At The International Surface Event (TISE) in Las Vegas, our team had the opportunity to learn first-hand about a new concept of generational building and living. The Interconnected Changeable Environments (ICE) House is a vision of the adapted home of the future.  

The brainchild of interior designer and television host Jennifer Farrell, the project will be constructed in the Santa Monica mountains of California and will take 18-24 months of construction. The build will reflect the vision of a versatile residential build space that adjusts to the needs of a family over time.  

The concept is the second show home Farrell has coordinated in conjunction with Surfaces. The project will showcase three distinct residential structures—Indy House, Center House and Extension House—that change shape and use over time. 

Here is an example of how one of the structures, Indy House, could potentially transform over a generation: 

Year 1: Our first-time homeowner enjoys Indy House as detached one-bedroom rental home offsetting the cost of financing a new property. 

Year 10: Single no more, the homeowner is now one half of a couple. Indy House becomes a home-office break kitchen, connected to Center House by a covered breezeway. 

Year 20: With a new baby expanding the homeowner’s growing family, Indy House becomes a nanny’s suite.

Year 30: The kids have outgrown their need for a nanny, and Indy House transforms into an attached suite for visiting guests. 

Year 40: With children now grown and living on their own, Indy House becomes a two-room office again, for the last chapter of work life for the homeowners. 

Year 50: Retirement affords homeowners free time to pursue passions, and Indy House morphs into an art studio. 

Year 60: Our homeowners have entered their golden years, and Indy House makes the perfect caregiver’s home—detached from the main house but easy to access with a brief walk across the covered breezeway.