The Futureproof Series.
Postcards
From the Future.
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Futureproof Series
Postcards From the Future
As part of designbivouac’s Futureproof Series, this collection offers a set of visual explorations and concise narratives designed to spark conversation, challenge assumptions, and inspire strategic thinking about what lies ahead.
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
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Methodology
Futurecasting is a creative process where designers explore various social, cultural, economic, political, and ecological factors to envision potential futures. Rather than predicting the future with certainty, futurecasting focuses on imagining possible and preferable scenarios that inform long-term strategies. It helps businesses understand the forces shaping the future, anticipate changes, and create proactive strategies. Preferable futures align technology with human needs while ensuring sustainability from a planetary perspective.
“The best way to predict the future is to design it.”
Frameworks
The Futureproof: Postcards From the Future series draws on frameworks, such as Joseph Voros’s Futures Cone and backcasting, to guide its exploration. By working backward from a desirable future state to our current reality, backcasting helps identify the necessary conditions to achieve a preferred vision. The aim is to encourage thoughtful consideration of our shared future and inspire active participation in shaping it.
Visual and Narrative Approach
The series' visual approach integrates AI tools into the creative process, blending visuals with written narratives that evolve organically as each postcard from the future takes form. The series is designed to inspire deeper reflection on the necessary actions to make our collective preferred future a reality.
The 21st Century Land Grants
After overcoming the economic and political fallout of the 2020 Global Pandemic, the United States government and several enlightened billionaires came together to fund the 21st Century Land Grant program. The goal was to improve land quality in the Western states, alleviate homelessness, raise living standards for those in agriculture, and foster a new and widespread American organic farm movement.
Future Narrative
After overcoming the economic and political fallout of the 2020 Global Pandemic, the United States government and several enlightened billionaires came together to fund the 21st Century Land Grant program. The goal was to improve land quality in the Western states, alleviate homelessness, raise living standards for agricultural workers, and foster a new and widespread American organic farming movement.
The Sheridan family’s 21st Century Land Grant, located just east of Mono Lake, California, was one of the first “drop and prop” housing designs placed on a central piling and “V” shaped foundation to minimize environmental impact.
Before the 21st Century Land Grant Program was adopted in the United States, the post-pandemic politics of fear, divisiveness, and grifting had been exposed. Nothing was being produced, but more money for the wealthiest billionaires. California and neighboring states were the first to see tangible progress. California had the foresight to couple the Land Grant Program with the completion of the State Water Project, which had started in the 1960s and 1970s but was only half the size of the original project plan. The State’s completed water project network included a new “capillary system.” Fed by an extensive network of new reservoirs and waterways, the dense water network ensured deep storage reserves of seasonal rainfall and snow runoff.
Before the system was completed, excess water resources flowed unimpeded into the Pacific Ocean. Within 10 years of the water system’s completion, fundamental differences in land quality across California were visible. Once the arid land was transformed, it began supporting small-scale farming. Coupled with the 21st Century Land Grant initiative, California ensured that the State Water Project would interweave with the land granted to those who would sustainably work the land. Success in other states followed, but on a smaller scale.
The Jensen plot was one of the first minimal structures placed on 21st-century Land Grant land. These modest yet efficient accommodations provide shelter, comfort, and connectivity for the owners who work the surrounding 40-acre plot.
Similar to the G.I. Bill extended to veterans of World War II, citizens could qualify for low-interest loans for 40-acre or 80-acre lots with guaranteed water rights. The only provisions were that grantees would assist with building their homes from certified modular factory-built home kits and agree to tend the land for at least 10 years. What sprang up was a latticework of mutually supporting small farmers like those seen during the great Western migration over two centuries earlier.
Companies producing modern and efficient kit homes that could easily be transported or airdropped to new land grant sites made healthy profits that they reinvested in their businesses as the demand for their “new homestead” housing boomed. New Land Grant Owners (or “New Landers” as they came to be known) and their efficient homes referred to as “Drop and Props” were connected by the timely, widespread availability of affordable 2-4 person Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (EVTOL) craft. This form of transportation drastically reduced transit times on the new frontier. Traveling “as the crow flies” was now possible, and neighbors with hundreds of acres of farmland between them were just minutes away from each other.
The Montreat family's windmills, which they service, provide additional income and enhance the comfort of their 80-acre 21st-century Land Grant location in Christmas Valley, Oregon.
The area around California’s Mono Lake, east of the Sierras, before the New California Water Project additions were completed.
The area around California’s Mono Lake, east of the Sierras, 10 years after the completion of the New California Water Project additions.
