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Comment by quesera | Hacker News Reader

KK> I am trying to think of examples of successful future proofing. Where someone figured out what was coming and built something ready for it. Do you know any examples?

Commercial construction.

Don't try to predict the future. Reduce the structural essentials to their minimum requirements (columns, beams, trusses, pans), and make it easy to adapt the finish layer to changing preferences or use cases.

Drop ceilings, non-load bearing walls, conduits for power and signal, locate services (plumbing, HVAC, power, etc) in a centrally-located stack to minimize the horizontal runs to arbitrary locations.

I wish these ideas were more common in residential construction. Most are easy to apply, although there would be a slight bump in cost (10%?).

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I wish more apartments were built like this. There's somewhat a construction boom in my country and a lot of residential spaces seem to try to be as beautiful (and modern) as possible to drive up prices. In the end, most units end up looking the same and quite restrictive. As a person who does DIY projects, it's very hard to fully maximize a space built like it's meant for a showroom.

Would you really want to live in a building like that?

Doesn't seem like it would be pleasant

You can still use dry wall later and if you use decent noise dampening and insulation between two layers of drywall, it should work.

It will be expensive for sure though. I think huge building with electrical wiring, plumbing (including waste?) and networking at every pillar, and independent ductwork/sensors for climate control from the to be drop ceiling so I can essentially remodel however I want for the next owner sounds like a dream but a very expensive dream.

It actually adds more flexibility to the finish layer and layout design.

If you want to make things look like a traditional stick-built house with load-bearing walls, you can do that. It's not the only way, but it's an option.

If the next owner wants something different, that's also available -- and not very expensive to change. Non-load-bearing walls and drywall and cheap and quick to demo/rebuild. Flooring material is a bit more effort and cost, esp if not carpet or polished concrete.

Literal drop ceilings with those fiberglass panels are pretty ugly, but there are many other options. I like wood, but it's expensive. You can always do drywall though, it's familiar, and relatively cheap to modify.

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