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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In The Press & Items On Loan

TheFuturoHouse.com In The Press & Collection Items On Loan

TheFuturoHouse.com has been quoted and referenced in multiple press articles on the Futuro House some of which have included the use of TheFuturoHouse.com photographs. TheFuturoHouse.com has also contributed digital media and loaned physical items for display in museum exhibitions on several occasions.

TheFuturoHouse.com will continue to contribute to the "Futuro House" community in any way it can so if we can be of any service please let us know.

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

"Alien Abode" | Ohio Magazine | August 2016 Issue

Ohio Magazine runs an ongoing feature titled "Roadside Ohio" which is self described as "Fun Finds from Across the Buckeye State". In the August 2016 issue of the publication this feature was a short article titled (at least in the print magazine) "Alien Abode" which featured the Carlisle Futuros and included input from "yours truly".

We were interviewed by telephone by writer Frances Killea for this short article. The art of being interviewed is a little odd, at least to us, and clearly not something we have yet mastered as it always seems to us that what ends up in an article does not match exactly what we thought we had said. We are sure this is the result of the way we "interview" and not errors on the part of journalist's, it has happened too many times and with too many different interviewers for it not to be us, though we actually have no idea how we keep managing it.

In this case we did indicate that the design of the Futuro was mathematically based and that is reflected in the article and we also mentioned that we thought (perhaps the issue was that we did not include the "I thought" even though we intended to) pi was likely a big part of that (given the shape of the Futuro - an oblate spheroid - mathematical formulas relating to its shape will reference pi) but we certainly did not mean for that to be the point of emphasis that it is.

We also indicated that the Futuro was marketed as accommodating 8 people; that was by means of a small bedroom and then 6 bed/chair units. We clearly did not explain that well and so it ended up as being 8 bed chair units which was not the case.

No doubt the article accurately reflects what we said and not what we thought we said; unfortunately what we said appears to have included errors. Next time around we will just have to see if we can be a little more careful in what we say and we should probably ask for a look at the text prior to publishing also.

Ohio Magazine August 2016 - Cover

Ohio Magazine August 2016 - Page 96

"Futuro World" | WeeGee Exhibition Center | 061615 - 013116

Update 021118

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the creation of the Futuro WeeGee will update "Futuro World" and run a new exhibition "Futuro World 50 Years" from 051518 through 123118.

Update 092015

These photos are a selection from the "official" WeeGee Exhibition Center photos of the "Futuro World" exhibit. They are displayed here with the permission of the WeeGee Exhibition Center and the photographer Heidi-Hanna Karhu; our thanks to both.

WeeGee Exhibition Center - Official Futuro World Exhibit Photos By Heidi-Hanna Karhu - 1

WeeGee Exhibition Center - Official Futuro World Exhibit Photos By Heidi-Hanna Karhu - 2

WeeGee Exhibition Center - Official Futuro World Exhibit Photos By Heidi-Hanna Karhu - 3

WeeGee Exhibition Center - Official Futuro World Exhibit Photos By Heidi-Hanna Karhu - 4

WeeGee Exhibition Center - Official Futuro World Exhibit Photos By Heidi-Hanna Karhu - 5

WeeGee Exhibition Center - Official Futuro World Exhibit Photos By Heidi-Hanna Karhu - 6

WeeGee Exhibition Center - Official Futuro World Exhibit Photos By Heidi-Hanna Karhu - 7

WeeGee Exhibition Center - Official Futuro World Exhibit Photos By Heidi-Hanna Karhu - 8

WeeGee Exhibition Center - Official Futuro World Exhibit Photos By Heidi-Hanna Karhu - 9

WeeGee Exhibition Center - Official Futuro World Exhibit Photos By Heidi-Hanna Karhu - 10

WeeGee Exhibition Center - Official Futuro World Exhibit Photos By Heidi-Hanna Karhu - 11

Update 080115

This week we received a set of four posters for the "Futuro World" exhibit. There are two variations of the poster though both feature the same logo and details on one side. The other side features all of the photos (with credits) that are featured in the exhibition with one version setting the photos on a white background and the other setting them on a black background. Each poster comes in two sizes; A2 and A3.

Our thanks to Marko Home and the WeeGee Exhibition Center for sending copies of the four poster set out to all those who contributed their photos to the exhibit.

WeeGee Exhibition Center Futuro World Exhibit Poster 2015 Front

WeeGee Exhibition Center Futuro World Exhibit Poster 2015 Back White

WeeGee Exhibition Center Futuro World Exhibit Poster 2015 Back Black

Update 061615

The WeeGee Exhibition Center's "Futuro World" exhibit opened to the public today following an "official" opening yesterday.

