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 | Madertal 6, 72401 Haigerloch, Germany
- Lat/Long | 48°22'0.40"N 8°46'59.08"E
- Image By Achim Breiling | 061012
- Google Maps | 072219
- Latest Confirmation | 090222
Information Update History
As we know this Futuro house made a trip to Milan for an exhibition some years ago and now it has made another road trip for a similar purpose this time to be a part of Open House Geneva which describes itself as:
"... a multidisciplinary exhibition which presents innovative and original forms of housing through projects from the world of art, architecture and design."
that is
"Happening in 4 sessions from 2021 to 2022 and in several locations in Geneva."
The Futuro is going to be a part of Session 4 which runs 061122 thru 082822. The photos below were posted to Instagram 051722 by @openhousegeneva.
"... a multidisciplinary exhibition which presents innovative and original forms of housing through projects from the world of art, architecture and design."
that is
"Happening in 4 sessions from 2021 to 2022 and in several locations in Geneva."
The Futuro is going to be a part of Session 4 which runs 061122 thru 082822. The photos below were posted to Instagram 051722 by @openhousegeneva.
Then this photo posted to Instagram 060322 by @00lliivviieerr, gave us our first look at the fully assembled Futuro.
And on 060922 we got a great look at the interior of the Futuro (which has clearly undergone significant restoration) with these photos kindly sent to us by @meghann_rse from @hiflow_geneva. Meghan also included the third photo below which gives us a wider perspective on the Futuro's (temporary) location than we had previously seen. Thanks Meghan!
As we have often stated on these pages we love black and white photography and this recent photo of this Futuro by black_white_bird is a great example.
The P&M Präsentation und Medientechnik GmbH website includes some great photos relating to the temporary "re-assignment" of their Futuro to Milan; the photos can be found below. There is also a little information accompanying these photos that includes two rather interesting "tidbits".
First we are informed that the call from Louis Vuitton inquiring about the possibility of displaying the P&M Futuro in Milan only came 10 days prior to the start of the event. Given that short notice it is very impressive that P&M were able to make it happen.
Second P&M include, along with the photos, a couple of lines of text relating to the history of their Futuro or, perhaps more accurately, "Futuros". If "Google Translate" is accurate then it seems P&M did not purchase a single Futuro House but instead actually acquired two Futuros in the 1970's.
Since the Futuro from the Haigerloch campus carries a Polykem identification plate (#004) indicating it was manufactured by Polykem in Finland and then imported by P&M (or some intermediary) it seems highly likely that if there was a second, which P&M clearly indicate there was, that would also have been a Finnish made imported unit. Oswin Appelmann, president of P&M, tells us that this second Futuro was destroyed in a fire.
Once again the "Finnish 20", the list of Futuros manufactured in Finland based on Matti Suuronen's Futuro CV "begs for another look" - might even be the "Finnish 23" now; more information can be found here.
These first two shots show the P&M Campus pre and post the removal of the Futuro.
First we are informed that the call from Louis Vuitton inquiring about the possibility of displaying the P&M Futuro in Milan only came 10 days prior to the start of the event. Given that short notice it is very impressive that P&M were able to make it happen.
Second P&M include, along with the photos, a couple of lines of text relating to the history of their Futuro or, perhaps more accurately, "Futuros". If "Google Translate" is accurate then it seems P&M did not purchase a single Futuro House but instead actually acquired two Futuros in the 1970's.
Since the Futuro from the Haigerloch campus carries a Polykem identification plate (#004) indicating it was manufactured by Polykem in Finland and then imported by P&M (or some intermediary) it seems highly likely that if there was a second, which P&M clearly indicate there was, that would also have been a Finnish made imported unit. Oswin Appelmann, president of P&M, tells us that this second Futuro was destroyed in a fire.
Once again the "Finnish 20", the list of Futuros manufactured in Finland based on Matti Suuronen's Futuro CV "begs for another look" - might even be the "Finnish 23" now; more information can be found here.
These first two shots show the P&M Campus pre and post the removal of the Futuro.
These photos, courtesy of P&M, follow the Futuro from the P&M campus through its set up in Milan.
