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
- Location | Paris Suburbs, France (Vicinity Only - Exact Location Withheld)
- Lat/Long | Exact Location Withheld
- Previous Location | Impasse de l'Escalette, 13008 Marseille, France & Carrer de la Vall Verda 07184 Calvià, Spain
- Previous Lat/Long | 43°13'32.5"N 5°21'1.5"E & 39°33'44.88"N 2°27'10.39"E
- Image By The Owner | Date 051719
- Google Maps | 051718 (Vicinity Only - Exact Location Withheld)
- Latest Confirmation | 090322
Information Update History
Fellow Futuro enthusiast and collector Yves Buysse is always coming up with something new. This time around he managed to find two vintage postcards showing this Futuro during its time in Mallorca (and actually at a location we had not seen before).
Of course now we are determined to add these to our collection of "Things Futuro" so if you happen to come across either or both for sale anywhere we would appreciate it if you would let us know.
Of course now we are determined to add these to our collection of "Things Futuro" so if you happen to come across either or both for sale anywhere we would appreciate it if you would let us know.
We got a first glimpse of the interior of this Futuro back in December 2020 (see the 121220 Update) and now we can add this great set of photos sent to us recently by owner Benoit.
We think the Futuro's interior looks superb and we love the design choices which are both time period appropriate and perfect for the interior of a Futuro. In particular the original 1974 De Sede sofa and Eams Surf Model table circa 1975 seem absolutely apropos for a Futuro.
Great job Benoit and thanks for sharing the photos.
We think the Futuro's interior looks superb and we love the design choices which are both time period appropriate and perfect for the interior of a Futuro. In particular the original 1974 De Sede sofa and Eams Surf Model table circa 1975 seem absolutely apropos for a Futuro.
Great job Benoit and thanks for sharing the photos.
We recently received the photo and video below from ministeregourmand (many thanks for sending this over to us) which provides us with our first look at the interior of this Futuro since its relocation to Paris and a nice current exterior shot.
We know this Futuro spent time at various locations around Mallorca in its early days that included at least two locations in Santa Ponsa but we have never come across any information to narrow down any dates for specific locations.
However we recently added the postcard seen below to our collection of "Things Futuro". The postcard is used and is postmarked 1997 but the reverse of the card also carries the date 1993 and, while we cannot be 100% certain, it seems likely that was the date of the actual photograph which would suggest the Futuro was at this location in 1993.
However we recently added the postcard seen below to our collection of "Things Futuro". The postcard is used and is postmarked 1997 but the reverse of the card also carries the date 1993 and, while we cannot be 100% certain, it seems likely that was the date of the actual photograph which would suggest the Futuro was at this location in 1993.
Coincidentally right around the same time we received the image below in an email from Luis Moranta Jaume; thanks Luis. The image is from the website muib.caib.es and is an aerial photo of Santa Ponsa from 1984 which places the Futuro seen in the postcard at that location (39°30'50.51"N 2°28'54.57"E) in 1984 so between the two we can likley place this Futuro there at a minimum between 1984 and 1993.
Recently owner Benoit sent us the awesome set of photos below. The photos follow his Futuro from arrival in Paris through assembly of the shell. Benoit will now be moving on to working on restoration of the interior including the fabrication of parts to allow reconstruction of the original heating system, automatic door assembly, fireplace and chimney among others.
We are really looking forward to following Benoit's "Futuro journey" and eventually seeing the fully restored Futuro in all its glory. Benoit, many thanks for sharing the photos.
We are really looking forward to following Benoit's "Futuro journey" and eventually seeing the fully restored Futuro in all its glory. Benoit, many thanks for sharing the photos.
This Futuro was removed from Marseilles sometime in 2018 but until now we had no idea of its new location. However, on 040119 Stanimir Paparizov tweeted the photo below; the location of the photo has been referenced only in general terms, specifically as being "in the area of the Seine" or "in the Paris suburbs" and the Futuro is not specifically identified as the one previously located in the Marseilles area.
That said based on the timing of this Futuro "appearing" in the Paris area and its appearance we confident it is the unit from Marseilles so several pages on this web site, including this one, have been edited to reflect the unit's location now being the Paris Suburbs.
That said based on the timing of this Futuro "appearing" in the Paris area and its appearance we confident it is the unit from Marseilles so several pages on this web site, including this one, have been edited to reflect the unit's location now being the Paris Suburbs.
A second photo by rapha0409 posted to Instagram a few days later was accompanied by the comment "Quand un ovni se pose sur l'Ile St Germain" or, according to Google Translate, "When an UFO lands on Ile St Germain" and the hashtags #issylesmoulineaux and #ilesaintgermain which may pin the location down a little more; we feel an extended session in Google Earth in our future plans!
