A look at the “house of the future” has piqued the curiosity of people all over the world for generations—whether that look came in futuristic movies, cartoons (remember “The Jetsons?”), novels or displays at theme parks or museums.

With the “green” trend enjoying its strongest momentum in decades, the call for “smart homes,” or those that employ and utilize all facets of conservation, has increased. As the general public’s interest has likewise increased, the need for a “smart home” to be current and even trendy has become more apparent.

An excellent example, and exhibit to visit, is the “Smart House” on display at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. This functioning, eco-friendly home has been on the museum’s grounds and open to visitors for more than two years.

But it was recently transformed, through the work of Midwest Living magazine, to be even more relevant as the “Smart Home: Green + Wired” to be on display through January 2011 at the museum at 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

The redesign of this home will catch the attention of those who are looking to be friendly toward the environment while also cutting down on maintenance. When architect Michelle Kaufman brought this pre-fabricated house to the museum two years ago, it was billed as the “greenest” home in the city – a title it could still boast to be true.

The three-story Smart Home is green inside and out. All the materials used to construct the building are non-toxic and low in volatile organic compounds. The home also has an air filtration and purification system and uses spray-in foam insulation, which does not wear down over time.

The dining room table features wood from a century-old oak that fell on the museum property and the chandeliers are hickory branches. With features like that, it is not surprising that the house utilizes bamboo hardwood flooring, carpets made from recycled coffee bean bags, kitchen counters made from recycled sawdust, bathroom vanities made from recycled porcelain toilets, and a shower stall made from recycled chardonnay glass bottles.

Visitors who are weary with home maintenance are amazed to learn that from the multi-sectioned exterior of the home to its removable interior walls, the Smart Home is engineered to anticipate repairs and replacements. This eliminates the need for major replacements of what amounts to permanent features. And if we do finally get to a life that “The Jetsons” envisioned years ago, the garage is made to accommodate alternative uses if these machines known as cars prove to be a rather long fad that eventually fades.

Virtually everything in the home is operated by a computer home automation system—controlling heat, window coverings, lighting, security sensors and cameras, and tracking electricity, gas and water consumption. A green roof sits on top of the building covered by native perennials to keep internal temperatures down in the summer, insulate the home in the winter, absorb rainwater and minimize water runoff. Also atop the home are a series of photovoltaic solar strips (more powerful than traditional solar strips) that power a majority of the home’s energy needs.

In an excellent example of water conservation, the Smart Home is close to Lake Michigan but utilizes water-saving devices with its showerheads and toilets. It also uses 30-gallon rain barrels beneath the first floor, catching rainwater to then be purified and recycled for drinking and bathing. The toilets may represent the “ultra green” in water conservation by using water recycled from the baths and sinks, or “grey water,” to flush waste.