With plentiful clean water, crops, renewable energy, and satellite connectivity available, the 21st-century Land Grant arguably had an even more significant impact on the United States than the original land grant programs. While ensuring that plenty of wildlands remained across the United States, this new era of peace and prosperity, which was universally enjoyed, ultimately freed humankind to look to the stars again with renewed vigor for exploration.
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.
Next Generation Building Inspection
Megaprojects like the intercontinental high-speed rail system, urban environmental hardening, and coastal region retrenchment placed extreme demands on the industry. As a result, humans worked closely with an increasing variety of robotic counterparts, introducing new construction integrity challenges. New inspection methods were developed for all stages of construction.
Future Narrative
Megaprojects, such as the intercontinental high-speed rail system, urban environmental hardening, and coastal region retrenchment, placed extreme demands on the industry. As a result, humans worked closely with an increasing variety of robotic counterparts, introducing new challenges to construction integrity. New inspection methods were developed for all stages of the construction process.
New Pacific Gate Harbor site inspector Kate Kimmon uses a Yutani MASID-64 Multispectrum Acoustic Structural Inspection Device) to inspect new construction in Los Angeles, California.
New construction approaches, including 3D printing and robotically interlaced rebar-reinforced concrete, improved the strength of structures. A new generation of structural inspectors supported this wave of innovative and efficient building techniques. These guardians of safety utilized new technology to examine the inner structure of elements. Yutani’s MASID-64 Multispectrum Acoustic Structural Inspection Devices empowered structural inspectors to effectively see through all layers of a structure, ensuring the integrity of increasingly automated construction methods.
This is a typical view highlighting structural rebar as seen through a Yutani (Structural Viewing Device). Inspectors can view inside building structural elements up to 10 feet thick.
This view highlights areas that need closer inspection. Structural engineers using MASIDs have ensured the integrity of hundreds of thousands of structures.
Early Signals
“Just Print It” Blog entry on designbivouac charting the advancement of 3D printed homes.
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.
Vertical Environmental Retrenchment
As sea levels rose, coastal cities developed various environmental retrenchment strategies. Some mandated a gradual drawdown of development in areas most at risk. Others hardened infrastructure and developed megaprojects to manage storm surges and keep the rising sea at bay. A few cities approved vertical retrenchment strategies.
Future Narrative
As sea levels rose, coastal cities developed various environmental retrenchment strategies. Some mandated a gradual drawdown of development in areas most at risk. Others hardened infrastructure and developed megaprojects to manage storm surges and keep the rising sea at bay. A few cities approved vertical retrenchment strategies.
As rising seas redrew the boundaries between land and water, a radical new approach to urban adaptation emerged: vertical retrenchment. High-rise owners, facing the encroachment of the tides, were often compelled to collaborate, banding together to create elevated, shared “ground” levels far above the original street plane.
In this process, the lower floors of buildings—once bustling with lobbies, shops, and cafes—were deliberately sacrificed. These spaces became part of the submerged past, traded for long-term resilience. In their place, massive pilings were driven deep into the earth, anchoring structures with newfound strength and raising entire city blocks above projected future sea levels.
The result was a new urban fabric—promenades in the sky, where pedestrians moved above the waterline, navigating a layered metropolis shaped as much by climate as by design. It was an act of architectural survival and collective foresight—an upward migration that redefined what it meant to live on solid ground.
Elevated promenades connect complexes to higher inland areas.
Lower floors are repurposed as “ground” floors rise.
Some complexes repurposed lower floors as snorkeling havens. Aerial and marine ferries and a network of elevated causeways linked the complexes to higher mainland areas. Ensuring that building foundations and underwater utility connections remained in top condition took a toll on the finances of many cities.
Grand Vista Complex circa 2024.
Grand Vista Complex after hurricane Shelton.
Grand Vista Complex after Category 5 hurricane Hammond.
Coastal city hurricane storm surge and sea barriers resemble fortress walls from the medieval era and elevated highways define new ground floor levels for cities along coastal areas worldwide.
Larger cities dealt with rising seas by providing elevated green spaces along their peripheries. Others built extensive networks of stormwater storage and pumping facilities. A few cities had to take more drastic measures by walling off their dense downtown areas to protect them from hurricane storm surges, persistent water inundation, and rising sea levels. Massive seawall foundations replaced the lower floors of buildings, and the outer periphery of streets terminated with massive seawalls.
Collins Avenue in Miami’s tidal district during a king tide event. Some older structures in the city were demolished to create coral reef barriers as additional protection from hurricane storm surges.
Unfortunately, for some municipalities where finances were stretched thin, they were forced to sacrifice entire sections of developed areas to the rising sea. Some contracted explosive demolition services to strip and drop older buildings, providing a modest level of additional protection from hurricane storm surge and wave action. As a further testament to the power of nature, marine life thrived with the creation of new coral barriers.
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.
