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This Is How We’ll Live in 2025, According to Black Artists + Designers Guild
The Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG) has unveiled its inaugural initiative, the Obsidian Virtual Concept House, which offers a holistic vision for future living for Black families in America. This virtual dwelling, situated in Oakland, California, in the year 2025, is a collaboration with Hearst’s Luxury & Design Collection magazines: ELLE Decor, House Beautiful, Town & Country, and VERANDA. The project is rooted in four core principles: innovation, technology, sustainability, and futurism, aiming to create spaces that address spiritual and physical well-being.
The Obsidian Virtual Concept House is more than just a home; it's an immersive experience designed to be celebrated through the month-long Obsidian Experience, which includes a 360-degree virtual tour and a series of live discussions and programming. This initiative marks the first of five planned iterations of Obsidian, which BADG intends to introduce in different cities over a five-year period. The architecture of the 11,000-square-foot house was co-designed by architect Nina Cooke John and designer Leyden Lewis. Their design thoughtfully incorporates the history of the Black Panther party in Oakland and the indigenous Ohlone people of the Bay Area. The house features advanced technological elements such as rainwater harvesting, solar energy collection, and geothermal cooling and heating, along with exterior landscaping designed for both leisure and growing vegetables, fostering a meaningful connection to the land.
The house features 23 BADG members and creators who have designed various rooms and areas. These spaces challenge traditional designations like “living room” and “kitchen,” promoting a sense of fluidity and flexibility to accommodate extended, multigenerational families. For instance, the Sanctuary, designed by Cheryl R. Riley, is a separate structure meant for meditation, grieving, and worship. Its design, inspired by Ohlone huts, integrates facial and iris-scanning technology and voice command to control activities under its glass oculus, which itself draws inspiration from James Turrell’s sculpture _Meeting_ and Eero Saarinen’s M.I.T. Chapel.
Another innovative space is the Room of Requirement by Leyden Lewis Design Studio, a warm, golden area equipped with robotic arms for massage and acupuncture, emphasizing health and wellness. Lewis highlights the room's role in providing a virtual doctor’s office and a space for relaxation and self-exploration, acknowledging the current global focus on health. Despite its technological advancements, the Obsidian Virtual Concept House also deeply integrates the past. Malene Barnett, founder of BADG, designed the Sankofa: Legacy Wall, inspired by the Adinkra concept of “go back and get it.” This wall, crafted from hand-carved clay tiles using West African architectural techniques, stores recorded stories and videos accessible via voice activation, serving as a choir of ancestral memories. The project is sponsored by several notable brands, including Caesarstone, Fiskars, Pottery Barn, Resource Furniture, S. Harris, Stark, Thermador, and YLighting.
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