Though the color appears to be different the buildings surrounding the Futuro clearly show this is the same unit. In addition the door in this photo is clearly a different color and matches that seen in the first photo above so it seems like the unit might be getting a new paint job.
Though the color appears to be different the buildings surrounding the Futuro clearly show this is the same unit. In addition the door in this photo is clearly a different color and matches that seen in the first photo above so it seems like the unit might be getting a new paint job.
This Futuro is no longer at this location. In a recent email Yves Buysse informed us that he drove by this location a little while ago and saw that the Futuro was no longer there. We currently have no information on its destination and whether it is being moved to storage elsewhere or relocated to a site where it will be reassembled.
If you know anything about where this Futuro has moved to please let us know.
If you know anything about where this Futuro has moved to please let us know.
These two postcards, recently added to our collection of "Things Futuro", show this Futuro during its time at one of several locations in Mallorca. The cards are undated and there are no visible postmark dates but it is likely they date from the 70's or 80's.
We recently received an email from Stuart Elliott in which he provided a little information about this Futuro at a previous location in Mallorca accompanied by the photograph below. Stuart wrote:
"I remember the Futuro house in Mallorca! It was when it was located up the back of Santa Ponsa hills around Costa de la Calma. I also remember it being used as a bar!"
The photo is interesting and appears to show the Futuro mounted on top of another structure. It also shows the Futuro finished in a different color (we are thinking white despite the pinkish hue seen in the photo) to that seen in photos of the Futuro in its most recent location in Mallorca.
"I remember the Futuro house in Mallorca! It was when it was located up the back of Santa Ponsa hills around Costa de la Calma. I also remember it being used as a bar!"
The photo is interesting and appears to show the Futuro mounted on top of another structure. It also shows the Futuro finished in a different color (we are thinking white despite the pinkish hue seen in the photo) to that seen in photos of the Futuro in its most recent location in Mallorca.
marie_dagnicourt posted this photo to her Instagram feed 070117. We rather like the shot because it is a much wider shot that we usually see and it nicely places the Futuro in the context of the landscape around it.
Utopie Plastic, which features this Futuro along with examples of Jean Maneval's Bulle Six Coques and Georges Candilis' Hexacube held its opening ceremony yesterday (062317).
It would have been a great year to make a trip to Europe, there would have been the Futuro now on display in Munich to visit, the London Futuro will soon be bound for pastures new so we will miss that and we received an invite to yesterday's opening of Utopie Plastic but (painfully) had to decline; Europe was just not on the cards this year.
Utopie Plastic will run 070117 through 093017. Visiting the exhibition is free but only by appointment; there are 4 guided visits per day for groups of up to 15. You can reserve your visit here; tours are at 8:30, 10:00, 4:00 and 5:30.
The sequence of photos below are from the Instagram feed of galerie_54 (Eric Touchaleaume) and show the Futuro at various stages of its preparation for the exhibition. From top to bottom, left to right the photos were posted 061417, 061717 (two photos), 061817 and 062217 (two photos).
Others have also been photographing this Futuro. In particular we enjoyed the photos below. The first three were posted to Facebook by Benoit Ramognino. The originals can be found here, here and here. The last photo appeared on Instagram and is by marcolivierdeblanc; a rather cool photo with the reflections of some of the other structures in the exhibition visible in the window.
la Friche de l'Escalette's website has been updated and it now indicates that the Futuro, along with other structures, will be on display as part of an exhibition titled "L'Utopie De L'Habitat Plastique" or, according to Google Translate "The Utopia Of Plastic Habitat" which is subtitled "Years 1960-1970" and scheduled to run July through September 2017. This photo of the 1971 IKA Exhibition is being used to "represent" this exhibition on the website.
It looks like this Futuro is destined for display at la Friche de l'Escalette on the French coast south of Marseille (43°13'32.5"N 5°21'1.5"E). The project is described on it's website as follows:
"The Friche de l'Escalette recycles the ruins of an old lead factory that worked from 1851 to 1925. An industrial heritage landmark, its superb natural site on the rugged coast south of Marseille is now part of the Parc National des Calanques.
A modern and contemporary sculpture and lightweight architecture display for visits by small groups led by a guide is being laid out there. The itinerary salutes the vernacular "cabanon" - the holiday-weekender, and will cover the period running from Jean Prouvé to the plastic utopias of the 60s and 70s.
Summer 2016 will see the launch, highlighting Prouvé's original prototype for the "Habitat Tropical" for Cameroun, which dates from 1958 and is currently being refurbished on-site.
... It will evolve slowly with each summer, inviting a discerning public to follow its organic growth year by year."
