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.





TheFuturoHouse.com | Latest Site News & Updates

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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  • Out Of Date Item Descriptions: Item descriptions were accurate at the time collection items were acquired but may have become outdated since.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

Newspapers Digital Multiple Publications

This collection is a collection of physical items associated in some way with Futuro. That said there are a several magazines and newspapers that contain articles on Futuro that we have not yet been able to find physical copies of and, in the "digital age" we all now live in, it is not unreasonable where they are available to add "digital versions" of these to this collection until such time as we able to source physical copies. In the event you have, or are aware of, physical copies of any of these publications for sale please let us know.

Listed below are "digital" newspaper articles or advertisements related to Futuro that appeared in multiple publications. This is probably the most "nerdy" section of this collection; we know the content is repetitive but it does serve a purpose; it satisfies the "collector bug" in us and is included here "for the record".

Chances are if you found your way to this deep corned of this website you might be just as "nerdy" about Futuro as we are!

Latest Update(s)/Addition(s) ***

Multiple Publications | 033170 - 042370 | AP Wire Photo Of Futuro In Arcadia, Florida
  1. Alton Evening Telegraph | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  2. Arizona Daily Star | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  3. Battle Creek Enquirer | 042370 Issue | Added 012018
  4. Fitchburg Sentinel | 040270 Issue | Added 012018
  5. Fort Lauderdale News | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  6. Idaho State Journal | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  7. Muncie Evening Press | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  8. News Press | 040170 Issue | Added 012018
  9. Orlando Evening Star | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  10. Pensacola News Journal | 040170 Issue | Added 012018
  11. Quad City Times | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  12. Star Gazette | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  13. Statesville Record And Landmark | 040170 Issue | Added 012018
  14. Tallahassee Democrat | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  15. Tampa Bay Times | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  16. Tampa Bay Times | 040170 Issue | Added 012018
  17. The Billings Gazette | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  18. The Central New Jersey Home News | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  19. The Courier News | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  20. The Greenville News | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  21. The Indianapolis News | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  22. The Journal Times | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  23. The Kokomo Tribune | 040270 Issue | Added 012018
  24. The Lincoln Star | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  25. The Miami News | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  26. The Montana Standard | 040270 Issue | Added 012018
  27. The Montgomery Advertiser | 040570 Issue | Added 012018
  28. The Newark Advocate | 040170 Issue | Added 012018
  29. The News Messenger | 040270 Issue | Added 012018
  30. The Santa Fe New Mexican | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
  31. The Times Herald | 040170 Issue | Added 012018
  32. Wausau Daily Herald | 033170 Issue | Added 012018
Multiple Publications | 050271 - 050671 | Central Power & Light Company Advertisement
  1. Eagle Lake Headlight | 050671 Issue | Added 012018
  2. The Corpus Christi Caller Times | 050271 Issue | Added 012018
  3. *** Victoria Advocate | 050271 Issue | Added 100718
  4. *** Victoria Advocate | 050571 Issue | Added 100718
Multiple Publications | 102870 - 122770 | Report On Futuro Offered As Contest Prize
  1. New Castle News | 112870 Issue | Added 102916
  2. The Argus | 122770 Issue | Added 102916
  3. The Decatur Herald | 112770 Issue | Added 102916
  4. The Longview Daily News | 102870 Issue | Added 102916
  5. The Longview Daily News | 110970 Issue | Added 102916
  6. The Lowell Sun | 110970 Issue | Added 102916
  7. The Record Argus | 110970 Issue | Added 102916
  8. The Tipton Daily Tribune | 111670 Issue | Added 102916
Multiple Publications | 081269 | Report On Opening Of Futuro Exhibit In Philadelphia
  1. Standard Speaker | 081269 Issue | Added 120416
  2. Warren Times Mirror & Observer | 081269 Issue | Added 120416
Multiple Publications | 051469 - 061069 | Syndicated Futuro Article By Dorothea M. Brooks Of UPI
  1. Arizona Republic | 060169 Issue | Added 012018
  2. Bennington Banner | 060769 Issue | Added 012018
  3. Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph | 051869 Issue | Added 012018
  4. Eau Claire Leader | 051569 Issue | Added 012018
  5. Elk Grove Herald | 061069 Issue | Added 012018
  6. Fort Lauderdale News | 051769 Issue | Added 012018
  7. Hartford Courant | 051869 Issue | Added 012018
  8. Linton Daily Citizen | 051569 Issue | Added 012018
  9. Simpson's Leader Times | 051469 Issue | Added 012018
  10. The Daily Herald | 061069 Issue | Added 012018
  11. The Daily Telegram | 051469 Issue | Added 012018
  12. The Kingston Daily Freeman | 051669 Issue | Added 012018
  13. The Times Recorder | 051869 Issue | Added 012018
  14. The Vidette Messenger | 051669 Issue | Added 012018

050271 - 050671 | Central Power & Light Company Ad.

