Why ‘smart’ in smart homes should be plural? Charting the futurescapes of smart living

This article interrogates the idea of ‘smartness’ as embraced by artistic and design representations of future domestic spaces. Through an analysis of works of individual artists, designers, and curators (Aideen Barry, Kuba Jekiel, Rowan Elselmy) as well as collectives (UCL, Liminal Space, Dark Matter Labs, Superflux, the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment, SquintOpera), we explore how these creative interventions reconfigure the well-established techno-centric narratives around smart homes. Our interpretations are enriched by insights drawn from self-conducted interviews with creators, as well as those expressed in available feature texts and media commentaries. Engaging with theoretical frameworks originating in cultural studies, critical futures studies, and speculative design, our analysis demonstrates how the discussed projects recalibrate the neoliberal paradigm of smart living, offering unconventional and inspirational understandings of smartness. The article contends that ‘smartness’ cannot be seen as a fixed technological ideal; rather, it should be approached as a fluid, context-specific concept, calling for a more nuanced approach to the smartification process of modern society, across material, ideological, and axiological dimensions.