The project's website currently does not mention the Futuro but this article from the website destimed.fr suggests that the Futuro will be added to the site in 2017; presumably after being restored.
As a further confirmation we came across a few photos in the last couple of weeks or so that clearly show the disassembled Futuro already on site at la Friche de l'Escalette.
The first two photos can be found here and here; they were posted to Facebook by Clément Cividino (in the second photo the Futuro can be seen just above center to the right). The third photo can be found on the website love-spots.com.
"The Friche de l'Escalette recycles the ruins of an old lead factory that worked from 1851 to 1925. An industrial heritage landmark, its superb natural site on the rugged coast south of Marseille is now part of the Parc National des Calanques.
A modern and contemporary sculpture and lightweight architecture display for visits by small groups led by a guide is being laid out there. The itinerary salutes the vernacular "cabanon" - the holiday-weekender, and will cover the period running from Jean Prouvé to the plastic utopias of the 60s and 70s.
Summer 2016 will see the launch, highlighting Prouvé's original prototype for the "Habitat Tropical" for Cameroun, which dates from 1958 and is currently being refurbished on-site.
... It will evolve slowly with each summer, inviting a discerning public to follow its organic growth year by year."
The project's website currently does not mention the Futuro but this article from the website destimed.fr suggests that the Futuro will be added to the site in 2017; presumably after being restored.
As a further confirmation we came across a few photos in the last couple of weeks or so that clearly show the disassembled Futuro already on site at la Friche de l'Escalette.
The first two photos can be found here and here; they were posted to Facebook by Clément Cividino (in the second photo the Futuro can be seen just above center to the right). The third photo can be found on the website love-spots.com.
We have not come across any further information about this Futuro since October 2014 but we decided to check Google Earth for updated satellite imagery the other day and as of 082515 that imagery shows the Futuro is no longer on site so we are changing this location to Marseille, France as that is the best and most recent information we have.
It seems the Mallorca Futuro will soon be on the move; to Marseille, France. Owner (or actually previous owner now) Maria emailed us this week and let us know that the sale of the Futuro had been completed. The sale price was the original €50,000 asking price; congratulations Maria. Maria wrote that the Futuro had been sold to:
"Eric Touchaleaume, he is some kind of art collector/restorer ... The Futuro will be transported to Marseille, France this month. Then Eric, apparently on behalf of an arts foundation, will be restoring it and then it will be exhibited."
According to this Guardian article Eric Touchaleaume "has been called the Indiana Jones of furniture collecting" but a little digging on the web reveals that as a collector and restorer his field of interest extends far beyond just furniture.
So it looks like another Futuro is going to end up restored and, hopefully, available for the public to visit. Personally we feel like the more Futuros this happens to the better. Every Futuro that is in a museum or exhibition setting is one less Futuro that can be out in the world deteriorating.
"Eric Touchaleaume, he is some kind of art collector/restorer ... The Futuro will be transported to Marseille, France this month. Then Eric, apparently on behalf of an arts foundation, will be restoring it and then it will be exhibited."
According to this Guardian article Eric Touchaleaume "has been called the Indiana Jones of furniture collecting" but a little digging on the web reveals that as a collector and restorer his field of interest extends far beyond just furniture.
So it looks like another Futuro is going to end up restored and, hopefully, available for the public to visit. Personally we feel like the more Futuros this happens to the better. Every Futuro that is in a museum or exhibition setting is one less Futuro that can be out in the world deteriorating.
This Futuro will be auctioned on Friday May 30th; there is a reserve price of €50,000 and sealed bids are currently being accepted.
Owner Maria indicates that:
"It is currently dismantled. There are 16 segments, the metal base ring is in three sections, there are 14 Perspex (not original) windows (4 are missing). The upper shell is in a good state but requires sanding back, the lower section is in reasonable condition, requiring some attention to the fiberglass, but structurally good. The hatch/stairs is not such a good state of repair. There is no interior."
Maria can be contacted by telephone but we do not want to put a telephone number up here on the web; if you have a serious interest let us know and we will put you in contact with Maria.
Owner Maria indicates that:
"It is currently dismantled. There are 16 segments, the metal base ring is in three sections, there are 14 Perspex (not original) windows (4 are missing). The upper shell is in a good state but requires sanding back, the lower section is in reasonable condition, requiring some attention to the fiberglass, but structurally good. The hatch/stairs is not such a good state of repair. There is no interior."
Maria can be contacted by telephone but we do not want to put a telephone number up here on the web; if you have a serious interest let us know and we will put you in contact with Maria.
A little while ago Maria, the owner of this Futuro, contacted us and told us a little about it's history.
