Big Data Designs the Ideal Swedish Home

by TODD STOLARSKI | Aug 18, 2015

One nagging aspect of the massive "Big Data" harvest that continues to plague those mining it has been just what to do with all that digitized information? Sweden's most popular real estate website, Hemnet (think Scandinavian Zilllow), may have found an answer.

Hemnet, in collaboration with architect firm Tham & Videgård, recently analyzed over 200 million clicks on 68,000 properties to create what both companies feel is the ideal Swedish home.

By using data from the Hemnet site, the design firm was able to generate a house with three bedrooms and 1.6 bathrooms (that extra .1 is crucial). Some 57% of properties included in the study incorporated an open-plan kitchen, but it should be noted that the most popular search term from last year was "balcony". Good news for home buyers and architects alike, as "the partially enclosed rooftop terrace can easily be converted into an extra room or a conservatory," said designer Martin Videgård. Versatile and aesthetically pleasing, to a Swede's eye, at least.

But as modular homes have already pervaded the suburbs, could this Big Data approach be a preview of the inevitable next step? One that combines data with rapid 3D prefabrication to churn out the ideal home of tomorrow that also happens to look just like your neighbor's? Yes, this could enable a modern twist on the classic cookie-cutter developments of the recent past.

According to the site, talks are now underway to transform the concept Hemnet Home into actual homes you can purchase with real money. The price? That, too, is based on data, driven from our friends at Hemnet. They calculate that the Tham & Videgård-designed home will set you back at least 277,500 Krona ($325,00). But if such data-based dwellings satisfy your inner Swede, then price probably is no object.

The House of Clicks website by Hemnet ; Tham & Videgård guide to the experiment