michelle kaufmann designs

The newly reopened Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry has been so drastically reimagined and redesigned for it’s second run that it’s almost hard to believe it’s the same house we designed and built for the Museum last year. Among the things we’re most excited to see in Smart Home 2.0 are all the great new gadgets and gizmos for kids. But it’s the lowest-tech, most old-school kid’s toy that we love the most: the Smart Home made entirely out of legos. This tiny replica of the actual mkSolaire is surprisingly true to the original, with it’s cement board and Ipe wood siding, glass doored garage, and even green roof.

We love the legoSolaire so much because one of the most important goals of this exhibit is engage children in the conversation on how and why to go green. The hope is to teach and inspire them with projects, like this one, that cultivate ideas and solutions. After all, I truly believe that it is children who are really pushing us adults to do better by the planet; it is our hope for their futures that is often the biggest motivation for protecting the environment.