Life in a biscuit tin.

I suppose that part of the allure of some future homes is that they can be built like factory items: mass produced cheaply and with all the compact efficiency of a Swiss army knife.  That was certainly the reasoning behind Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion House.  It was meant to be a revolution in the housing industry.  Built out of stamped sheet metal, the Dymaxion House sat on a central pillar that contained all of the utility lines.  It was designed to heat and cool naturally, had a diesel generator for power, and was light enough to be air lifted anywhere.

It was a commercial failure.

Part of the reason for Dymaxion's inability to take the world by storm was probably Fuller's own interest in efficiency.  The interior is made up entirely of thin partitions, everything was made to fold up or fold out to make way for something else, and there was a staggering lack of privacy.  It was a bit like living in a dorm room without the relief of the occasional booze up.

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