Update 100718

This ad also appeared in the 050271 and 050571 issues of the Victoria Advocate.

Victoria Advocate 050271

Victoria Advocate 050571

Original Information 012018

In 1971 The Central Power & Light Company (which we believe is now CPL Retail Energy, a subsidiary of Direct Energy) ran an ad that used a photo of a Futuro as what appears to be an appropriate image to back up the ad's tag line "How To Look Ahead Of Your Time".

Other than the attribution "Futuro II Vacation House, Courtesy Futuro Corporation, Philadelphia, PA." there is no actual mention of the Futuro in the ad. It was carried in several publications; the examples below are from the 050271 issue of the The Corpus Christi Caller Times and the 050671 issue of the Eagle Lake Headlight respectively.

The Corpus Christi Caller Times 050271

Eagle Lake Headlight 050671

102870 - 122770 | Futuro Offered As Contest Prize

In late 1970 the Arrow Company (now part of PVH) offered a Futuro as the Grand Prize in a contest for college students. The contest involved writing a caption for an early 1900's "Arrow Collar Man" poster.

The student who wrote the best caption would receive a Futuro along with $5000 for site and installation costs.

We have never come across any documentation which indicates that the prize was ever actually awarded.

Multiple publications included reports on this contest. In each case the text was generally short and carried the same information. The articles included either a photo of the Futuro displayed at the Philadelphia International Airport in 1969 or a photo of a Futuro being transported by helicopter.

Among these articles were the following (left to right, top to bottom):
  • The Longview Daily News | 102870 Issue
  • The Longview Daily News | 110970 Issue
  • The Record Argus | 110970 Issue
  • The Lowell Sun | 110970 Issue
  • The Tipton Daily Tribune | 111670 Issue
  • The Decatur Herald | 112770 Issue
  • New Castle News | 112870 Issue
  • The Argus | 122770 Issue
081269 | Opening Of Futuro Exhibit In Philadelphia

The Futuro Corporation Of Philadelphia had a Futuro House on display at 20th & The Parkway in Philadelphia between August 1969 and April 1970. The Futuro exhibit was opened 081169 by the cities mayor.

Short reports (text no photos) on this event were published in the 081269 issues of the Standard Speaker (Hazleton, PA) and the Warren Times Mirror & Observer (Warren, PA). While the article was the same The Standard Speaker used the title "Unveils Space-Age House at Phila." whereas the Warren Times ran the headline "Philadelphia's Mayor Tate Cuts Ribbon To Open Space Age House".

The mayor is reported to have suggested that the Futuro might be the answer to Philadelphia's housing needs and is quoted as follows:

"One of the most important crisis the city is facing is decent housing. Although this thing looks like a play toy, something like it could be the answer to the housing problems of the future."

As with all of the enthusiastic expectations and predictions for the Futuro Mayor Tate's thoughts never came to pass.

More on Futuros in the Philadelphia area in 1969 and the early 1970's can be found here.

051469 - 061069 | Article By Dorothea M. Brooks Of UPI

A UPI syndicated article by Dorothea M. Brooks on the Futuro House appeared in multiple publications for a period of several weeks starting in mid May 1971. The article was general in nature and provided information about the Futuro as well as about the Futuro Corporation of Philadelphia and its president Leonard Fruchter who owned the US manufacturing and distribution rights for Futuro.

In most cases the article was not accompanied by a photo; where it was the photo was typically of Futuro #001 located at the time in Hirvensalmi, Finland.

As a syndicated article the content was of course the same from publication to publication; not so the title under which it ran. Among the many titles used are the following:
  • A Flying Saucer Sighted? No; A Vacation Home Being Sited
  • Fiber-Glass Vacation House Looks Like Flying Saucer
  • Flying Saucer-Like, Plastic Vacation Homes Available
  • Flying Saucers? No - Vacation Housing
  • Futuro Resembles Flying Saucer
  • Look! Up In The Sky! A New House!
  • Modernistic House Resembles Saucer
  • New-Type Home Has Flying Saucer Look
  • No Flying Saucer; Just Vacation House
  • Space-Age Summer Home Delivered By Helicopter
  • Spaceships Set Style For Vacation Retreats
Some examples of the article can be found in the following publications:
  • Arizona Republic | 060169 Issue
  • Eau Claire Leader | 051569 Issue
  • Fort Lauderdale News | 051769 Issue
  • Hartford Courant | 051869 Issue
  • Simpson's Leader Times | 051469 Issue
  • The Daily Herald | 061069 Issue
  • The Daily Telegram | 051469 Issue
  • The Vidette Messenger | 051669 Issue
Arizona Republic 060169