Maria and her family purchased their property in Mallorca in 2008. One of the reasons they chose the property they did was because the purchase included the Futuro. At the time they did not know anything about it (or even that it was a Futuro House). The little history they did have was that over the previous 15 to 20 years the unit had spent time situated on a roundabout in SW Mallorca and had also been used as a bar at one time. Maria has been unable to uncover any further details on the history of the unit or how it came to be in Mallorca.
The dream was to restore the Futuro for use as a holiday residence. That dream was however thwarted by the local authorities who determined that after 10 years on the land with no incident the Futuro was a "fire risk" because it was located in a pine forest and, under threat of large fines and forced demolition, there was no option but to dismantle and store the unit.
Since Maria and her family cannot restore and locate the Futuro on their land due to the authorities they reluctantly decided to offer the unit for sale; the asking price is €50,000.
In an 013014 posting on the Facebook page The Futuro House Maria adds this further update:
"In its current condition we are looking for €50,000. However, there is a strong possibility that it will be restored and then exhibited here in Palma de Mallorca this coming summer. It will then be available for purchase following this, the price would then reflect the cost of restoring it, we should know if this is happening for sure in the next couple of weeks."
For anyone interested in purchasing the Futuro Maria can be contacted by email.
Maria and her family purchased their property in Mallorca in 2008. One of the reasons they chose the property they did was because the purchase included the Futuro. At the time they did not know anything about it (or even that it was a Futuro House). The little history they did have was that over the previous 15 to 20 years the unit had spent time situated on a roundabout in SW Mallorca and had also been used as a bar at one time. Maria has been unable to uncover any further details on the history of the unit or how it came to be in Mallorca.
The dream was to restore the Futuro for use as a holiday residence. That dream was however thwarted by the local authorities who determined that after 10 years on the land with no incident the Futuro was a "fire risk" because it was located in a pine forest and, under threat of large fines and forced demolition, there was no option but to dismantle and store the unit.
Since Maria and her family cannot restore and locate the Futuro on their land due to the authorities they reluctantly decided to offer the unit for sale; the asking price is €50,000.
In an 013014 posting on the Facebook page The Futuro House Maria adds this further update:
"In its current condition we are looking for €50,000. However, there is a strong possibility that it will be restored and then exhibited here in Palma de Mallorca this coming summer. It will then be available for purchase following this, the price would then reflect the cost of restoring it, we should know if this is happening for sure in the next couple of weeks."
For anyone interested in purchasing the Futuro Maria can be contacted by email.
It seems that this unit is now up for sale. In an 010714 Facebook Post Maria Grimes writes:
"Reluctant sale! But unique opportunity to purchase Futuro. Location - Mallorca, Spain (shipping can be organised)"
"Reluctant sale! But unique opportunity to purchase Futuro. Location - Mallorca, Spain (shipping can be organised)"
It seems that the local authorities were not happy with the Futuro being located where it was and as a result the Futuro has been dismantled and placed in storage. It is possible it may be for sale though there is no actual confirmation of that. Our thanks to Achim Breiling for this information.
The very cool series of photos below showing the dismantling of the Futuro was posted by futuroincanada to the Yahoo Group futurohouse. The photos were posted 042912 so the Futuro was disassembled some time prior to that date.
The very cool series of photos below showing the dismantling of the Futuro was posted by futuroincanada to the Yahoo Group futurohouse. The photos were posted 042912 so the Futuro was disassembled some time prior to that date.
We recently received an email from James Lumb who told us about this Futuro; completely new to us so many thanks James.
James says in his email "We rented a villa a few years ago, the couple who rent the villa out live in the futuro house while they have holiday clients in the main villa!! Quirky but Cool." James also sent the photo below.
A search online did not surface any additional information so if you know anything about this Futuro or photos please let us know.
James says in his email "We rented a villa a few years ago, the couple who rent the villa out live in the futuro house while they have holiday clients in the main villa!! Quirky but Cool." James also sent the photo below.
A search online did not surface any additional information so if you know anything about this Futuro or photos please let us know.
- Achim Breiling
- Benoit Couturier (Owner)
- Benoit Ramognino
- Clément Cividino
- destimed.fr
- futuroincanada
- galerie_54 (Eric Touchaleaume) Instagram Feed
- galerie54.com
- la Friche de l'Escalette
- James Lumb
- love-spots.com
- Luis Moranta Jaume
- marcolivierdeblanc
- Maria Grimes
- marie_dagnicourt
- ministeregourmand
- muib.caib.es
- rapha0409
- Stanimir Paparizov
- Stuart Elliott
- Yves Buysse
- Marie Claire Maison | October 2007 Issue | Page 80
