Saturday morning you wake up and realize you’re out of coffee and your fridge is empty. You’re hungry. You need coffee. But you really don’t want to get dressed and go to the coffee shop. So you grab your iPad and you order some food from the breakfast joint down the road and a giant coffee from your favorite coffee shop - scheduled to be delivered directly to your doorstep by Uber Eats.
You then say, “Hey Google”, and proceed to state various commands to set your NEST thermostat to 72 degrees, set the lights in the living room to your “Relax” mode, and turn on the television so you can watch SpaceX launch reusable rockets. Then your Ring doorbell alerts you that someone is at your door - it’s your coffee and breakfast.
This scenario is complete bliss to some, and a living nightmare to others. Most notably, however, is that this was an impossible chain of events just 10 years ago - because none of these technologies existed.
This new decade marks limitless possibilities for the advancement of technology and for some of the most exponential change ever seen in the building industry. If there was ever a time to push an idea and try something new, it’s now.
Solar technologies and renewables will continue to push energy efficiency forward. Net zero energy homes will become mainstream - from affordable housing to luxury custom homes to apartment buildings - across the board, we’ll consistently build shelter that occupants can actually afford to live in, have healthy IAQ, and are built using sustainable materials. It’s an exciting time to be working in our industry.
What building product or technology are you most excited to see evolve in the next decade? What predictions will you make for the building industry in the next decade? Imagine what we can accomplish together in the next 10 years!