Intended as a showcase of modern design and innovative building materials, the House of Tomorrow played a pioneering role in the development of passive solar heating. This came as a surprise to its Chicago architect, George Fred Keck, who noticed one cold morning during construction that workmen had shed their winter coats while laboring inside the glass-enclosed space. Keck speculated that the sun streaming through the glass walls could be a cost-effective source of heating, and after the fair he incorporated south-facing windows and other passive heating into his designs. Ironically, this unanticipated heat source worked directly against the house's most touted feature at the fair, air conditioning. At a time when popular new home styles included the bungalow, Arts and Crafts, and Craftsmen, features such as floor-to-ceiling windows, open floor plans, air conditioning, passive solar heating, and even automatic dishwashers later found their way into most modern homes, while whether the airplane hangar tucked into the House of Tomorrow's first floor would also become standard remained uncertain.