The design and graphics for the installation were the work of Kaisa Kantokorpi, Anna-Riikka Nuutinen and Henna Palonen while the exhibit content design was the work of Futuro historian Marko Home. The photographs for the exhibit were contributed by photographers from around the world and collected by Marko Home and "yours truly".

The "official" opening was attended by local dignitaries along with "Futuro" dignitaries such as Matti Suuronen's widow Sirkku Suuronen and the previous owner of Futuro #001 Matti Kuusla. The restored Futuro #001 is of course installed in the WeeGee Exhibition Center's yard and open to the public during the summer each year. Marko Home gave a very well received opening address themed "Futuro the Eiffel Tower of Espoo".

The installation has been designed in a modular fashion which will allow for it to "travel" and, while Futuro #001 itself is not available for loan, the Futuro World exhibit should be available for loan to museums when it ends its run at WeeGee at the end of January 2016.

Personally we think the installation looks awesome; Marko, Kaisa, Anna-Riikka and Henna have done great work. We wish we could visit but after visiting WeeGee last year we cannot make another trip this year.

We want to thank everyone who contributed photos for the exhibit; without you the installation could not have been created. The photos below (by Marko Home) give an impression of "Futuro World"; we should be able to add additional high-res photographs a little later.

Futuro World PosterThe installation features information and photos around a central "world map". The "world map" is interactive and features 1960's style switches (remember those?) which activate Futuro "locations" on the map (this can be seen in the last of the photos below).

The WeeGee Exhibition Center has kindly offered to ship a poster to each of the contributors. We have sent messages to each of you who contributed through us asking for your mailing address; many of you have already responded but if you have not done so yet please send us your mailing address if you would like to receive your copy of the poster.

The poster can be seen above left; the reverse of the poster displays a collage of all of the Futuro photographs. The poster was the work of Timo Mänttäri (Logo) and Anna-Riikka Nuutinen & Henna Palonen (Poster design).

Our thanks to Marko for the information about the opening and for the installation photos.

Futuro World Exhibition - WeeGee Exhibition Center - Opening Day 061515 - Marko Home - 1

Futuro World Exhibition - WeeGee Exhibition Center - Opening Day 061515 - Marko Home - 2

Futuro World Exhibition - WeeGee Exhibition Center - Opening Day 061515 - Marko Home - 3

Futuro World Exhibition - WeeGee Exhibition Center - Opening Day 061515 - Marko Home - 4

Futuro World Exhibition - WeeGee Exhibition Center - Opening Day 061515 - Marko Home - 5

Futuro World Exhibition - WeeGee Exhibition Center - Opening Day 061515 - Marko Home - 6

Update 050915

The WeeGee Exhibition Center website was updated recently with the addition of a page providing details of the "Futuro World" exhibition. The dates for "Futuro World" are confirmed as being 061615 through 013116. The exhibition will be located in "Studio Suuronen" (which is the renamed old museum shop space located in the lobby of the WeeGee Exhibition Center). On the WeeGee website we are told that:

"Studio Suuronen will feature the Futuro World exhibition, which showcases the Futuro house, completed in 1968, and its distribution across the globe by means of photographs, captions and map graphics. The exhibition will feature photos of almost 50 Futuro houses from various corners of the world. In addition, there will be some interior photos illustrating their different decoration styles."

Without the help of many of you the exhibition would have been limited to far fewer than the impressive 50 Futuros that will be included so a big shout out to all of you who contributed your work. We will be reaching out to each of you shortly asking for a mailing address because in addition to sharing high resolution photos of the completed installation with you so you can see how your work was incorporated the WeeGee Exhibition Center & Marko Home have kindly offered to send each contributor a "Futuro World" Exhibition poster.

Having just visited Finland last year we will not be able to visit the "Futuro World" Exhibition but if you happen to have an interest in Futuro (which you probably do if you are reading this page) and the opportunity to visit the exhibition we recommend that you do (and if you get any photos you would like to share we would love to see them).

Original Information 020715

Do you have Futuro photos? Have Your Work Included In A Major Exhibition!

In the summer of 2015 the WeeGee Exhibition Center in Espoo, Finland (home of the fully restored Futuro #001) will put on an exhibition titled "Futuro World".

The exhibition will include a world map that would show the current location of known Futuros (this would be on a general city level, not a location specific "Google Earth" level ensuring the privacy of owners who prefer the location of their Futuro to be private is respected). The intention is to include, in most cases, a single exterior photograph of the Futuro though interior photographs will be included in some cases to showcase the variety of Futuro interiors. The goal is to represent with a photograph every known Futuro in the world.

