Futuro: The UFO House That’s Out of This World

by hookedonhouses on February 13, 2008

“Futuro represents the modern, comfortable way of housing–practical coziness. Futuro is the dwelling of the future.” (1968 brochure)

Remember the groovy Venturo Modular Home I showed you recently? Meet its predecessor, the Futuro, which was designed by the same forward-thinking Finnish architect Matti Suuronen in 1968. Whereas the Venturo promoted a “come for the weekend in your orange bikini” kind of lifestyle, the Futuro was more “come for the weekend in your silver space suit.”

Suuronen designed the Futuro when he was commissioned to create a modern ski cabin. It was built out of fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic and was light enough to be lifted to remote sites by helicopter, where the steel legs could adjust to any terrain.

Only 96 were ever built, and only 16 are in the U.S. The one at the top of the post is a rare one in Wisconsin (it’s a vacation rental, so if you want, you can experience it first-hand). I can only imagine what some unsuspecting hikers must think when they come across this spaceship in the woods.

The interior of the Futuro was fully furnished and could accommodate eight people. Partitions could be used to create separate spaces for sleeping, and the seats in the living area converted into beds.

Here’s a happy Futuro family hanging out in the built-in seating area of the living room, above (do you think the kids have Tang in those cups?), and a mom cooking up something in the streamlined kitchen, below:

Here’s the interior of the Wisconsin Futuro’s kitchen today, which is much less colorful (I wonder if these cabinets used to be red, too?):

Check out the cool purple fireplace. And the model’s white go-go boots:

Here’s a photo of a Futuro living room with a similar fireplace in it today (sadly, this one isn’t purple, and it’s hard to imagine anyone wearing white boots in here):

The Futuro House website explains that the Futuro house was short-lived because the high oil prices in the early ’70s sent the price of plastic skyrocketing, adding, “I personally think it was the lack of closet space which really turned off most women…and of course the men could not convince them that this was a wise purchase.”

More photos and information:

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{ 13 comments }

1 Maya February 14, 2008 at 7:22 am

Yeah, baby! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!

Wait a minute, I’ll be back — I’ve got to get on a plane to Wisconsin!!

2 Melinda February 14, 2008 at 9:13 am

Woah, that’s grooveee baybeee !

Have you ever seen the “spaceship” house in nky ? It’s on the hill overlooking cork & bottle. WILD!

3 hookedonhouses February 14, 2008 at 9:32 am

Melinda–
It IS wild. Love it. If anyone wants to see a video of the silver spaceship house she’s talking about, watch the “news report with interior tours” that I link to at the end of the post. It gives the history of that house, as well as some more information on the Wisconsin vacation rental I featured in this entry (it was shown on “Extreme Homes” years ago–anyone remember that episode?).
-Julia

4 FuturoMan February 14, 2008 at 10:03 am
5 Drew March 22, 2008 at 7:50 pm

Hi, nice article! I am the owner of the “pod” in Wisconsin. It was really a great find and we love it a lot. We are renting it in the summer and people are really having a fun time, renting quickly! A great lake, beautiful area and down-to-earth people make it a vacation you will not forget.

http://www.podupnorth.com

Later!

Drew

6 hookedonhouses March 22, 2008 at 7:55 pm

Welcome, Drew! Is your pod the one I featured at the top of this post? Love it!

7 Drew March 22, 2008 at 7:59 pm

Yes it is… Thanks!

8 100goalsin1000days April 28, 2008 at 9:27 pm

I’m staying within Drew’s Futuro in a few weeks. I plan to blog about my experience there during the first week of June.

Thom

9 Brian July 27, 2008 at 5:44 pm

I’ve posted a photo of one that stands abandoned in disrepair outside Rockwall Texas…

10 pamela February 13, 2009 at 3:39 am

hi there, i am really greatful for the hole futuro community in the usa. here in europe are only few futuros left and the one in berlin is the only famous one, thanks to the owner cora geissler. but i like to say that there are a lot more fascinating plastic buildings to discover. greatings, pamela

11 Liz Bolton April 11, 2009 at 10:13 pm

Hi Julia – This is too cool – a Jetson’s house! And I can’t believe you’ve managed to come up with a rental *and* a possible purchase – with only 16 in the entire US.

Liz

12 marc schlabs June 6, 2010 at 4:09 pm

Hey, cool sight. My question is does any one know where I can buy one to transport to my area!? Contact me A.S.A.P.

13 Johan July 5, 2011 at 3:39 pm

If you’re interested here’s a video inside and outside a Futuro house in Finland. Actually it’s a music video that we shot this spring. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6v4JMk7Yk0

Johan

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