(images via: Hooked On Houses, P.S.1 and Christchurch Modern) Futuro promotional brochures from the late 1960’s attempts to portray regular (ok, very groovy) people in average situations – in a very un-average home. It may have looked odd on the outside but from inside it looked even… odder. (images via: Amy Antonio, Eichler Network and Zentropolis) Some Futuro houses came with an extra set of 2 or 4 windows, which are undoubtedly attractive and probably help to reduce any feelings of claustrophobia. (images via: Zentropolis and Mechafushigi) Finding a suitable scenic vista is often made easier by Futuro owners for whom the UFO look is to be accentuated to the max. The otherworldly appearance of the Futuro house makes it a popular subject for photographers. (images via: Futuro-House, Pour 15 Minutes d’Amour and San Diego Union) Erm, it helped to have either a helicopter or a crane – or both – to do the picking up and dropping off. Originally intended to be prefab ski cabins, Futuro houses were basically picked up at Polykem and set down on the desired plot of snowy land. (images via: S de AC, Amy Antonio and Zentropolis) Production models (the first one being painted yellow) began coming off the line soon after. The first Futuro prototype, painted white, exited the Polykem plant in Hiekkaharju, Finland in late March of 1968. The Futuro house wasn’t built like other houses of the day instead it was prefabricated in a factory. The shape and form are timeless – with its “egg on an egg cup” format, the Futuro house looks as good today as it did in 1968. The finished product proves the practicality of Suuronen’s design. The basic design is a simple one, as can be noted by the consistency of Suuronen’s vision from the very first hand-drawn renderings.
Measuring 10 feet (3 meters) high, 26 feet (8 meters) in diameter and perched upon a sturdy 4-legged steel base, the Futuro house could house a very small family in a pinch or several modules could serve different domestic functions. That’s where Matti Suuronen comes in, along with his iconic Futuro house. Design Ahead Of Its TimeĪirport terminals and city halls are one thing, homes for the “little man” are quite another. Along with Alvar Aalto, Eero Saarinen and Viljo Revell, visionary architects like Suuronen put Finland on the map when it came to futuristic, and, well, fantastic expressions of the post-modernist ethos.Įxplaining his architectural philosophy in a 1957 speech, Alvar Aalto said, “We should work for simple, good, undecorated things, but things which are in harmony with the human being and organically suited to the little man in the street.” Toronto’s city hall, which was designed by Revell and opened in 1967, is shown above. The Futuro house was the brainchild of Matti Suuronen, one of a number of Finnish architects and designers who garnered wide recognition for futuristic, post-modern structures and consumer goods. (images via: Artificial Owl, International Day and Discover Interior Design)
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