York architect Chris Lawson designs homes of the future

Chris Lawson, of CK Architectural, has visualised a range of futuristic homes based on various scenarios including sea levels rising or moving to a completely different planet.

With the future of the planet often under the microscope, regulated property buyers, GoodMove, teamed up with CK Architectural's managing director to explore how homes might adapt as the world evolves.

With the help of a 3D designer, Chris provided his expert insight into what people could expect if a new reality dawned, looking at four possible scenarios – an apocalypse, life on Mars, if sea levels were to rise, or even living in a sci-fi-style hover home.

"When I was asked the question and for my input, my first reaction was to think of any sci-fi films I had seen and use that as a jumping point which was of course amazingly exciting," said Chris.

"That, however, is not my design philosophy, and quickly met my logical and design-driven brain.

"My way of designing is to picture myself in the situation of the client (or space man/survivor), determine their needs, and think of ways to overcome those needs. That spurred on thoughts of the difficulties of living and being a human being in these scenarios whilst adapting to the environment and conditions, and ultimately led to a brilliant creative challenge and a very clever finished product."

These were the results:

Apocalyptic Home

Should we ever find ourselves living in an apocalypse, Chris said it would unlikely there would be much to see from the outside as most of the build would be underground for safety purposes.

Due to being underground, any opportunity to let light in would be ideal ranging from hatch-like windows to surface domes, or even windows built in a hill side. Moreover, there may have to be some sort of external vent or tube which would allow air to filter in.

Location-wise, in an apocalyptic situation it would be beneficial to have links to possible farming areas, even on a small scale. To function and adapt, using mirrors may be another good option for letting light inside as well as allowing farming to take place, even underground.

Life on Mars

Will we ever move to Mars? Well… here’s what it might look like if we did.

The home itself would be part visible and part underground - providing structural support and protecting those within from the harsh climate outside and from too much light.

With power and survival being at the forefront of the design, bubble-like domes will permit easier layering from the upper and lower level along with adding an extra layer of protection. Additionally, farming can occur within these domes and solar panels outside the building will promote power generation.

The material usage would have to be centred around titanium or heavy-duty plastic or glass to be able to bear the weight of the large structure and make the dome functional.

Marine Living

Given that around 71 per cent of Earth is covered by water, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise that we might have to adapt to living away from land. The structure would likely be made of glass or plastic as this would hold up the best, pressure and depth dependent on a rig, or something similar, to make use of the ocean and get some light.

Much like the Mars home, it would likely be a similar dome shape in order to help with the distribution and ensure that erosion is low, and any collisions are reduced, or avoided in general. Additionally, lift access would be required in order to get in and out.

Hover Home

We might all still be waiting for flying cars, but given how quickly technology advances it may not be such a wild idea that we could, at some point, live in a flying house.

The overall shape would probably be similar to that which we see in drones now, just on a mass-scale, with giant propellers that would spin thus creating an airflow lifting the home. As for the build of the home itself, you would probably have to plan this carefully ensuring that there is equal weight distribution so as to maintain balance up in the air.

Nima Ghasri, director at GoodMove, said: “With discussions about climate change and technological advancements commonly in the news, it’s inevitable that our homes are going to adapt and change along with our needs and lifestyles.

“Therefore, we thought it might be interesting to visualise some possibilities and showcase how our homes might look like depending on various future scenarios ranging all the way from an apocalyptic bunker to living on an entirely different planet. So, which is your favourite?”

CK Architectural is an award-winning and expanding architectural firm in York, operating across the country, with a 16-strong team of architects, architectural designers, technicians, technologists and project managers.

CK Architectural has been working in York for more than five years, mainly in the residential sector.