Project History
A tragedy, a turnaround, and a shot at glory
The futureHaus came to us in a really dynamic time for their project. You see, the original futureHaus (the one I had actually worked on in college) had recently burned to the ground, costing years of work and millions of dollars in research.
Undeterred, the team doubled down with an aggressive deadline: they were going to build an entirely new FutureHAUS to compete in the Solar Decathalon in Dubai...and they were going to need a website.
Undeterred, the team doubled down with an aggressive deadline: they were going to build an entirely new FutureHAUS to compete in the Solar Decathalon in Dubai...and they were going to need a website.
An electrical malfunction destroyed all existing work on the FutureHAUS in 2017
Source
The WebSite design
Turning the house itself into an online element
Since primary focus of the site design was to support the Dubai competition, it was important that the new website worked in conjunction with the event and the project. We decided to take a mobile-first approach to optimize the experinece of using the site, while standing in the FutureHAUS in Dubai.
Similarly, we also took heavy inspiration from the house itself when designing visual elements. We wanted the overall branded experience of FutureHAUS to feel universally cohesive.
Similarly, we also took heavy inspiration from the house itself when designing visual elements. We wanted the overall branded experience of FutureHAUS to feel universally cohesive.
The website takes inspiration for design elements from the structure and materiality of the house itself.
The main method of listing the rooms is based on a floorpan of the house. Clickable elements are styled to look as though you're peering through the glass tiles that are pervasive throughout the project.
Special attention was paid to the mobile experience since users of the site would be browsing it on the ground in Dubai.
A shot at victory
Futurehaus takes home the gold in Dubai
It wouldn't be a good comeback story without some epic victory at the end. As fate would have it, the FutureHAUS placed first in the overall Solar Decathalon in Dubai. While the Venveo site only played a supporting role in what was a huge undertaking, it felt great see that victory after all the project had been through. This goes doubly so for me since I'd worked on the very first iteration of the project back when all we had built was a kitchen.
The FutureHAUS project team after winning first place in Dubai.
Source
You can view the live website here: futurehaus.tech
Results & Lessons learned
Projects of the future have realities of today
The experience building the FutureHAUS website mirrored closely the experience of working on the project itself. At the end of the day, everyone has a competition to win and a website to launch. Some amazing ideas are inevitably going to get left on the cutting-room floor. Sometimes the technology isn't there, and other times you're just plain out of time.
In any case, it's important to remember those things, talk about them often, and never stop selling the possibility of what could be. How else are we supposed to get there?
In any case, it's important to remember those things, talk about them often, and never stop selling the possibility of what could be. How else are we supposed to get there?
