At Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, the new Center for Sustainable Landscapes, billed as “one of earth’s greenest buildings” (though it is plainly various shades of brown and grey—perhaps someone in the public-relations department is colorblind), will soon be open. Dr. Boli and a few hundred other supporters of the conservatory were given a tour of the building this evening, and the offices (shown above) particularly caught his attention. On the right in the photograph we see a wall of glass through which sunlight pervades the offices during the day, making electric lighting unnecessary. Furthermore, if someone feels a need to adjust the temperature inside the building, the glass can actually be raised to admit fresh air from outside.

Dr. Boli mentions this astonishing technological innovation because he himself predicted it a little more than a year ago as a fixture of the office building of the future:

Large openings covered with glass in the walls of office buildings will virtually eliminate the need for artificial lighting during the day, as it will be possible to harness the light of the sun itself for most everyday tasks. A clever mechanical arrangement will make it possible to raise the glass panels, allowing natural air circulation that will greatly reduce the need for artificial climate control.

If this prediction has come true, can the rest of Dr. Boli’s predictions be far behind? They laughed at him as a visionary dreamer, but they will be sorry—all of them—when they see his predictions coming true one after another. To prepare yourself for the marvels of a future that may be only moments away, read the original article.