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A Futuro house, or Futuro Pod, is a round, prefabricated house designed by Finnish architect
Matti Suuronen Matti Suuronen (14 June 1933 – 16 April 2013) was a Finnish architect and designer who is best known for designing the Futuro and Venturo homes in the Casa Finlandia series. The marvelous design of the Futuro went into production in both Fi ...
, of which fewer than 100 were built during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The shape, reminiscent of a flying saucer, and the structure's airplane hatch entrance has made the houses sought after by collectors. The Futuro is composed of fiberglass-reinforced
polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...
plastic, polyester- polyurethane, and
poly(methyl methacrylate) Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) belongs to a group of materials called engineering plastics. It is a transparent thermoplastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Plexiglas, Acrylite, ...
, measuring high and in diameter.


History

The Futuro house was a product of post-war Finland, reflecting the period's faith in technology, the conquering of space, unprecedented
economic growth Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of ...
, and an increase in leisure time. It was designed by Suuronen as a ski cabin that would be "quick to heat and easy to construct in rough terrain". The result was a universally transportable home that had the ability to be mass replicated and situated in almost any environment. The material chosen for the project—fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic—was familiar to Suuronen and was previously used in the design of a large plastic dome for the roof of a grain
silo A silo (from the Greek σιρός – ''siros'', "pit for holding grain") is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store fermented feed known as silage, not to be confused with a grain bin, which is used t ...
in
Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; la, Wegelia, formerly sv, Östermyra) is a city located in South Ostrobothnia, Finland; east of Vaasa, north of Tampere, west of Jyväskylä and southwest of Oulu. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bru ...
. To facilitate transport, the house consisted of 16 elements that were bolted together to form the floor and the roof. The project could be constructed on-site, or dismantled and reassembled on-site in two days, or even airlifted in one piece by helicopter to the site. The only necessity on site for its placement were four concrete piers, so the project could occupy nearly any topography. Due to the integrated polyurethane insulation and electric heating system, the house could be heated to a comfortable temperature in only thirty minutes, from . An excerpt from a February 1970 copy of ''Architecture d’aujourd’hui'' describes "Futuro" as: By the mid-1970s, the house was taken off the market. From the beginning, it had been met with public hostility. Its avant-garde appearance and unfamiliar material influenced the public's reluctance to accept the Futuro House. The first Futuro House that was erected near
Lake Puulavesi Puula (or Puulavesi) is a lake in the Kymi River area in the Finnish municipalities of Hirvensalmi, Kangasniemi and Mikkeli. Puula is above sea level, the area is , and it is deep at its deepest point, located near Porttisalmi at Simpiänselk ...
in Finland elicited public protest because it looked too unnatural for the rustic environment. In the United States, Futuro Houses were banned from many municipalities by zoning regulations. Banks were reluctant to finance them. Some were vandalised. Some customers who committed to buy them backed out and forfeited their non-refundable $1,000 deposits.Eyewitness account of Hudson Management in Lewes, DE 19958 Some have been destroyed. In 1999, the city of
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
ordered a Futuro House demolished. Shortly after the turn of the century, a Futuro House was purchased on
Broadkill Beach, Delaware Broadkill Beach is an unincorporated beach community in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of Delaware, located on the Delaware Bay north of the mouth of the Broadkill River. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical ...
, United States, and destroyed to make way for a double-wide modular home. Some have been vandalised in drive-by shootings. The
oil crisis of 1973 The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
led to an abrupt halt in plastic production. Synthetics became very expensive to produce. Additionally, the public was shifting their view of plastics from a miracle material to an ecological concern. These problems provide context to the discontinuation of the Futuro House. Fewer than 100 were made and it is estimated that today around 60 of the original Futuro Houses survive, owned mostly by private individuals. The prototype (serial number 000) is in the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The Futuro no. 001, the only other Futuro currently in a public collection, is in the possession of
the WeeGee Exhibition Centre The WeeGee house ( fi, WeeGee-talo, sv, WeeGee-huset), officially The WeeGee Exhibition Centre, is the former printing house of the Weilin+Göös publishing house situated on Ahertajantie in Tapiola, Espoo, Finland. The first two phases of the ...
in Espoo, Finland. There are approximately 63 confirmed Futuro Houses in existence across the world. They are in Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Ukraine, Russia, Sweden, South Africa, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.


