The future of home is bright—and technologically savvy, according to the May 5 panel, “Future of Home” which was presented by Material Connexion and IFDA. Held at Material Connexion’s own home—which, as the globe’s largest subscription-based materials library boasts over 7,500 innovative materials and processes—the panel explored technology and design's impact on home interiors.

Presenters included Andrew H. Dent, Ph.D., vice president, Library and Materials Research, Material ConneXion; Leslie Clagett, founder, KBCulture; and Matilda McQuade, deputy curatorial director, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and was moderated by Hermine Mariaux, president, Hermine Mariaux, Inc.

Andrew Dent, Ph.D., Matilda McQuaid, Leslie Clagett, Hermine Mariaux

The panelists presented on current and near-future innovations, from a kitchen countertop that senses ingredients in order to suggest recipes and tabletops that charge smartphones to wall paneling–embedded speakers and 3-D-printed slabs for use in home construction. Two trends include shrinking kitchens, which is leading to ideas such as GE’s micro-kitchen concept, with smaller and more versatile appliances such as a refrigerator with an in-door Keurig coffeemaker, as well as environmentally friendly design that mimics natural processes and doesn’t create waste, such as growing algae to generate electricity.

Whether faster, smaller or simply more intuitive, each of the innovations is making for a smarter home; as moderator Mariaux said in her opening remarks, “Technology is driving innovation at a rate and scale we haven’t seen in our lifetimes.”