Modern house design: practically ingenious

In terms of modern house design, the Fifties was a time when technology was available, but it took the very best architects and designers to use it in a way that was both practical and subtle.

Looking at the long-distance heater switch and the hidden exhaust fan 60 years later, it’s difficult not to get a bit of a thrill from both. You can’t help thinking about the thought processes involved in these particular examples of problem solving – the agony of getting out of bed in winter, the unsightliness of a necessary gadget.

In the same vein, but without the technology, there are the built-in chopping boards and pot stands that slide out from under the bench tops. There are also several features that are both playful and smart, simple and brilliant. They epitomise modern house design,

A remote perspective

In this increasingly technological world, our whole lives, including our houses, can be controlled via our phones. Close the blinds, turn the lights on, put the dinner on, turn the burglar alarm off – we can do virtually everything by punching a few buttons these days. Remotely.

‘Remotely’ describes the process well – it’s not just that you can be miles away when you do it, but you never have to actively engage with your house while you do so – it takes the same effort, and involves the same action, to both close the curtains and switch on the oven, which doesn’t seem quite right when you think about it.

The best of modern house design is all about really living in a house – discovering it, marvelling in it, being involved with it and making it work.