MAS.551: Design Without Boundaries, Connected Sustainable Home

Smart sustainability. A connected sustainable home is not only built with sustainable materials and uses renewable energy, but also takes full advantage of what the digital world has to offer to create a building that can respond to its environment and to the needs of its inhabitants more intelligently. It employs the latest in what we know about artificial intelligence, as well as advanced robotics, to improve the quality of life for those who live in the home. And, going even further, it is a home that by its very existence (the way it “works”) collaborates with the inhabitants, understands human behavior and thus promotes social sustainability.

The goal of the class was not only to generate exciting new ideas and technologies that could have a major impact on the design of Connected Sustainable Homes, but also to implement specific design proposals and create prototypes during the term, suitable for potential further development.

The class provided opportunities to pursue real-world design projects that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries, applied advanced technologies and addressed significant social issues concerning the design of the “Connected Sustainable Home”.

The research for the Connected Sustainable Home was conducted in collaboration with Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) in Trento, Italy, within the Green Home Alliance.