The Futuro House

The Futuro House was conceived by Matti Suuronen in 1968 as a "portable" ski chalet. It is an iconic piece of architecture and this site is devoted to documenting the history of the Futuro and the current status and whereabouts of the remaining examples.





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About "Things Futuro" | TheFuturoHouse.com Collection

Our interest in the Futuro House quickly became our passion for the Futuro House and eventually, perhaps some might say, our obsession with the Futuro House. We collect books, magazines, collectibles and other items that relate to the Futuro House in some way. As is the case with all collections it started off relatively small with easy to obtain pieces but over time it has become quite extensive and worthy of "Futuro Nuts".

The collection contains all manner of items from unique original pieces from the early days of Futuro through contemporary mass-produced items and everything in between. The collection currently comprises a little under 450 physical items plus various "digital" items (in particular digital copies of newspaper articles) and these pages are effectively the collection's "catalog".

Additional items can also be found in The Charles Cleworth Futuro House Archive and in several smaller collections and archives.

As is the case with most collectors we are always looking to add to this collection so if you have Futuro related items for sale or know of any Futuro items for sale please let us know.

A Few Notes Relating To This Collection
  • Out Of Date Item Descriptions: Item descriptions were accurate at the time collection items were acquired but may have become outdated since. In the event that information pertaining to an item has changed following the reference links in item descriptions will take you to pages where that updated information can be found.
  • Translation: There are a number of items in this collection in languages other than English. While Google Translate can be a valuable tool it is never as good as a true translation by a bi-lingual person. Such items will display a "Translate" icon. If you are able and would be willing to translate an item please click the "Translate" icon for that item to send an email requesting high res files for the purposes of translation. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer. You would receive full attribution for the translation along with a link to your own website (or other website of your choosing) and you would also have the satisfaction of knowing your are contributing to the Futuro knowledge store here on this website.
  • Copyright: These pages contain photographs of various books, magazines and other items in this collection. Many of these items, and certainly the majority of the books and magazines are subject to copyright and the images are deliberately of a fairly low resolution and are used here simply to catalogue this collection and to provide you with a glimpse of what you would be getting if you chose to follow a similar path to us and purchase any of these items for yourself. If you wish to display any of this subject matter on your own website or otherwise use it please respect the publishers copyright and purchase your own copy.
  • Amazon Links: These pages are not aimed at advertising and we are not trying to sell you anything. However, there are expenses with keeping up a website such as this and we spend a great deal of time researching and trying to maintain this site as the most up to date and complete Futuro House resource on the web. So if, and only if, you already intend to purchase for yourself something we have in this collection please consider using the links provided here to do so if the price is right (we strongly suggest exploring other online retailers as well before making a purchase; most of the links here are to Amazon and while their prices are almost always competitive they are not always the cheapest). Doing this will not increase your cost but it will earn us a small (and it is small) commission on the sale that will be put towards our recurring web hosting costs. You know what the proverbial "they" say - every little helps!
  • Item Loans: We have in the past loaned items to institutions for various exhibitions (details here) and, on a case by case basis, are prepared to do so again in the future. If you are interested in such a loan please contact us with details of the Institution and/or Exhibition making the inquiry, the dates the items would be required and which items you are interested in displaying.
Sections Of The Collection

Videos

Listed below are videos and DVD's related to Futuro included in this collection.

Latest Update(s)/Addition(s) ***
  1. DVD - Aike & Aine | Purchased 091512
  2. DVD - Dreaming Future House : 1968 - Japanese | Purchased 070313
  3. DVD - Mort d'un pourri - French | Purchased 112313
  4. DVD - Myf Warhurst's Nice | Purchased 031714
  5. DVD - Weird US: This Odd House | Purchased 031814
  6. DVD - Weltmarktführer: Die Geschichte des Tan Siekmann - German | Purchased 110313
  7. *** VHS - Set Of 3 European VHS Videos - Multiple Languages | Purchased 050619

Set Of Three European VHS Videos | Purchased 050619

Collectors can sometime be an odd bunch and we recognize that we likely fit that definition. Sometimes to a collector an item fits a collection's theme while someone who does not have that same collector "gene" might wonder what the purpose of acquiring the item actually was. The collector might simply say that it "fits the collection" and that is enough.

This group of three European, and thus PAL video standard, VHS videos could be seen to fit this category of item. We do not, and like most of us have not had for some time, a VHS player and, even if we did, it would be configured to the North American NTSC video standard and so would not play these PAL standard videos. That said there are services available to convert VHS tape, any format, to digital media for playback so we will likely have one or more, if not all, of these tapes converted to digital at some point.