Eau Claire Leader 051569

Fort Lauderdale News 051769

Hartford Courant 051869

Simpson's Leader Times 051469

The Daily Herald 061069

The Daily Telegram 051469

The Vidette Messenger 051669

The article also appeared in some publications attributed to UPI only rather than to Dorothea M. Brooks; examples of this can be found in the following:
  • Bennington Banner | 060769 Issue
  • Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph | 051869 Issue
  • Elk Grove Herald | 061069 Issue
  • Linton Daily Citizen | 051569 Issue
  • The Kingston Daily Freeman | 051669 Issue
  • The Times Recorder | 051869 Issue
Bennington Banner 060769

Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph 051869

Elk Grove Herald 061069

Linton Daily Citizen 051569

The Kingston Daily Freeman 051669

The Times Recorder 051869

033170-042370 | AP Wire Photo Of Futuro In Arcadia, Florida

On 033070 the AP Wire Photo shown below was distributed. The copy in our collection comes from the archives of the Baltimore Sun.

AP Wirephoto, Baltimore Sun 033070 - Futuro In Arcadia, Fl - Scan

The text attached to the wire photo reads:

"(TP7) ARCADIA, Fla., March 30--LOOK FOR THE LITTLE GREEN MEN--You might find some and then maybe you won't but this "flying saucer" has prompted all sorts of conjecture. It "landed" recently at the Nocatee-Owens Bridge site on the Peace River near Arcadia and is a pilot model of a fiberglass house built by a New Jersey construction company. It is 26-feet in diameter. (AP Wirephoto)(rk21930) 1970"

This Futuro is the one seen in the Futuro article "Portable Playhouse" published in the September 1970 issue of Playboy magazine and more information can be found on the "Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.

While we have not to date been able to find this photo as it appeared in the Baltimore Sun it was, as might be expected for something from the AP, published in a large number of newspapers around the country. A selection of these can be found below; almost all are from 033170 though a few are later. Top to bottom, left to right they are:
  • Alton Evening Telegraph | 033170
  • Arizona Daily Star | 033170
  • Battle Creek Enquirer | 042370
  • Fitchburg Sentinel | 040270
  • Fort Lauderdale News | 033170
  • Idaho State Journal | 033170
  • Muncie Evening Press | 033170
  • News Press | 040170
  • Orlando Evening Star | 033170
  • Pensacola News Journal | 040170
  • Quad City Times | 033170
  • Star Gazette | 033170
  • Statesville Record And Landmark | 040170
  • Tallahassee Democrat | 033170
  • Tampa Bay Times | 033170
  • Tampa Bay Times | 040170
  • The Billings Gazette | 033170
  • The Central New Jersey Home News | 033170
  • The Courier News | 033170
  • The Greenville News | 033170
  • The Indianapolis News | 033170
  • The Journal Times | 033170
  • The Kokomo Tribune | 040270
  • The Lincoln Star | 033170
  • The Miami News | 033170
  • The Montana Standard | 040270
  • The Montgomery Advertiser | 040570
  • The Newark Advocate | 040170
  • The News Messenger | 040270
  • The Santa Fe New Mexican | 033170
  • The Times Herald | 040170
  • Wausau Daily Herald | 033170
Alton Evening Telegraph 033170

Arizona Daily Star 033170

Battle Creek Enquirer 042370

Fitchburg Sentinel 040270

Fort Lauderdale News 033170

Idaho State Journal 033170

Muncie Evening Press 033170

News Press 040170

Orlando Evening Star 033170

Pensacola News Journal 040170

Quad City Times 033170

Star Gazette 033170

Statesville Record And Landmark 040170

Tallahassee Democrat 033170

Tampa Bay Times 033170

Tampa Bay Times 040170

The Billings Gazette 033170

The Central New Jersey Home News 033170

The Courier News 033170

The Greenville News 033170

The Indianapolis News 033170

The Journal Times 033170

The Kokomo Tribune 040270

The Lincoln Star 033170

The Miami New 033170

The Montana Standard 040270

The Montgomery Advertiser 040570

The Newark Advocate 040170

The News Messenger 040270

The Santa Fe New Mexican 033170

The Times Herald 040170

Wausau Daily Herald 033170

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