In Smartphone Era, Some Say Open Plan is Out, Walls Are In

While smart home devices still promise a glittering, connected vision of domesticity, some British architects say the really fashionable addition to tech-savvy future homes may simply be a wall. According to an article in Dezeen, many architects and designers are forecasting the end of the open-plan era, due in large part to mobile technology and an increased desire for privacy while using these devices. Deborah Saunt of DSDHA calls this in-demand adaptable floor plan "flexible-plan" living, while Mary Duggan of Duggan Morris Architects coined the term "broken-plan." Is this shift a natural outgrowth of the backlash against loft living and open-plan office spaces, or a not-so groundbreaking, buzzword-based return to a classic model of interior design?

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