Futureproof: AI Assisted Construction
Last night was another productive session. Our AI-enabled dozer fleet leveled this new construction site overnight, and only two of us were supervising it. A new big-box retail warehouse will open here within a few weeks. This efficiency has lowered commercial construction prices dramatically.
Future Narrative
Last night marked another productive milestone. With just two of us supervising, our AI-enabled dozer fleet autonomously leveled the new construction site overnight, flawlessly and ahead of schedule. Within a few weeks, this area will be home to a new big-box retail warehouse, a testament to the speed and precision of modern construction technology. The efficiency we've achieved isn’t just impressive—it’s transformative, significantly reducing commercial construction costs. I like to think that the safer, more streamlined methods we’re pioneering contribute in a small but meaningful way to the lower retail prices my family—and many others—are now seeing at the checkout line.
In addition to site preparation, infrastructure placement and maintenance have experienced a technical revolution. Juan and his crew will start laying power and water infrastructure lines later this week. They now use equipment that displays the location of legacy piping and underground power lines and where to place new infrastructure.
Things are much safer today as well. Just across the street, construction of a mixed-residential housing complex is underway. The team there is digging to make way for an underground parking lot. My friend Thomas said they are digging with remotely operated equipment, so workers are no longer exposed to temporary wall supports, making digging operations far safer.
New jobs are emerging to make all of this possible. Maintenance of our fleet of construction equipment is more important than ever, as uptime is critical. As systems and equipment become more advanced, new trade skills are needed. My cousin is currently in school, learning about construction fleet management. We catch up on things every month or so. It's great to see a new generation of construction workers innovating in new ways, enhancing quality, efficiency, and safety.
The Clarity EV-4 allows construction crews to easily locate and place infrastructural elements like power conduits or water lines while Weyland's remotely operated and autonomous range of construction equipment increases operator safety.
Technology
GPS and remote control technologies will empower smaller numbers of construction workers to manage site equipment and operations more efficiently and precisely.
Ground-penetrating radar, precision GPS, and integrated construction databases will protect existing infrastructure and enable the more accurate placement of new infrastructure.
Remotely operated vehicles increase operator safety. Operating vehicles at a distance is beneficial when digging out voids for building foundations or performing forestry management.
Implications
Construction costs may drop dramatically, lowering costs in other sectors of the economy. New equipment manufacturing, technology, and maintenance jobs will emerge, requiring new forms of construction site training.
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.
Futureproof: Space Elevator Lifts Humanity
Last week, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the opening of Span One of the Space Elevator complex. Over the last decade, the price of going into space has dropped dramatically, and critical environmental research and space tourism have reached new heights.
Future Narrative
Last week marked a significant milestone as we celebrated the 10th anniversary of Span One, the inaugural launch and operational span of the Space Elevator complex. A decade ago, its opening was a bold leap into the future, transforming humanity’s relationship with space. Over the past ten years, the impact of Span One has been nothing short of revolutionary. The cost of accessing low Earth orbit and beyond has plummeted, enabling a surge in innovation and accessibility. Once limited by budget and launch constraints, critical environmental research platforms now operate continuously above the Earth, gathering unprecedented data to monitor climate change, ocean patterns, and atmospheric conditions in real time.
Meanwhile, space tourism has evolved from an exclusive novelty into a rapidly growing sector, with more people experiencing the awe of Earth from above than ever before. The elevator's stability, safety, and sustainability have redefined what space infrastructure can be, serving as both a technological marvel and a beacon of international cooperation.
The production of carbon nanotubes at an industrial scale made the long-envisioned system a reality. Over the last decade, hundreds of tons of material have been lifted into space, and prices for orbital lifting continue to fall. The costs associated with building the Space Elevator have been offset by the frequency of mining spacecraft delivering valuable and exotic minerals from the asteroid belt. As we look ahead, Span One stands not just as a symbol of engineering excellence but as a foundation for a new era of exploration, discovery, and global connectivity beyond our atmosphere.
Singapore was selected as the anchor site for the International Space Elevator. As shown above, Segment A rises from the anchor site, which was chosen due to its proximity to the equator.
Northward view of Segment A of the International Space Elevator. The “EXPANSE” pad and viewing levels of The Four Seasons section provide guests with sweeping views of Earth. Note the extensive growth of logistics facilities surrounding the anchor point.
Implications
If the lightweighting and strength challenges can be solved, space elevator structures have the potential to usher in a new era of space exploration.
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.
Futureproof: The Lunar Grid
As we continue to extend our areas of exploration on the lunar surface, we have come to rely on grid pods as an extended safety envelope when away from one of our main facilities. Grid pods, placed at one-mile intervals, ensure that teams are never far away from essential life support systems, supplies, and a place to repair equipment or recuperate and recharge.
