Future home stories: participatory predicaments and methodological scaffolding in narrative speculation on alternative domestic lives

ABSTRACT

Not infrequently, smart home imaginaries and installations are envisaged for nuclear families dwelling in detached houses fitted with the latest Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. In our article, we follow one approach to escape this powerful but inadequate projection that entails inviting people to imagine alternative forms of domestic IoT use. Surveying the setup of these nascent endeavours, in particular attempts that pivot on narrative accounts and forward-oriented fictions on the design of new habitats, we show how these seek to evoke visions of technologically supported cohabitation and everyday life. Due to their inclusive ambitions, such approaches face participatory predicaments that arise from the sought-after spontaneity and creativity within a purposive process. In response, all of them resort to methodological scaffolding that helps their designers to reconcile the tension between the idiosyncrasies embraced by the procedures and the overarching requirements of a particular exercise.

KEYWORDS:

• Smart home
• ioT
• design fiction
• participatory design
• story

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data available on request from the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung: [Grant Number 16SV8609].

Notes on contributors

Alexa Becker

Alexa Becker is a research assistant at Leipzig University. Benedikt Haupt is a research assistant at Leipzig University.

Arne Berger

Arne Berger is professor of human–computer interaction at Hochschule Anhalt. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6398-839X

Christian Pentzold

Christian Pentzold is professor of media and communications at Leipzig University. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6355-3150