This is a wonderful opportunity for every Futuro photographer out there to have their work included in a major Futuro exhibition. Photographs do not necessarily have to be "technically" perfect though they will need to be of a sufficient resolution to allow a print of reasonable size to be produced.

TheFuturoHouse.com is assisting in the collection the photographs that will be used in the exhibition. Many of the users of this site have contributed photographs to the site and we will be reaching out to those individuals over the next week or two to inquire whether they would allow their work to be included in the exhibition. In the meantime if you have photographs of any Futuro to which you own the copyright and you would like to submit them for consideration for inclusion in the exhibition "Futuro World" please do so using the form below (as of the opening of the exhibition the form has been removed from this page).

Please note: by submitting this form and associated photos for consideration for inclusion in the exhibition "Futuro World" here you are agreeing to the WeeGee Exhibition Centers (fully accredited) use of these photos in the exhibition. If you also choose to permit the use of your photo(s) on this website the submission of this form also signifies your agreement to the (fully accredited) use of your work on this website.

"Back To The Future" | The Daily Telegraph | 062814 Issue

The Daily Telegraph 062814 - Property Section Page 1The English national daily newspaper The Daily Telegraph carried a nice article on the Futuro House in the Property Section of the 062814 issue. During our recent trip to Europe we were able to pick up a copy.

The article included a little history, commentary related to Craig Barnes' "Futuro 22" and several photographs. We were contacted by the author during his research and "yours truly" also gets a mention. To be honest we were a little misquoted and our "standing" in the "World Of Futuro" was definitely overstated but nevertheless we all get a little "stroke to the ego' when our "15 minutes of fame" comes along.

You can read the article online here.

The Daily Telegraph 062814 - Property Section Pages 2 & 3

"Futuro House: ..." | 105.7 ABC Darwin | 090215

In mid August 2015 we were contacted for an interview by Emilia Terzon of 105.7 ABC Darwin who was writing an article about the Darwin Futuro. Her article, which includes some interesting history on the Darwin Futuro resulting from interviews with owner Peter Dermoudy, some general information from "yours truly" and photos from the collections of TheFuturoHouse.com, was published 090315 under the title "Futuro House: Flying Saucer-Shaped Ski Chalet Became 1970s Tropical Darwin Icon".

More information on the Darwin Futuro including some great photos from the collection of owner Peter Dermoudy can be found here.

"Futuro House: ..." | The Modernist | Issue 16 Experiment

The Modernist - Issue 16 - Experiment - CoverThe UK based Manchester Modernist Society publication The Modernist describes itself as "a quarterly magazine about 20th century architecture & design". Issue #16 Experiment published in September 2015 includes an article on the Futuro House written by "yours truly".

The article is a brief history of Futuro with a little focus on Futuro in the UK in the latter sections.

Our thanks to Dan Birch and Brian M. Carr who contributed photos for the article and to Eddy Rhead who invited us to contribute to the magazine; it was a new and interesting experience.

And for the observant among you yes - there is a somewhat embarrassing typo in, of all places, the article title which sadly reads "Futoro House: Visions Of A Future Past". We would love to blame the publisher but we cannot completely do so since we traced the typo back to an initial draft we had sent "across the pond". Hopefully it does not detract too much from the article.

The Modernist - Issue 16 - Experiment - Pages 18-19

The Modernist - Issue 16 - Experiment - Pages 20-21

"Futuro World 50 Years" | WeeGee Ex ... | 051518 - 123118

In the summer of 2015 the WeeGee Exhibition Center in Espoo, Finland (home of the fully restored Futuro #001) launched an exhibition titled "Futuro World"; it ran from 061615 through 013116. The exhibition was located in "Studio Suuronen" (the old museum shop space - renamed - located in the lobby of the WeeGee Exhibition Center). At the time the WeeGee Exhibition Center website described the exhibition in this way:

"Studio Suuronen will feature the Futuro World exhibition, which showcases the Futuro house, completed in 1968, and its distribution across the globe by means of photographs, captions and map graphics. The exhibition will feature photos of almost 50 Futuro houses from various corners of the world. In addition, there will be some interior photos illustrating their different decoration styles."

"Futuro World" will be relaunched in 2018, the Futuros "50th birthday" as "Futuro World 50 Years" and will run from 051518 through 123118. TheFuturoHouse.com played an active role in the collection of materials for the original "Futuro World" exhibition and will assist where possible as preparations are made to update materials for "Futuro World 50 Years".

