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 | Aéroport de Lorient Bretagne Sud, 56270 Ploemeur, France
- Lat/Long | 47°45'17.19"N 3°26'7.98"W
- Previous Location | Lanester, Lorient, France
- Previous Lat/Long | Unknown
- Image By Yves Buysse | 073014
- Google Maps | 071418 (Futuro Is Not Visible - Imagery Blurred By Google)
- Latest Confirmation | 092423
Information Update History
Benoit Couturier, owner of his own Futuro located in Paris, recently sent us this nice set of photos of this Futuro which he visited 042121; thanks for sharing them Benoit!
We recently came across this photo on Instagram. Nice to see a recent photo of one of the lesser photographed Futuros. The photo was posted to Instagram by alain_defini 102720.
We do not see a whole lot of photos of this Futuro so it is nice to see a new one. This photo was posted to Instagram by prefablabla 110619.
It is always nice to get an updated look at a Futuro, particularly where it is one of the less photographed units. This photo dated 042819 was posted to Instagram by florianschairer.
The French Cirque Arlette Gruss has been touring since 1985. This rather cool RPPC shows the "montage du chapiteau" or, according to Google Translate, the "assembly of the marquee" during a stop in Lorient, France in 1987. The photograph shows a Futuro behind the marquee.
The February 2012 Issue (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) of the monthly online Gazette (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) published by the Aero Club Lorient (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) tells us that the this Futuro was originally located in an industrial area of Lanester, a suburb of Lorient and then moved a couple of times around the area before arriving at the airfield and so, based on that, it seems reasonable to assume that the Futuro seen on this RPPC is this Futuro prior to its arrival at the airfield.
The photograph was taken by "The Circus Photographer" Claude Pelfrene on 051887. There is no indication as to whether the Futuro actually had any relationship to, or involvement in, the circus. The RPPC is #22 of a limited edition of 300.
The February 2012 Issue (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) of the monthly online Gazette (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) published by the Aero Club Lorient (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) tells us that the this Futuro was originally located in an industrial area of Lanester, a suburb of Lorient and then moved a couple of times around the area before arriving at the airfield and so, based on that, it seems reasonable to assume that the Futuro seen on this RPPC is this Futuro prior to its arrival at the airfield.
The photograph was taken by "The Circus Photographer" Claude Pelfrene on 051887. There is no indication as to whether the Futuro actually had any relationship to, or involvement in, the circus. The RPPC is #22 of a limited edition of 300.
Yves Buysse sent us an email recently in which he let us know that this Futuro had been moved a short distance to a new location at the Aéroport de Lorient Bretagne Sud. The Futuro "landed" at its new "home" on 101717. A couple of photos of the relocated Futuro can be found below; they are from the airports Facebook page and website respectively.
Yves also sent us the links listed below to a few Youtube Videos that were shot as planes landed at the airport in which this Futuro, at its old location, is visible at some point.
Yves also sent us the links listed below to a few Youtube Videos that were shot as planes landed at the airport in which this Futuro, at its old location, is visible at some point.
It seems that the idea that the Niedernhausen Futuro was one of the three that were located in Belgium in 1971 may be incorrect after all (see the 082314 update below). This conclusion was based on the fact that the Futuro had no lower windows. This photo, shot 021515 by futurohouse (futurohouse's original photo can be found on Flickr here), clearly shows that this Futuro does in fact have lower windows.
On 073014 Yves Buysse visited the Ploemeur Futuro. Not only was Yves able to see the Futuro's exterior he was also given the opportunity to go inside the unit. Yves tells us the Futuro appeared to be in reasonable condition, though the original windows were gone and had been replaced by what appeared to be flat Acrylic sheets. Yves shot a nice set of photos of the Futuro and these can be seen below. For shots of other Futuros Yves has visited check out Flickr where Yves goes by the nickname futurohouse.
During his visit Yves was able to confirm that this Futuro does not have a lower section with windows; there are the standard sixteen windows that ring the Futuro but no lower ones. This is interesting as it is an unusual window configuration; most Futuros have a section with lower windows (most commonly four in two rows of two though there are exceptions - the Pöytyä Futuro for example has a single row of three lower windows). Yves goes on to add that the condition of the sections of the Futuro were consistent with one another and there was no evidence to suggest that a section (that might have had windows) had ever been replaced.
This unusual window configuration set Yves to thinking and after a little research he came up with a theory as to where this Futuro might have come from. The theory starts with the three Futuro's located at 50°47'18.64"N 4°25'14.94"E in Belgium in 1971 (see this photo). There are various photographs from different viewpoints of these three Futuro's (along with some interior shots) some of which can be found on the Tildonk Futuro page. Yves was able to come up with a "plan" of the three Futuros based on all of the various photos which proved that of the three only one had lower windows; the other two had only the sixteen upper section windows circling the Futuro.
A look through photos of known European Futuros (there has been the odd move of a Futuro from "continent to continent" but such moves have been rare - most recently of course we have seen "Futuro 22" move from Africa to Europe) quickly tells us that almost all have lower windows (though I do not recall a photo of the two in Kvistgård, Denmark where lower windows were visible). There are two however that definitely do not have lower windows; the one in Ploemeur and also the one in Niedernhausen, Germany.
Futuro history is often clouded with uncertainty and we do not think any of this is definitive but based on this evidence we do agree with Yves that it seems quite likely that two of the three Belgian Futuros are now located at Ploemeur and Niedernhausen. The third, the one with lower windows, is known to have been in Tildonk, Belgium and is now located in Limni, Corfu.
Our thanks to Yves for the photos of Ploemeur and the research and theory on the current locations of the three Belgian Futuros.
