While some worry about protecting their houses against alien-invasions (cf. Cruise’s bunker plans), climate change makes many governments worry about rising sea levels and protecting their citizens from water. ‘Fight or embrace’ seem to be the two main categories of choice in how to deal with it.

We already featured waterbound living solutions designed by visionaries such as Jacque Fresco and many will have heard about Joachim Hauser’s Hydropolis underwater hotel being constructed in Dubai.

The Giancarlo Zema Design Group, an ‘innovative semisubmerged architecture studio’ as they label themselves, developed inspiring waterbound habitats such as the Jellyfish 45, Trilobis 65, the Neptus 60 cliff house, the semi-submerged Frond Village 30 in Tahiti or the Amphibious 1000 luxury resort … etc.

While such developments might seem far-off to some, the development and production of such solutions is (or is becoming) a current business niche. The what if question becomes interesting when certain drivers have the potential to push such developments from niche in the direction of common awareness or mainstream use.

For quite some time, I’ve wanted to share with you some absolutely fascinating developments in the area of fashion, which need little imagination to realize how they could turn tomorrow into a very different reality. Let me introduce you to a few such developments.

During his Spring 2007 runway show, top-notch designer, media- and allround artist Hussein Chalayan demonstrated an absolutely amazing collection of robotically enhanced / animatronic clothing (see videos here and here). Poetry prevails over technology, leading to a breathtaking experience. Imagine a world in which garments change appearance, function, in which textiles change characteristics, in response to the person wearing them or the environment in which he or she moves. Our friends Luca Marchetti and Emanuele Quinz of Anomos and Mosign in Paris have the pleasure to work with a whole series of designers, among which Chalayan, for example, on avant-garde, artistic experience design projects weaving together past, present and possible futures of fashion.

A few months ago I already blogged about Philips design’s Skin project (part of Design Probes), focussing on the interaction between technology and our bodies and how that might affect the concept of clothing and our personal environment. Over in London, our friends Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz from wearable technology company CuteCircuit, not only made it to Wired’s NextFest future fair but also onto Time magazine’s list of “Best inventions of 2006″ with their hugshirt, a project they initiated while still at the former Interaction Design Institute in Ivrea, Italy and kept on finetuning ever since.

Some of their projects are also included in the book “Fashioning the future”, published by Thames & Hudson, which gives a glimpse into tomorrow’s wardrobe.

Obviously, all clothes need washing or stay clean, but imagine leaving out the water … think ultrasonic waves, or ozone, or ultraviolet light, or bacteria.

Like any e-technology, wearable technology embedded in clothing needs energy, power. Several solutions are under study or development, e.g. solutions based on body-heat, light-sensitive fibres, kinetic energy from body-movement, recharging washing cycles, etc.

For more future-forwarded fashion, also check out “Fashion for the 21st century”. Stay tuned for more entries on our ‘wearable future’.

Image from Style.com

updated:

As usual around this time of the year, lists of all kinds are popping up: wishlists, shopping lists, trend lists etc. To give you an idea …

Our marketing friends over at Futurelab compiled a list of their ‘top ten marketing innovations for 2007′. The list reads authenticity, net promoter scores, buzztracking, from segmentation to insights, green, grey, co-creation, experimentational budgets, the return of the soap, more consumer generated advertising.

Popular Mechanics published their ’10 tech concepts you need to know for 2007′. The list reads: bendable concrete, PRAM, printed solar panels, passport hacking, vehicle infrastructure integration, body area network, plasma arc gasification, Video-on-Net, smart pills and dataclouds.

The Danish InnovationLab has put together a ‘top 10 of Christmas Gifts for 2016′. Although most of these technologies either exist or are underway, putting them on your Christmas wishlist just now might be a little early, hence the 2016 timehorizon. The list includes robot suits (exoskeletons), 3D printers, live paving (smart tiles), interactive pillows-cum-energy-lamp (intelligent fabrics), holographic tv, biometric access controls, nanotech harddrives, a gardener on remote control, RFID enabled fridges, nanotreated kitchenware.

On a more managerial note CIO Insight published their ’30 most important IT trends for 2007′ . The list is split into the following categories: strategy (subtitle: ‘seeking the execution edge’), management (subtitle: ‘the metamorphosis is underway’), security & risk (subtitle: ‘the defense never rests’), technology (subtitle: ‘building the bridge to tomorrows technologies’). The report includes rather general trends such as: process improvement will be job n°1, CIOs strive to be strategic, companies invest in IT leadership, offshoring shifts from India, security morphs into risk management, IT innovation loses traction, IT organizations start going green etc.

