Homes of the Future

Before the war, modern architects cried for "houses that work." This month FORTUNE predicts that postwar houses will work with great efficiency. FORTUNE gives several facts, makes many prophecies. Facts:

> Rooms can be warmed by "radiant" heating--a carefully placed system of hot air or hot-water pipes concealed behind walls, floors and ceilings. Result: almost no drafts, less dust trouble, more even temperature. In 1929 Washington's handsome red-brick British Embassy installed one of the first radiant systems in the U.S. On party nights guests discovered they could dance longer, with less fatigue.

> Acoustical tiles absorb sound by trapping sound waves in a mass of small holes. In his Manhattan home, Planebuilder Sherman Fairchild has a large, acoustically designed drawing room in which two pianos can be played at once without a deafening noise.

Prophecies:

> Washbasins will be flush with counters containing drawers and storage space, will serve as bathtubs for the baby.

> Spacious kitchens, designed as a single unit, will be equipped with pedals to control tap water, mechanical dishwasher sterilizers, vertical broilers (to broil steaks on both sides simultaneously).

> Refrigerators will contain a violet-ray compartment for tenderizing meats and an ice-cube ejector worked by turning a crank.

>Eyestrain will be diminished with indirect lighting from a combination of fluorescent and incandescent lamps mounted in a cove about two feet from the ceiling.

> Houses will be equipped, not only with air-conditioning apparatus, but also with ultraviolet-ray germ killers.

> Walls will be movable.* A married couple will make space for their first-born by merging part of the living room with part of the bedroom. In hot weather the living room will be merged with the garden.

* An old Japanese custom.

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