A couple of observations from photos of this Futuro during its time in Milan.
First, as can be seen in the first photo below (sent to us by Yves Buysse), this Futuro carries a Polykem plate on the steps which identifies this Futuro as #4. Of course this also suggests the unit is one that was manufactured in Finland (and so causes us to once again "play" with Matti Suuronen's Futuro CV - the "Finnish 20").
Second, the cluster of three small roof vents seen in earlier photos of this unit in Haigerloch (here and here) are missing in Milan as can be seen very clearly in the second photo below (posted to Instagram by franci.ma).
In fact not only are the vents themselves missing but there do not appear to be any openings in the roof of the Futuro for these vents. There is no way to know if they had previously been "cosmetic only" and mounted to the roof with no vent openings or if, during the move to Milan, the roof section that had the vents installed was restored without the vent openings.
First, as can be seen in the first photo below (sent to us by Yves Buysse), this Futuro carries a Polykem plate on the steps which identifies this Futuro as #4. Of course this also suggests the unit is one that was manufactured in Finland (and so causes us to once again "play" with Matti Suuronen's Futuro CV - the "Finnish 20").
Second, the cluster of three small roof vents seen in earlier photos of this unit in Haigerloch (here and here) are missing in Milan as can be seen very clearly in the second photo below (posted to Instagram by franci.ma).
In fact not only are the vents themselves missing but there do not appear to be any openings in the roof of the Futuro for these vents. There is no way to know if they had previously been "cosmetic only" and mounted to the roof with no vent openings or if, during the move to Milan, the roof section that had the vents installed was restored without the vent openings.
We recently came across this video which nicely captures the interior of this Futuro during the week it was in Milan. It was posted to Instagram 040717 by paolagioiar.
A few days ago photos of a yellow Futuro in Milan started to pop up on Instagram; several of these can be found below and a quick internet search will reveal many others.
A couple of minutes in Google revealed that the Futuro was on display as part of the Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades collection which was in Milan, Italy as a feature of the "Salone del Mobile. Milano" running 040417 through 040917.
Though we were initially uncertain which Futuro this was it clearly bore a great resemblance to the Haigerloch unit (in particular the color and the appearance of some of the windows) and in email conversations Oswin Appelmann, president of P&M, confirmed the unit on display in Milan was indeed the P&M Futuro on loan from Haigerloch.
Oswin told us that the Futuro was disassembled 032817 and then driven to Milan using a custom trailer which safely transports all sections of the Futuro. The unit was reassembled at the Palazzo Bocconi, Corso Venezia 48, 20122 Milano on 033017. The Futuro will be disassembled 041017 and transported back to Haigerloch. P&M intend to do some restoration work before reassembling the unit back in its original location on the P&M campus.
Our thanks to Oswin for taking time out of his busy schedule to update us.
The photos below were all posted to Instagram 040317 and show this Futuro during its temporary stay in Milan. The photos are by (top to bottom, left to right):
A couple of minutes in Google revealed that the Futuro was on display as part of the Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades collection which was in Milan, Italy as a feature of the "Salone del Mobile. Milano" running 040417 through 040917.
Though we were initially uncertain which Futuro this was it clearly bore a great resemblance to the Haigerloch unit (in particular the color and the appearance of some of the windows) and in email conversations Oswin Appelmann, president of P&M, confirmed the unit on display in Milan was indeed the P&M Futuro on loan from Haigerloch.
Oswin told us that the Futuro was disassembled 032817 and then driven to Milan using a custom trailer which safely transports all sections of the Futuro. The unit was reassembled at the Palazzo Bocconi, Corso Venezia 48, 20122 Milano on 033017. The Futuro will be disassembled 041017 and transported back to Haigerloch. P&M intend to do some restoration work before reassembling the unit back in its original location on the P&M campus.
Our thanks to Oswin for taking time out of his busy schedule to update us.
The photos below were all posted to Instagram 040317 and show this Futuro during its temporary stay in Milan. The photos are by (top to bottom, left to right):
In July of 2016 we were fortunate enough to be able to take a vacation to Europe. The primary destinations were England and Switzerland but we were also able to squeeze in a quick road trip through Germany to visit this Futuro along with those in Taunusstein and Niedernhausen as well as the half Futuro in Frankfurt.
