It's not just this canned, closed set of references. The Dutch row houses in the show are individualized statements about the people who live there, what they do and what they need, but they're also building blocks designed to be modified and put elsewhere. They fit into the city's fabric, even though they're not traditional. In Europe, you can see how they've dealt with a lot of those urban issues that making living in the cities great. It doesn't have to mean picket fences, or front porches done in ye olde lemonade stand-style.
Porches can be whatever they want to be.
The idea of being technologically wired runs through a lot of the houses in this exhibit. Don't just do something. Well, people are going to have to learn how to manipulate technology to their own benefit. I'm willing to believe that there's a more dignified way of living, and that technology is probably the answer, but you probably have to learn how to live with it. When I would describe their lives, people would groan.