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Millard T. Pratt Principal 415.407.2772 tel info@mtparchitects.com |
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Managing Technology At Home April 21, 2003 Today's homeowners are asking for flexibility as a design objective. Ironically, technological flexibility is usually poorly addressed in today's "smart homes". The sophistication and pace of change in home automation, communications, and entertainment networks are beginning to rival that of the workplace. Therefore, it is advantageous to design into the homes the infrastructure necessary to accommodate future technological needs without compromising its aesthetics and functionality. Every time you add a new phone/cable/Internet service, you are likely to find a new equipment box attached to the side of your house and exposed cabling running along the baseboards. This problem can be prevented by integrating a dedicated IT room for new service equipment and an accessible cable pathway to manage all non-electrical cabling. Dedicating space for technology allows you to access services while keeping the equipment out of sight. AV equipment tends to be inflexible. How often do you move a home theater? It is far better to design a flexible room around your entertainment system. You can create a multi-purpose room that your family can effortlessly transform into a family room, project room, or home theater. As families have less time to spend together, they want to be in one room where everything happens. There has been an explosion in electronics in the kitchen. Not only are people bringing in TV and Internet/communications devices, but also manufacturers are poised to introduce smart appliances that require more connectivity. As a result, the kitchen is no longer a refuge from the bundles of wires found elsewhere in the house. You can manage your electronic needs and facilitate future smart appliances by integrating telephone, Internet, and cable networks into your kitchen design. In the future, the smart home will even allow you to program and remotely control your lighting, security devices, and mechanical systems from your PC or PDA. However, you need to design the necessary infrastructure to allow your house to successfully manage new technology instead of being managed by it. For more information about integrating technology into your home, please do not hesitate to call me at 415.538.3465 or email me at ted@mtparchitects.com. return to Articles index |
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