Specifically the videos are:
  • A VHS copy of the iconic 1998 documentary film "Futuro: A New Stance for Tomorrow" directed by Mika Taanila and researched, written and edited by Taanila and Marko Home which tells the "Futuro story" up to the point in time the film was produced and it features great footage of Futuros and interviews with several Futuro "celebrities" including, among others, Matti Suuronen (architect and Futuro designer), Matti Kuusla (owner of Futuro #001), Ensio Söderström (CEO of Oy Polykem Ab) and Charles Wilp (artist & Futuro owner). We already own a DVD copy of this film so will most likely not get this converted to digital format.
  • A VHS tape from the Danish TV broadcasting company TV2. The tape is undated and titled simply "Futuro" (on the spine - not shown). We have a feeling it might also be a copy of "Futuro: A New Stance for Tomorrow" but that is based solely on the Futuro reference and the running time. Likely we will have this digitized to confirm.
  • A VHS tape which appears to be a recording of a 030503 broadcast by the Franco-German cultural TV station Arte. The content is described as follows:
    • "Cora falls in love with a Finnish UFO located at Spreewald amusement park. After several years the 23 year old finally buys the house as the company goes bankrupt."
    which is clearly referencing the Berlin Futuro and its owner Cora Geißler. It will certainly be interesting to get this tape digitized.
Taanile Futuro Documentary - Eurpean VHS - Front

Taanile Futuro Documentary - Eurpean VHS - Back

Danish TV2 Video Tape

French/German TV Video Tape

Dreaming Future House | Purchased 070313

Japanese DVD - Dreaming Future HouseMika Taanila directed the film "Futuro: A New Stance for Tomorrow." The film features some great early footage of several Futuros along with interviews with several Futuro "celebrities" including, among others, Matti Suuronen (architect and Futuro designer), Matti Kuusla (owner of Futuro 001), Ensio Söderström (CEO of Oy Polykem Ab) and Charles Wilp (artist & Futuro owner).

This is a Japanese subtitled version of the 1998 Taanila film. If you do not speak Japanese a DVD featuring a copy of the film along with many wonderful extras comes with the book Futuro: Tomorrow's House from Yesterday edited by Marko Home & Mika Taanila. In addition you can obtain a copy of the film - without the extras - as a part of the compilation DVD Aike & Aine.

Weltmarktführer - ... Tan Siekmann | Purchased 110313

This is a 2013 re-release of the 2006 German documentary Weltmarktführer: Die Geschichte des Tan Siekmann which recounts much of the life story of Tan Siekmann. Siekmann made a great deal of money in the "tech" business with his company Biodata Systems GmbH (In German - English by Google Translate here) but ultimately went bankrupt and then recovered several times.

Siekmann at one time owned the Niedernhausen Futuro and the film includes some footage of the Futuro taken during a return visit by Siekmann to the Futuro during the filming of the documentary. Check out the footage here.

Myf Warhurst's Nice | Purchased 031714

Myf Warhurst's Nice is a six part Australian TV series that explores the music, food, fashion, photography, art and design of host Myf Warhurst's youth. The DVD cover insert describes Nice as:

" ... a cultural crusade that embraces icons of the past ..."

In the final episode of the six part series, "Nice & Classy", Myf visits the South Morang Futuro. The footage includes some vintage film of what appears to be a trade show or exhibition that included a Futuro, likely from the early 70's, and also current footage of the South Morang Futuro (both exterior and interior). The photos below are stills from the episode. For more see the South Morang Futuro page.

Futuro, Myf Warhurst's Nice 1

Futuro, Myf Warhurst's Nice 6

Mort d'un pourri | Purchased 112313

The 1977 French movie Mort d'un pourri, a crime thriller starring Alain Delon, very briefly included a Futuro House in the background of one scene.

That Futuro was the one now located in Saint Ouen, France which, at the time of shooting, was located at the C.N.I.T. building in La Défense, Paris.

The Futuro appears at 1:50:38 for just a couple of seconds in the background of an outdoor scene shot just outside the C.N.I.T. building. The Futuro can be seen to the left of the screenshot from the movie displayed below.

Mort d'un pourri - 1:50:38

Aike & Aine | Purchased 091512

Time & Matter is a compilation DVD that features several short films and it is of interest to the Futuro fan because it includes Mika Taanila's "Futuro: A New Stance for Tomorrow".

Taanila's film is included with the book "Futuro: Tomorrow's House from Yesterday" edited by Marko Home & Mika Taanila but that can be an extremely expensive book to buy and it is not easy to find a standalone copy of the movie.

This DVD can be an economical way to get your own copy of Taanila's film; a "must have" for any Futuro fan.

Weird US: This Odd House | Purchased 031814

Weird US - This Odd House DVDWeird US was a reality TV series aired on The History Channel (2004-2005) which starred Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman scouring the US for all things weird. Moran and Sceurman were the founders of the magazine Weird NJ (several issues of which featured the Futuro House - check out the Magazines section of this collection) and expanded their business to other states, books and TV.

Episode 8 of the series is titled "This Odd House" and includes a two minute section featuring the Futuro House. The feature includes commentary, several still shots of Futuro Houses (Dombai & Hirvensalmi among others) and a couple of short video clips which feature Futuro #002 on the Finnpartner at Finnfocus in 1968 and Barney Vincelette's Houston Futuro (and Barney himself even makes a brief non speaking appearance).

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