Futuro House, Pensacola Beach FL, 1968

Images by Author.  Overall view of assembly (L); Southern hospitality (R)

The Futuro House at 1304 Panferio Dr. in Pensacola Florida is a local icon.  Sited atop a one-story concrete block base, the plain white "flying saucer" taunts passing motorists with two aliens peering out of one of its elliptical window portals and a third alien at the grade level glass door behind a bright orange sign reading "KEEP OUT".  While these feeble efforts hardly deter the curious, they underscore local curiosity and reflect how along with a kitchy neon sign and a beach-ball themed water tower this home is just as much a cultural icon of the area.

The Futuro House is one example of what are believed to be around 60 extant Futuro homes worldwide.  Introduced in 1968 by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen, these space-age pods were meant to be deployed and easily assembled even in rugged mountain terrain, sandy beaches, and even outer space.1  Envisioned as a low-labor solution for ski cabins (reflecting the importance of the sport in Finnish culture) these prefabricated homes also reflect the excitement and potential of the post-war era.  Families had disposable income, and could vacation and travel.

Following int he footsteps of other forward-looking projects like Monsanto's Disneyland House of the Future first introduced in 1957, the Futuro hoped to monopolize on liberal tastes for easily-assembled or ready-made homes of plastic.

The timing of these homes however deterred their creators optimism.  Entering the market during a gasoline crisis, the petroleum-based plastic houses were heavy consumers of a scarce resource.  While they had better chances in Finland where they were used by a local banking chain for branch offices and there were even hopes for a Futuro Hotel.  Needless to say, these options did not materialize and by the 1970's the Disneyland version which introduced "modern living" to the vacationing masses was a closed exhibit slated for demolition. 2

Plan view of typical Futuro House

All Futuro Houses in the United States were distributed through New Jersey.  Constructed of a fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic, they all had round plans of approximately 50 square meters (roughly 538 square feet).  Futuros sported radiating furniture and partitions, often from a central fireplace located on the plan's origin point--also the tallest point in the fabrication, 13'-0" top to bottom.  An ellipse in section, one slice of the siding would fold down (and up!) containing the retractable stairs.  Twenty-six feet in diameter over-all, the two-bedroom house contains and open-plan living room, kitchen, dining room and one separated bathroom with standing shower, although modifications were available.

Surrounding the perimeter of the home were a ring of 16 windows and two "low viewing windows" closer to the ground for views down.  Each pod was supported on posts similar to the "Eiffel"-based Eames Chairs.  

Ultimately, the financially unsustainable reality of a plastic house amidst the gas crisis coupled with the public's perception that these were deemed too a-contextual, and a continuing distrust of prefabricated design, from the public and the architectural profession (much like the backlash that befell Sir Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion Houses), production ceased.

These relics may have appeared foreign in shape and structure by standing on thin legs.  A series of hurricanes hitting the Gulf region have led building codes to change, and ironically, stilt homes are becoming more common.  Perhaps the Futuros were just ahead of their time; perhaps they always will be.
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1 Home, Marko & Mike Tuanila (eds). Futuro: Tomorrow's House from Yesterday. Desura Oy Ltd.,
           Helsinki, 2004.  p. 64.
2 Corn, Joseph J. and Brian Horrigan.  Yesterday's Tomorrow. Summit Books, NY, 1984. p. 83.