Made in the Future New manufacturing ecologies and the increased ability to make goods ourselves could lead to exceptional customization and new ideas, according to an new IDEO report.

Rooftop space at IDEO Chicago. The company's West Loop office, including this impressive deck for outdoor collaboration and entertaining, was built by architectural firm Perkins+Will in 2009.

Front desk of the Chicago office of IDEO, the international design and innovation consulting firm. "Chicago had all of these great industrial offices—there was no shortage of light, lofty spaces to visit,” says Ikin.

NArchitekTURA chose a monochromatic white interior for its "Apartment of the Future—R&D Laboratory" in Dobrodzień, Poland, taking a cue from the design of contemporary cellphones and other mobile devices.

A view of one of the bedrooms from a courtyard.

Alhadeff opened The Future Perfect in 2003. The design shop and showroom has locations in New York and San Francisco.

The veranda looks out onto the harbor.

The office looks out on the spacious deck.

Today’s classrooms have begun using flexible furniture systems for active learning. The mobile Node chair by Thomas Overthun and IDEO for Steelcase sports a height-adjustable seat, a storage base, and a southpaw-friendly swiveling work surface

This "local prefab" home on the Isle of Skye is made mostly from materials sourced in northern Scotland. The timber-framed model, meant to evoke the simple agrarian barns of the area, can be constructed on-site in as little as a day and is designed for affordability.

Black and white kitchen cabinets painted with a triangular pattern add a whimsical touch to this funky kitchen.

Illustration by David Galletly

Illustration by David Galletly

Inside at The Future Perfect, an installation celebrated the last 10 years of design by Heath Ceramics. Photo by Jeffery Cross.

When Abbie and Bill Burton hired Marmol Radziner to design their prefab weekend home, their two requests were “simple-simple, replaceable materials,” says Abbie—such as concrete floors (poured offsite in Marmol Radziner's factory) and metal panel siding—and “the ability to be indoors or outdoors with ease.” Deep overhangs provide shade and protection from rain, so the Burtons can leave their doors open year-round and hang out on their 70-foot-long deck even in inclement weather. They visit the house once a month, usually for a week at a time, with Vinnie and Stella, their rescue Bernese Mountain dogs. Their two adult children occasionally join them. The couple hopes to one day retire here.

What is your go-to kitchen appliance? My Vitamix blender. I use it multiple times a day for smoothies and soups. C-Series blenders from Vitamix, from $449.

Fong has designed a range of interiors, including Michael Voltaggio’s Ink restaurant. In 2009, he opened Galerie Half in Los Angeles, which showcases 20th-century design, European antiques, architectural elements, and art.

Inside the pavilion, an array of sustainable toys and art supplies from Green Apple Supply will be available for play, along with Moluk's Bilibo Rocking Toy, a dynamically shaped multipurpose piece, and other toys from the Dwell Store.

Copenhagen's future waste to energy plant designed by Bjarke Ingels.

What would you give to a recent college graduate? I think a pen makes a great gift. We carry a solid bronze or brass ballpoint pen by MUCU; I love the simplicity of the design. Metallic Ballpoint Pen by MUCU, $150.

What’s your go-to host gift? Pewter by Match. Everyone loves a martini shaker. The service spoons are awesome, and if I time it right, I love to give a monogrammed box. It takes three weeks, but it’s worth the wait to charm someone with a custom-created piece. Pewter collection by Match, $28–$660.

What’s the best wedding present you’ve given or received? I gave my brother a Michael Anastassiades Beauty Mirror. Beauty Mirror by Michael Anastassiades, $2,294.

What is the best design book to give as a gift? A signed copy of Modern Originals by Leslie Williamson. Modern Originals: At Home with Midcentury European Designers, by Leslie Williamson (Rizzoli, 2014), $50.

NArchitekTURA designed the apartment so it could also serve as a showroom, hotel room, or art gallery.

The concrete wall mimics the slope of the hill outside as a reference to early Maori structures that were dug into the land. The simple kitchen has strandboard cabinetry and an MDF island that conceals a fireplace at one end. The ceramic works on the built-in seat at right are by Raewyn Atkinson and Robyn Lewis.

After living on and studying a woodsy acre of land in North Zealand, Denmark, architect Jesper Brask cleared a stand of pine trees and, from the timber, built a getaway open to its surroundings. The house, which Brask shares with his wife, Lene, and sons, Kristian, Jens, and Niels, is used mainly in summer, when the weather is optimal for throwing open the glass doors.

The office space above the kitchen looks out onto the great room.

A defining feature is the "green wall," a nearly 50-foot expanse of sliding panels that, when closed, presents a panoramic image of a natural landscape.

Rob Fissmer of the furniture company Vitsœ lives with his wife in a restored, A. Quincy Jones-designed house in Crestwood Hills. (Get a full tour of the space here!)

The apartment is outfitted with state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems that can be controlled with a mobile application.

"Check out The Future Perfect's GALLERY installation at 55 Great Jones Street."

A bedroom by Los Angeles interior designer Oliver M. Furth, who will join us onstage at Dwell on Design to predict future iconic furnishings.

The panels slide from side to side, allowing the user to re-scale and reconfigure the space. Shifting the semi-transluscent panels also results in the creation of a number of "vivid, multi-dimensional collages," Haduch says.