Fortune Small Business looks at ’10 big ideas for 2007′. The inspiring list looks at big innovations from small businesses: six foot roses, book ATM’s, removable tattoos, electricity from wave power, cow parts for medical devices, street-smart filters for rainwater, drug plans go generic, lunch-hour liposuction, hedge funds, tide-based power.

Designer Kenneth Hirst focusses on Product Design Trends for 2007 (in the luxury articles area). He notes the following: customization and personalization of brands, hand in hand brands, all is green, urban to urbane, forever young (non-invasive alternatives for cosmetic surgery).

Building Design Magazine published a special feature on 100 of the top architecture projects/firms of 2007.

The Institute for SECurity and Open Methodologies have listed their ‘top 10 real computer crimes for 2007 and beyond’ (based on the concerns of the non-technical general public). Top of the list: security patches and automated updates.

Check back for more …

BT has a long tradition in futurology (technology-wise). Most of you will remember their former future man, Peter Cochrane, author of several books and now running ConceptLabs and CochraneAssociates.

Also their technology timeline is rather well-know. Now a nifty flash application, it started out as a whitepaper, gazing into times ahead, on the lookout for technologies which might have strong impacts on our personal and professional lives in the short- and long-term future.

On ITWales there is an interesting interview with BT’s current futurologist Ian Pearson, in which he envisions future applications and technological features of our lives, based upon current developments and trends. Furthermore, the interview gives a look at the way in which he and his team ‘assess and track’ the future and future technology markets. While most of it is mainly technology- and opportunity-driven, also some interesting questions in terms of effects from a socio-cultural, ethical and even political perspective are raised in the interview.

Interview via: Pasta&Vinegar. Thanks to Johan “Icefish” Bonner for pointing it out to me.

Businessweek is running an article (and slideshow, for more pictures see also here) about Philips’ big showcase event in London a few days ago, describing it as ‘futuristic’. In line with Philips’ motto ‘sense and simplicity’ it was titled the Simplicity Event.

In terms of strategy, Philips’ focus is shifting, according to CEO Gerard Kleisterlee. Quoting Businessweek:
“The last decade was the information society, but going forward, health and well-being will be a leading theme and driver of economic growth,” says Philips CEO Gerard Kleisterlee.

Many brands (e.g. Apple, Muji, plusminuszero …) are focussing on design and experience concepts along similar trend lines. Hence, think ‘new’ value sets in terms of: simplicity, silence, emptiness, clarity, transparency, …

In line with Philips Design‘s tradition and design methodologies, future technologies were presented ‘in context’, thereby placing human experience at the center and creating (atmo)spheres of engagement; the future made ‘experience-able’ in a way (something we value highly in future thinking as well), through careful stagesetting and design.

Several online reactions to the future products on showcase, mention however the hope to see them appear on the market designed as beautifully and simply as they are now, without too much unfortunate restyling and reconfiguration, a fate some feel several former future concepts have undergone.

For more info on the Simplicity Event see also Philips’ site and the LiveSimplicity discussion forum.

Among the glossiest of glossy magazines, Wallpaper* has released a 10 year anniversary special. Interestingly enough it does not only look back but also forward and features a range of ‘future’ designs. They are not that long term though, the majority of them are things in planning phase or on product showcase; e.g. long time trendy trends such as mass-customization, underwater hotels and other evolutions in tourism, new responsive materials, technological advances in consumer products, …
A remarkable amount of somehow ‘future’ related articles is also permeating a wide range of (at least Italian) fashion, design and lifestyle magazines. A new wave of futurism? An explosion of widespread journalistic neophilia?

It remains fascinating how at certain moments in time the future, the ‘looking-forward’ and ‘looking-forward-to’ sticks up its head. Coincidence? It seems to go a bit deeper than that. Moments at which artists and designers start massively working on the visionary side of reality, moments at which we long for a tomorrow better tomorrow or fear one worse than today, moments at which the ‘now’ shifts away from the center of our attention … Historical, psychological, sociological, philosophical explanations welcome (hit the comments link or the contact page).

Anyway, lots of fascinating pictures and sketches offer perfect browsing while sipping away at your cappuccino on a sunny morning …