Future Narrative
As we continue to expand our reach across the lunar surface, grid pods have become an essential part of our operational strategy. They serve as an extended safety envelope for crews venturing beyond the main base facilities. Strategically placed at one-mile intervals, these compact yet robust outposts ensure that they are never far from critical resources no matter where a team operates.
The Nordic-USA Lunar Grid Pod exemplifies all the advanced learning gained through extensive research in extreme Arctic conditions. It is one of the most reliable and capable modules on the Sea of Tranquility.
Before the grid pods were in place, working in the expanding areas of exploration was a stressful experience. Last year, we began repurposing sections of supply rockets that were being taken out of fleet service to use as grid pod shelters. These days, knowing that there are a few within a mile of our workplace is comforting. Given the diversity of nations involved in lunar exploration, the pods are a bit of a mishmash, but that gives them a certain charm. Some even enjoy taking a break from base operations and the relative solitude of grid pod maintenance duty.
Each grid pod is equipped with life support systems, emergency supplies, communication relays, and basic repair tools, creating a dependable network of safety and sustainability across challenging terrain. They also serve as havens for astronauts to recuperate, recharge, and regroup, whether after long extravehicular activities or during unexpected delays.
Beyond their practical function, grid pods represent a broader philosophy of lunar exploration—resilience through redundancy, and mobility through modular design. As our operations scale and lunar missions become more complex, this grid system provides the security and flexibility needed to thrive in the harshest environment humans have ever called home.
One of the original rocket module to Lunar Grid Pod conversions, Pod A-3 remains a familiar and comforting site after a long day on the Sea of Tranquility.
The Sea of Tranquility’s D-2 site comprises several Lunar Grid Pods. It is the first site to connect retired rocket modules to create different types of zones. Several living habitats and vehicle maintenance pod modules are available at the site.
Lunar Grid Pod C-3 was the first dual-use pod with a pressurized habitat module and an unpressurized service bay.
Japan’s D-8 dual-use Lunar Grid Pod has a safety habitat and an optionally pressurized and external service bay.
The elegant D-4 international Lunar Grid Pod is appreciated for its large window views and expansive interior. It also has the best espresso.
After many years of faithful service, the original Alpha-1 Lunar Grid Pod is still functioning. Now dependent upon the Sea of Tranquility’s Kennedy Base Station for power, it is a few meters from the south entrance. Steeped in history and character, it has remained a favorite across generations of lunar explorers.
Technology
Lunar Grid Pods utilize repurposed sections of retired rockets. Provisions for pressurization, power, environmental controls, and supplies are all fitted, giving the rocket sections a valued second life on the lunar surface.
Signals
Necessity and access often drive innovation in remote locations here on Earth. Harsh conditions on the Lunar surface will likewise necessitate that resources be utilized in various ways, perhaps seeing uses in many forms across many lifetimes, thus increasing the sustainable nature of Lunar exploration.
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.
Futureproof: Sea Level Rise and eVTOLs Reshape Coastal Cities
When they started modifying the city’s coastline in 2021 to accommodate rising sea levels, I knew it was just the beginning. The continued rise of the seas redefined our streets, and the rise of EVTOL travel has reshaped the roofscape of our metropolis.
Future Narrative
When they started modifying the city’s coastline in 2021 to accommodate rising sea levels, I knew it was just the beginning. The continued rise of sea levels has redefined our streets, and the increase of EVTOL travel has reshaped the urban landscape of our metropolis. Today, innovative, adaptable street-level structures are helping to futureproof the city against rising sea levels. At the same time, our building's upper floors extend outward and are increasingly interconnected by new skywalks.
Height-adjustable highways are now appearing across many coastal cities, futureproofing ground traffic infrastructure against future sea level rise.
EVTOLs are reshaping the skyline as landing platforms become vital transportation hubs, providing new opportunities to interlink buildings above street level.
Technology
Breakthroughs in concrete are reshaping our cities. Permeable concrete is used at street level, where things are still above ground, to allow water to drain between high-water events. Lightweight and strong carbon fiber-embedded concrete empowers architects to create more robust, lighter structures, increasing the square footage in our skyline.
Implications
Advances in building technologies, aerial mobility, and climate change may dramatically reshape our city skylines. Coastal cities must begin implementing plans to mitigate sea level rise and enhance the resilience of their infrastructure.
Related Concepts and Research
The Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan
New York City Is Sinking Under The Weight Of Its Own Buildings
Skyportz: ‘Waterfront vertiports are the future for advanced air mobility’
Future Flight: The Rise of Advanced Air Mobility
How Flying Taxis Revolutionize Urban Transit
Futureproof is a series of occasional provocations illustrating possible future paths for technology and culture. Think postcards from the future.