House of the future

WELCOME to the Jetsons - or, more correctly, the Mystic Knights of Tír na nÓg, as our future becomes greener and cleaner, and we jettison our profligate ways.

Our new homes will be timber or timber-framed, 50% more energy efficient and will use 40% less water. They will also be smaller.

The house-as-status-symbol, with its emphasis on size, will be replaced by smaller, more simple abodes, akin to the Formula One driver Michael Schumacher's Alpenhaus.