During his visit Yves was able to confirm that this Futuro does not have a lower section with windows; there are the standard sixteen windows that ring the Futuro but no lower ones. This is interesting as it is an unusual window configuration; most Futuros have a section with lower windows (most commonly four in two rows of two though there are exceptions - the Pöytyä Futuro for example has a single row of three lower windows). Yves goes on to add that the condition of the sections of the Futuro were consistent with one another and there was no evidence to suggest that a section (that might have had windows) had ever been replaced.
This unusual window configuration set Yves to thinking and after a little research he came up with a theory as to where this Futuro might have come from. The theory starts with the three Futuro's located at 50°47'18.64"N 4°25'14.94"E in Belgium in 1971 (see this photo). There are various photographs from different viewpoints of these three Futuro's (along with some interior shots) some of which can be found on the Tildonk Futuro page. Yves was able to come up with a "plan" of the three Futuros based on all of the various photos which proved that of the three only one had lower windows; the other two had only the sixteen upper section windows circling the Futuro.
A look through photos of known European Futuros (there has been the odd move of a Futuro from "continent to continent" but such moves have been rare - most recently of course we have seen "Futuro 22" move from Africa to Europe) quickly tells us that almost all have lower windows (though I do not recall a photo of the two in Kvistgård, Denmark where lower windows were visible). There are two however that definitely do not have lower windows; the one in Ploemeur and also the one in Niedernhausen, Germany.
Futuro history is often clouded with uncertainty and we do not think any of this is definitive but based on this evidence we do agree with Yves that it seems quite likely that two of the three Belgian Futuros are now located at Ploemeur and Niedernhausen. The third, the one with lower windows, is known to have been in Tildonk, Belgium and is now located in Limni, Corfu.
Our thanks to Yves for the photos of Ploemeur and the research and theory on the current locations of the three Belgian Futuros.
A little of the history of this Futuro can be found in the monthly online Gazette (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) published by the Aero Club Lorient (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here). In the February 2012 Issue (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) of the Gazette we learn that the Futuro was originally located in an industrial area of Lanester, a suburb of Lorient and then moved a couple of times around the area before arriving at its current location (based on Google Translate - please correct us if we have read this incorrectly).
The Futuro arrived at its current location sometime in the 1990's. The February 2012 Gazette article includes the very interesting photographs below which show the Futuro arriving in a fully assembled state on a flatbed and then being hoisted by crane onto the concrete foundation prepared for it.
In the April 2013 Issue (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) of the Gazette there is a nice aerial shot (also below) of part of the airfield which clearly shows the location of the Futuro (top center of the photograph). If there was any small shadow of a doubt about the location due to the poor satellite imagery in Google Maps this photograph removes it and confirms the location.
There are also a few photographs of activities/functions in the Futuro which incidentally show the Futuro's interior here (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) and here (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here).
Please forgive the poor quality of these images; they are screen captures from the Gazette and so the originals are small,low resolution files.
The Futuro arrived at its current location sometime in the 1990's. The February 2012 Gazette article includes the very interesting photographs below which show the Futuro arriving in a fully assembled state on a flatbed and then being hoisted by crane onto the concrete foundation prepared for it.
In the April 2013 Issue (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) of the Gazette there is a nice aerial shot (also below) of part of the airfield which clearly shows the location of the Futuro (top center of the photograph). If there was any small shadow of a doubt about the location due to the poor satellite imagery in Google Maps this photograph removes it and confirms the location.
There are also a few photographs of activities/functions in the Futuro which incidentally show the Futuro's interior here (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) and here (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here).
Please forgive the poor quality of these images; they are screen captures from the Gazette and so the originals are small,low resolution files.
It is always exciting when a "new" Futuro is located - of course they are never really "new"; perhaps "rediscovered" might be a better way of describing it. Anyway we welcome to these pages the second Futuro in France. Achim Breiling, who adds a great deal to these pages, dropped us an email today right around the time we found an entry on "La Maison Futuro" on Facebook providing information on a Futuro House at the Aéroport de Lorient Bretagne Sud located in Ploemeur, France. The Facebook posting included this series of photographs.
A little more information along with the photographs below can be found on the website Cosmothropos Les empreintes de l'Espace sur Terre. The Futuro serves as the club House for Aero Club Lorient; the club's website (Dead Link - archived PDF version can be found here) features a couple of small photographs and we are told the Futuro serves as a place where club members can chat about their passion for flying and also enjoy a coffee (or something a little stronger) after a flight.
One particularly interesting feature of this Futuro is the way it is mounted on what appears to be a concrete base as opposed to the normal legs.
While not particularly clear the Google Maps imagery of the area is sufficient to allow the Futuro's location to be identified. Additionally there is a photograph by julienlt placed at the location in Panoramio. Google Earth historical imagery places the Futuro on site since 112205 but when it actually arrived on site is unknown, at least to us.
If anyone has any additional information or photographs we would love to hear from you.
One particularly interesting feature of this Futuro is the way it is mounted on what appears to be a concrete base as opposed to the normal legs.
While not particularly clear the Google Maps imagery of the area is sufficient to allow the Futuro's location to be identified. Additionally there is a photograph by julienlt placed at the location in Panoramio. Google Earth historical imagery places the Futuro on site since 112205 but when it actually arrived on site is unknown, at least to us.
If anyone has any additional information or photographs we would love to hear from you.
- Achim Breiling
- alain_defini
- Benoit Couturier
- Cosmothropos Les empreintes de l'Espace sur Terre
- florianschairer
- julienlt On Panoramio
- La Maison Futuro
- prefablabla
- Yves Buysse aka futurohouse
None currently known.
This photograph by Aeroclub de la Region de Lorient posted 092423.
The original photograph can be seen on Facebook here.
