in Madrid, Spain, and received a 2012 AIA Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture.

Denis Gracanin, an associate professor in Virginia Tech College of Engineering's Department of Computer Science who also played a key role with LumenHAUS; Wheeler; and a team of students and faculty from industrial design, architecture, interior design, visual communication design, and computer science have set their sights on something even larger with this project.

This kitchen is only the first phase in a three-year plan culminating in the construction of a two-story FutureHAUS. And while this is the kitchen -- and ultimately the house -- of the future, it isn't science fiction. "The future is now," said Wheeler. "The technology is here now, it just isn't being integrated yet."

The team is exploring how technology can be used to enhance user experience throughout the kitchen. For example, a camera in the oven that allows bakers to monitor their confections without even getting up from the couch or a refrigerator that detects when staples such as milk are running low or out of date.

High definition displays are mounted in the backsplash where they can serve as a virtual window or a handy place to display recipes while cooking. A smooth glass countertop provides an uninterrupted work surface, but with convection burners mounted beneath it, it also serves as a cooktop when needed.

The kitchen also explores improving accessibility and aging in place by incorporating elements such as touch or gesture to open cabinets and appliances.

Technology is also a key focus in the construction of the kitchen, highlighting how assembly lines could be used to construct the kitchen as a complete modular "cartridge" that can be delivered to a site fully assembled -- just as the intact kitchen will be transported from Virginia to Las Vegas.

And while modular construction leads to economies of scale for production, the focus is not about making things cheap. On the contrary, similar to the high-end, customizable production of luxury cars, these cartridges can contain customizable high-end finishes, appliances, and technology while increasing standards of quality control and precision in the production process.

"We're not changing the final product, we are just changing the process to get there," said Wheeler. "We can deliver the kitchen of the future through a process that's really construction of the future."

The next phase of the FutureHAUS design process is the debut of a living room alongside the kitchen at the American Institute of Architects national convention in Atlanta, Georgia May 14-16, 2015.