The annual International Builders' Show offers more than 200,000 products for home builders — everything from familiar hand tools to innovative technology. IBS also provides a crystal ball of sorts, letting attendees get a good look at the future of residential construction — and the homes that we'll own before too long. Modular homes have come a long way from the old "pre-fab," trailer-like structures of years past. In many cases, the only differences between a modular home and a traditional house are the speed with which they can be built (a modular house takes about half as long) and, some say, the quality (modular homes have to be built strong enough to withstand the trip on a flatbed truck from the factory to the home site). Once a modular home is complete, it's just about impossible to tell it from a "stick built" house. Today's modular homes are available with all the bells and whistles, too: the latest in appliances, high-style finishes and green-building features such as foam insulation, tankless water heaters and Energy Star-rated products. The NextGen house provides a glimpse at the next stages of evolution of the American Home. It showcases such "gee whiz" features as complete home automation controlled from a touch screen or cell phone; faucets that rise out of the countertop when they're turned on; and windows that can withstand the impact of a 2x4 shot out of a cannon. The NextGen house truly represents the next generation of housing.
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