The Futuro House

The Futuro House (276 Spaceship)
Rockwall, Texas

Designed by Matti Suuronen, of which about 100 were manufactured during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The distinctive flying saucer like shape and airplane hatch entrance has made the houses popular among collectors. The Futuro House construct houses 8 people, which also includes a bathroom and kitchen. This Unfinished Futuro house is located near Rockwall, Texas. Due to it's integrated polyurethane insulation and electric heating system, the house could be heated to a comfortable temperature in only thirty minutes, from -20 to 60 degrees F.

An excerpt from a February 1970 copy of Architecture D’Aujourd’Hui describes “Futuro” as:

The first model in a series of holiday homes to be licensed in 50 countries, already mass-produced in the United States, Australia and Belgium. The segments of the elliptic envelope are assembled on the site using a metal footing. Through its shape and materials used, the house can be erected in very cold mountains or even by the sea. The area is 50 sq m, the volume 140 cubic m, divided by adaptable partitions.

By the mid 1970s the house was taken off the market, arguably due to poor marketing, but primarily due to the Oil Crisis where tripled gasoline prices made manufacture of plastic extremely expensive. It is estimated that today around 50 of the original Futuro homes survive, owned mostly by private individuals. The prototype is in the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

In 1998 Finnish film director Mika Taanila made a documentary film Futuro - A New Stance For Tomorrow about the Futuro house.

The house seemed to be abandoned so, feel free to explore what ever you can, I decide to take some photos.