The photos below were taken 072616; the condition of the Futuro appears to be largely unchanged from that seen in previous photographs.
The photos below were taken 072616; the condition of the Futuro appears to be largely unchanged from that seen in previous photographs.
Yves Buysse aka futurohouse has shared many photos and other items on these pages and it looks to us like he recently took a "Futuro Roadtrip" visiting this Futuro and those in Niedernhausen and Taunusstein on 031316.
This nice set of photos shows this Futuro as it appeared on 031316. Yves; as always we hope you do not mind us sharing your "Futuro Work" here.
This nice set of photos shows this Futuro as it appeared on 031316. Yves; as always we hope you do not mind us sharing your "Futuro Work" here.
We are now able to add a little more information about this Futuro along with some new photos courtesy of Achim Breiling who recently passed by the site, was able to grab some photos and kindly emailed us the information and allowed us to display his photos here.
The Futuro is on the property of P&M Präsentation und Medientechnik GmbH. The company is in the business of Industrial Exhibitions, Exhibition Stands and the like and so the initial thought was that like Expotechnik Holding GmbH & Co. KG who own the Taunusstein Futuro the company may have been involved in early exhibitions or other activity related to or making use of the Futuro. However historical satellite imagery available in Google Earth shows that the Futuro was not in this location in 2000. Of course it could have been owned by the same company and located elsewhere but equally it could have been elsewhere with a different owner; at this time we have no way of knowing but we will endeavor to find out.
Though the windows were extremely difficult to see through Achim indicated to us that while the Futuro was clearly fully intact externally from what little he could see the interior was empty.
The Futuro is on the property of P&M Präsentation und Medientechnik GmbH. The company is in the business of Industrial Exhibitions, Exhibition Stands and the like and so the initial thought was that like Expotechnik Holding GmbH & Co. KG who own the Taunusstein Futuro the company may have been involved in early exhibitions or other activity related to or making use of the Futuro. However historical satellite imagery available in Google Earth shows that the Futuro was not in this location in 2000. Of course it could have been owned by the same company and located elsewhere but equally it could have been elsewhere with a different owner; at this time we have no way of knowing but we will endeavor to find out.
Though the windows were extremely difficult to see through Achim indicated to us that while the Futuro was clearly fully intact externally from what little he could see the interior was empty.
We came across this Futuro when searching Panoramio and other than the two Panoramio images by Ivo Kompletti displayed below we have not been able to find any additional information about it anywhere. It does not appear to be referenced on any of the usual websites that have lists of Futuro Houses and we came upon it purely by chance looking for photographs of another location.
We initially figured it was probably one that had been moved and was already recorded at another location but when we looked at dates that proved not to be the case. Ivo Kompletti's photos were taken 012211 and the satellite imagery in Google that clearly shows the Futuro is only from 2010 so we have to assume the Futuro is still at the location and had simply not previously come to the attention of anyone with an interest in Futuros.
Given the almost complete lack of information on this unit if you happen to know anything about it please let us know.
We initially figured it was probably one that had been moved and was already recorded at another location but when we looked at dates that proved not to be the case. Ivo Kompletti's photos were taken 012211 and the satellite imagery in Google that clearly shows the Futuro is only from 2010 so we have to assume the Futuro is still at the location and had simply not previously come to the attention of anyone with an interest in Futuros.
Given the almost complete lack of information on this unit if you happen to know anything about it please let us know.
- Achim Breiling
- ankigneib
- barbarasnellenburg
- black_white_bird
- bn_industries
- fredvalezy
- futurohouse
- germanacostanza
- ilguzzo
- Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades
- @meghann_rse
- @00lliivviieerr
- @openhousegeneva
- Oswin Appelmann, President P&M
- P&M Präsentation und Medientechnik GmbH Website
- paolagioiar
- Salone del Mobile. Milano
- samedford
- Yves Buysse
- Open House: Designing Spaces for Living | Pages 142-145