"Modern Scandinavian Design" | Laurence King ... | 101717

Modern Scandinavian Design - CoverModern Scandinavian Design by Charlotte Fiell, Peter Fiell & Magnus Englund is a rather chunky "Coffee Table Book". An article titled "Houses Of The Future" on pages 56-57 provides a little information on Polykem and the work of Matti Suuronen and it is accompanied by photos of both Futuro and Venturo.

The Futuro photo shows the Harewood Futuro during its short 2006/2007 stay in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. There are also photos of a drawing and a plan and these are actually photos that we provided of items in our collection of "Things Futuro" and they are credited to TheFuturoHouse.com in the book.

Modern Scandinavian Design - Pages 56-57

"Out-of-this-world houses ..." | Houston Chronicle | 071719

The world of Social Media can be a little bizarre at times. A Facebook "event" called "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us" planned for 092019 has gathered a massive following and generated coverage on many main stream news platforms. Not sure if the whole thing is "real" or just a shameless "tongue in cheek" ploy to gain clicks but either way the creator certainly has generated clicks. As of the time of writing the Facebook page shows the following metrics:

"1.8M Going - 1.3M Interested"

And what, you might ask has any of that to do with Futuro? It seems that to the Houston Chronicle, the largest daily newspaper in Houston, TX and, as of April 2016, the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States (according to Wikipedia), the leap from "Storm Area 51" to Futuro was a perfectly logical one.

The end result; an article published 071719 titled "Out-of-this-world houses that landed across Texas"; the article appeared online, not sure at this time if it also made it to the print version of the publication. The article suggests that for those not planning on making the trip to Nevada in September "the Lone Star State has a few more viable alternatives" and goes on to reference the three Futuros located in the state [Austin, Rockwall and Royse City].

Prior to publication the reporter, Peter Dawson, contacted us and the resulting (very brief) article references "yours truly" and displays a gallery of photos all of which are from our visits to the three Texas Futuros.

"PLASTIC ..." | Het Nieuwe Instituut | 011615 - 040615

Update 020715

"PLASTIC - Promises of a home-made future" opened to the public 011615. Following completion of the exhibits and the opening of the exhibition the organizer's sent us the two photos below showing the Futuro section of the exhibition featuring photographs and items from TheFuturoHouse.com collections.

Het Nieuwe Instituut 2015 Exhibition - TheFuturoHouse.com Contribution 1

Het Nieuwe Instituut 2015 Exhibition - TheFuturoHouse.com Contribution 2

Original Information 121414

The exhibition "PLASTIC - Promises of a home-made future" at the Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, Netherlands will run 011615 through 040615. The Het Nieuwe Instituut is a national center for architecture, design and e-culture. The exhibition is curated by Tal Erez and will include a section devoted to the Futuro House.

The Futuro House section of "PLASTIC - Promises of a home-made future" will include four photographs provided by TheFuturoHouse.com along with several physical items loaned to the Het Nieuwe Instituut for the duration of the exhibition.

Four photographs, shown below, will be displayed as part of the exhibition. Two of the photographs are of Futuro #001 and were shot during a visit to the WeeGee Exhibition Center on 070814 and the remaining two are of the Royse City Futuro which were shot on 061314.

Published Photos - Hal Nieuwe Instituut 2015 - WeeGee Shot 070814 - Exterior

Published Photos - Hal Nieuwe Instituut 2015 - WeeGee Shot 070814 - Interior

Published Photos - Hal Nieuwe Instituut 2015 - Royse City Shot 061314 - Exterior

Published Photos - Hal Nieuwe Instituut 2015 - Royse City Shot 061314 - Interior

The exhibition will also include the display of several items from our collection of "Things Futuro" and "The Charles Cleworth Futuro House Archive" loaned to the Het Nieuwe Instituut for the duration of the exhibition. These include the following items:
  • An 093071 original Press Photograph (Keystone Press Agency) that shows three Futuros in Belgium (the photo was shot at 50°47'18.64"N 4°25'14.94"E)
  • Two Futuro Sales Brochures dating from the late 1960's or very early 1970's; details can be found here and here (scroll down the article a little for the second one - it was part of a package containing several documents)
  • A four page Futuro Fact Sheet dating from the late 1960's or very early 1970's; details can be found here (scroll down the article a little - it was part of a package containing several documents)
  • A Russian 1978 Mint Postal Cover featuring the Dombai Futuro
"Space Oddity" | Glory Days Magazine | June 2015

Update 070115

Today we received a copy of Issue #10 of Glory Days which includes the Futuro article. Photos of the magazine and article and a little more information can be found here.

