A House with Future for Bureau Beyond
A House with Future was a conceptual housing project developed in 2006 for Bureau Beyond, which invited designers to imagine new ways of living. The project was presented as part of an exhibition in Utrecht, where multiple visions of the future home were showcased and discussed.
Droog Design, working together with NEXT Architects, proposed a radically different approach to architecture by designing the house from the inside out. Instead of starting with an exterior form, Droog used interior objects, daily activities, and personal living habits as the driving forces behind the structure. These interior elements acted like moulds, shaping the architecture around them.
The transparent material reveals the life unfolding inside the building. The concept suggests that a home should be shaped by human experiences and personal choices, with everyday products working together to form an environment rather than existing as isolated objects.
The resulting concept imagined a transparent, expressive house that visibly reflects life within. By allowing everyday use and personal choice to determine the form of the building, Droog’s proposal challenged traditional architectural hierarchies and suggested a future home rooted in human experience rather than fixed architectural ideals.
Bureau Beyond is a Dutch art and architecture initiative that explores the intersections of design, urbanism, and cultural research. Bureau Beyond emerged from the Netherlands’ strong experimental design culture, where architecture, art, and research naturally intersect.
Instead of traditional commissions, Bureau Beyond works mainly through installations, publications, and speculative projects. These investigations address the spatial impact of social and environmental change, engaging with themes such as post-industrial landscapes, public space, and collective memory. Their work has been presented in exhibitions in the Netherlands and internationally.
Positioned between academic research and design practice, Bureau Beyond has contributed to broader debates on architecture as a cultural and critical practice. Its approach aligns with a tradition of Dutch conceptual architecture that values experimentation, reflection, and discourse over commercial outcomes.