Designers are increasingly integrating new materials and technologies into their work. Everyday products already feature innovations like robotics and nanotechnology. So what’s in store for the decades ahead? The new book “Design Futures” (Merrell), by Bradley Quinn, surveys the high-tech avant-garde in design and architecture. Trends include buildings that rotate and revolve to give residents varied views or the best light; robots that help with housework; clothing made of “smart” material that reacts to movement and the environment; and furniture made from thin, ultra-strong fibers.
Photos
See some of the forward-looking ideas from the book.
![[SB10001424052748704116404576263230522140632]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-NN151_vizual_D_20110414154617.jpg)
R&Sie(n)/Merrell PublishersThis design for an art museum in Switzerland, by Paris-based architects R&Sie(n), contrasts organic areas with sleek glass walls. The building, made from wood, is meant to hold plants on its facade, with their containers connected to a fabric support system anchored to rigid PVC panels.
3.24 percent month-over-month in March, the figures show. The condo market outpaced the market for single-family homes, with the former rising 25 percent year-over-year and 4.1 percent month-over-month, and the latter up 10.1 percent year-over-year and 2 percent month-over-month in the county. “Increased pending sales reflect the existence of pent-up demand and should result in strengthening home values as distressed housing inventory continues to be absorbed,” said Jack Levine, chairman of the board of Miami Realtors. TRD
THE table lamp is laid-back, and no wonder. Created by Peter Stathis, a San Francisco industrial designer, for Joby, a San Francisco consumer products company, Trapeze has the easygoing affect of a Bay Area windsurfer on a fair-trade coffee break. 