Conservation

In 2010, Finnish conservator Anna-Maija Kuitunen made a damage assessment plan for the first Futuro ever made (serial number 001). This was done as her final thesis for the
Metropolia University of Applied Sciences Metropolia University of Applied Sciences ( fi, Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu) is the largest University of Applied Sciences in Finland situated in Helsinki metropolitan area. The university has four fields of study: culture, business, health care ...
in Finland ("Futuro no. 001 – documentation and evaluation of preservation need"). The thesis is openly available via the Finnish Theses database and contains a large number of indoor detail photographs and drawings of the Futuro House. A UK artist, Craig Barnes, purchased and restored a Futuro house in 2013 – 14. He had discovered the wreck whilst on holiday in South Africa and had it shipped back to the UK before commencing restoration. The Futuro house—the only one in the UK—was on display to the public as part of an exhibition on the rooftop of
Matt's Gallery Matt's Gallery is a contemporary art gallery currently located in Nine Elms at 6 Charles Clowes Walk, London, SW11 7AN. Its director, Robin Klassnik OBE, opened the gallery in 1979 in his studio on Martello Street, before moving premises to Coppe ...
, London (until December 2014); the house was featured on the fourth series of the Channel 4 programme ''
George Clarke's Amazing Spaces ''George Clarke's Amazing Spaces'' is a British television series that first aired on Channel 4 on 23 October 2012. In 2015 it was nominated for BAFTA Best Feature. Background The show follows people who turn unconventional things, such as ol ...
'' (Ep. 2). The
Swedish Air Force Museum The Swedish Air Force Museum ( sv, Flygvapenmuseum) is located at Malmen Airbase in Malmslätt, just outside Linköping, Sweden. Malmen is where Baron Carl Cederström, nicknamed the "Flyer Baron" founded his flying school in 1912. Malmen Airba ...
is restoring a Futuro house. It will be placed in front of the museum at the new playground during May 2021. One Futuro house was found to be biodegrading due to
cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blu ...
and
archaea Archaea ( ; singular archaeon ) is a domain of single-celled organisms. These microorganisms lack cell nuclei and are therefore prokaryotes. Archaea were initially classified as bacteria, receiving the name archaebacteria (in the Archaebac ...
.


Marketing and media

The Futuro home was primarily marketed towards young adults as an avant-garde retreat. Their promotion emphasized the versatility of the home in different locations and an excerpt from a Playboy Magazine advertisement reads, "The FUTURO's steel-legged base is adaptable to virtually any terrain, from flatground to a 20 degree incline ... Ideal for Beach, Skiing, Mountain areas and commercial uses." However, a key limitation to this narrative was the need for electricity and plumbing to be installed in order for the structure to be fully habitable. Many surviving structures have been retrofitted to allow for these needs and as a result the form Suuronen intended is compromised.


Uses

The Futuro House has had many departures from its intended use as a ski chalet.


Australia

One has been located at South Morang, (Melbourne, Victoria) go kart track for more than 25 years where it has been used as a storage unit at the track. Duncan McIntyre bought the Futuro and moved it from its original location in Greensborough (Melbourne, Victoria) to the track. Duncan bought it from a real estate agent who used the Futuro as a temporary booth for sales of land at a new housing estate called Apollo Parkways. A Futuro House was used as a green room for artists at the Falls Festival in Lorne (Victoria), before its Kyneton owner sold it in 2016 to be shipped to Perth (Australia). Another Futuro House has been in Perth since the late 60s placed on the corner of two roads
Lost Perth Spaceship
One house was located in Darwin and was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. The final houses are located in Deep Creek, South Australia, and on the campus grounds of the University of Canberra. This Futuro, thought to be manufactured in New Zealand, arrived in Canberra in 1972. It spent time at the Canberra Space Dome (Planetarium) and Observatory in Dickson in 1997 and arrived at the university in 2011.


New Zealand

Two Futuro Houses were transported to Christchurch New Zealand for the 1974 New Zealand British Commonwealth Games. These structures, referred to as "Space Banks", were used by the Bank of New Zealand as temporary banking structures. Following the games, the Futuro Houses were put up for sale.


United States

Futuro Homes in the USA were manufactured by the Futuro Corporation of Philadelphia. Some still stand today and many of these structures existed in New Jersey. At least nine standard Futuro Houses and one Futuro House with eight windows were constructed in New Jersey in the 1970s to 1980s. However, many did not last past the 1980s and were demolished. These pods were installed mostly in shopping centre parking lots. At least one of each model served as small-scale bank branches. This use of these Futuro houses was likely due to zoning regulations at the time that would have made it difficult to live in one. A Futuro House in Frisco, NC remains a roadside attraction in the Outer Banks. Covered in alien memorabilia and exterior modifications, it had fallen into disrepair. The house caught on fire on 10/19/2022 destroying the structure.


Documentary

In 1998, Finnish film director Mika Taanila made a short documentary film ''Futuro'A New Stance For Tomorrow'' about the Futuro house. In 1969, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) shot a piece on the first kit shipped to Australia.


See also

*
Dymaxion house The Dymaxion House was developed by inventor and architect Buckminster Fuller to address several perceived shortcomings with existing homebuilding techniques. Fuller designed several versions of the house at different times — all of them ...
*
Sanzhi UFO houses The Sanzhi UFO Houses (), also known as the UFO houses of Sanjhih, Sanjhih pod houses or Sanjhih Pod City, were a set of abandoned and never completed pod-shaped buildings in Sanzhi District, New Taipei, Taiwan. The buildings resembled Futuro hou ...
*
Venturo Venturo or Venturo House is a prefabricated house designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen in 1971. It is composed of fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic, polyester-polyurethane, and acrylic glass. In the late 1960s Suuronen became known ...


References

{{Reflist Prefabricated houses Houses in Finland Modernist architecture in Finland UFO culture