The heterogeneous home

Heterogeneity as a new framework for domestic design is proposed, and design sketches that illustrate how ubiquitous computing technologies can interact with the domestic environment to create a more varied and restorative environment are presented.

Abstract

Due to several recent trends, the domestic environment has become more homogeneous and undifferentiated. Drawing on concepts from environmental psychology, we critique these trends. We propose heterogeneity as a new framework for domestic design, and we present design sketches that illustrate how ubiquitous computing technologies can interact with the domestic environment to create a more varied and restorative environment. This work speaks to a number of core issues in ubiquitous computing, such as how the increased presence of devices impacts quality of life, the desirability or undesirability of ubiquitous temporal and spatial availability of devices, and the advantages and disadvantages of device convergence (all-in-one devices) versus device proliferation (single application devices).