Original Information 050915

Glory Days is New Zealand's premier vintage lifestyle magazine. The publication's upcoming issue includes an article about Nick McQuoid and his collection of Futuros (see Rangiora and Invercargill) and Venturos. While the article is primarily about Nick and his "Suuronen" inspired journey it also makes use of images of several items from our collection of "Things Futuro" to add to the historical context of the article and we are looking forward to adding a copy of the magazine to that collection.

"That spaceship on top ..." | Tampa Bay Times | 071519

In early July 2019 Tampa Bay Times journalist Gabrielle Calise contacted us regarding an article on the Tampa Futuro she was researching. Always happy to "talk Futuro" (we doubt that would come as a surprise to anyone) a few days later we chatted for quite sometime about the Futuro, its history and about the Tampa Futuro(s) in particular.

The resulting article, titled "That spaceship on top of a Tampa strip club? It once was the house of the future" was published online 071519 and it references "yours truly" and aspects of that conversation as well as using some imagery from TheFuturoHouse.com. In addition during the course of her research Gabrielle was able to uncover additional details and photographs relating to both the Semmes Street and Tampa Futuros.

To our knowledge the article did not make it to the print publication.

"The Pod ..." | Mojeh Men | Autumn/Winter 2014 Issue

Mojeh Men - Issue AW14 - CoverMOJEH Magazine describes itself as a:

"... bi-monthly high fashion publication, based in Dubai, with a decadent showroom in the iconic Burj Khalifa."

MOJEH also publishes, less frequently, MOJEH Men and the Autumn/Winter 2014 issue of MOJEH Men includes a two page article on the Futuro House. Contributors to the article include Mika Taanila, director of the film Futuro - A New Stance for Tomorrow, Craig Barnes, owner of the UK Futuro, and "yours truly".

Photographs accompanying the article include one of the Dombai Futuro, one of Charles Wilp's Futuro and two of Pöytyä (shot during our 071014 visit to Pöytyä).

Mojeh Men - Issue AW14 - Pages 30 & 31

The two photographs taken during the visit we made to Pöytyä on 071014 that were published in this article were these:

Published Photos - Mojeh Men Autumn/Winter 2014 - Poytya Shot 071014 - Exterior

Published Photos - Mojeh Men Autumn/Winter 2014 - Poytya Shot 071014 - Interior

A pdf of this article can be accessed here.

"UFO i storskogen" | Helahälsingland | 082314

Press Articles - Helahalsingland - 082314 - Page 11The 082314 issue of print and digital publication Helahälsingland included an article by Fredrik Björkman On the Stråtjära Futuros.

Fredrik interviewed us by telephone during his research for the article and the published article includes content deriving from that interview. The online version of the article can be found here and pdf files can be accessed here and here.

Press Articles - Helahalsingland - 082314 - Pages 12/13

"Form Follows Fantasy" | Art New Zealand | Spring 2019

Art New Zealand - Spring 2019 - CoverIssue #171 (Spring 2019) of the publication Art New Zealand which describes itself as "the major visual arts journal in New Zealand" carried a multi-page article on Futuro titled "Form Follows Fantasy".

The article was focused on the history and current status of New Zealand Futuros with particular reference to Nick McQuoid's collection of Futuros and the Warrington Futuro. Photos/images accompanying the article also include, among others, shots of Paringa River, the interior of Craig Barnes' "Futuro 22", a floor plan and a couple of photos of the Futuro used by the Bank of New Zealand at the 1974 Commonwealth Games. Both this website and "yours truly" are cited as sources for some of the information in the article.

Art New Zealand - Spring 2019 - 104-105

Art New Zealand - Spring 2019 - 106-107

Art New Zealand - Spring 2019 - 108-109

Art New Zealand - Spring 2019 - 112-113

"This flying saucer is one ..." | CNN Business | 120219

CNN published a nice article titled "This flying saucer is one man's vacation home" 120219. The article provide a little general Futuro history along with a few historical details about this Futuro. Journalist Anna Bahney contacted us while researching the article and we contributed to the article particularly in respect of the numbers of Futuro known to still exist.

The article was also accompanied by a video which includes great footage of the Futuro and an interview with owner Milford Wayne Donaldson that was filmed inside the Futuro.

"Maybe It's Time to Go to the ..." | Thrillist.com | 022221

It is always fun to "talk Futuro" and recently we spent a little time doing just that with Vanita Salisbury, Senior Travel Writer with Thrillist.com who was doing research in preparation for an article on the Joshua Tree Futuro.

The article was published 022221 under the title "Maybe It's Time to Go to the Desert And Sleep in a Flying Saucer".

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