The Futuro House

In 1969 French ambulance driver Jean Miguères was involved in a serious traffic accident. According to Jean Miguères following the accident he was helped by an extra-terrestrial being.

Miguères eventually wrote three books centered around this experience and the third of these, "1996 : La Révélation", features a Futuro as a part of the front cover art work.

The Futuro on the cover is likely based on the Mont Blanc Futuro given the similarity between the Futuro's concrete base seen on the cover of the book to that seen in photos of the Mont Blanc Futuro (compare to this photo).

• Paperback: 425 pages
• Publisher: Alliance (1987)
• Language: French
• ISBN-10: 2905137010
• ISBN-13: 978-2905137012
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5¼ x 1 inches

Amazing and Unusual USA written by Jeff Bahr and Janet Friedman is 320 pages absolutely full of a multitude of unusual and interesting sites that can be found all over the USA. If you are ever wanting to plan a road trip and have a taste for the unusual you could do worse that taking a look through a copy of this book.

On page 134 of the book we find a short article on the pair of Futuros in Carlisle, Ohio. The article is short and not very informative and it is accompanied by a single photograph.

• Authors: Jeff Bahr & Janet Friedman
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Publications International, Ltd.; 1st hardcover edition edition (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1412716837
• ISBN-13: 978-1412716833
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 1.2 x 9.9 inches

American Plastic: A Cultural History by Jeffrey L. Meikle is described by Publishers Weekly as "A splendid history of plastic. (It) is authoritative, thorough, interdisciplinary, and intriguing ... (Meikle) traces the course of plastics from 19th-century celluloid and the fist wholly synthetic bakelite, in 1907, through the proliferation of compounds (vinyls, acrylics, polystyrene, nylon, etc.) and recent ecological concerns ..."

There is a very brief and generic mention of the Futuro House on page 213. There are no photographs of the Futuro House.

• Author: Jeffrey L. Meikle
• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813522358
• ISBN-13: 978-0813522357
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.9 inches

Baches of Raglan compiled by journalism, photography and design students from the Schools of Media Arts and Communication at the Waikato Institute of Technology tells the stories of people who have "a place at the beach" and an affection for a simple life.

One such story, titled "Spaceship By The Sea", (Pages 66-71) features long time Futuro owner Captain Peter Farrell (sadly now deceased) who owned the Raglan Futuro. The article includes an interview and some nice photography; the night time shot is one we particularly like.

• Author: Waikato Institute of Technology
• Paperback: 124 Pages
• Publisher: Ramp Press Wintec
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0958290202
• ISBN-13: 978-0958290203
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches

Berlin - City in Space by Lurker Grand is subtitled "Architecture & Design From the 50's To The 70's" and features comments and notes on interesting architecture that can be found in and around Berlin. Text is presented in English, Spanish and German.

In a section titled "Transportable Structures" there is a short paragraph on Futuro and there are two nice photographs of the Berlin Futuro; one exterior shot and one interior shot.

The Futuro is also featured on the book's cover. More information can be found here.

• Author: Lurker Grand
• Hardcover: 352 Pages
• Publisher: Vice Versa distribution, Edition: 1, ed (April 2004)
• Language: English, Spanish, German
• ISBN-10: 3932809424
• ISBN-13: 978-3932809422
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.8 x 1.7 inches

Buy, Keep or Sell? by Judith Miller is actually a rather interesting book and is described on Amazon in these terms:

"Whether you're a new collector or want to identify, value, or find out more about items in your possession, this is the ultimate guide to buying, keeping, or selling collectibles.

On page 328 of the book there is a short paragraph about the Futuro House and the lower part of the page features a faded out image of the interior of a Futuro House in the background.

• Author: Judith Miller
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT; First Edition edition (January 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756613388
• ISBN-13: 978-0756613389
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9 x 1.1 inches

Carsten Höller >Register< edited by Germano Celent with text by Carsten Höller and Germano Celent was published to accompany the "Synchro System" exhibition at the Fondazione Prada in Milan, Italy in 2000.

The book actually not only serves as the catalog for "Synchro System" but also chronicles the works and exhibitions that comprise Carsten Höller's career. At the SKOP exhibition, Vienna, Austria (051096-070796) Höller's exhibit included Futuro #000 and the book features several photos of the exhibition and the Futuro.

• Editor: Germano Celant
• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Fondazione Prada (February 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8887029172
• ISBN-13: 978-8887029178
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 9.5 x 0.9 inches

City Space: Sculptures and Installations Made for Copenhagen 96 edited By Anette Osterby is a catalog for the 1996 exhibition "City Space" which featured sculptures and installations located around Copenhagen, Denmark.

As far as we know there was no Futuro at the exhibition but Futuro was one of the inspirations behind a piece of music composed for the exhibition. Pages 62-63 of the book feature an article about that piece of music which mentions the Futuro and is accompanied by a single, very small, photo of Futuro #001 (in Hirvensalmi, Finland at the time).

• Editor: Anette Osterby
• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: City Space; First Edition edition (1996)
• Language: Danish/English
• ISBN-10: 8798606409
• ISBN-13: 978-8798606406
• Product Dimensions: 8.75 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches

Charles Wilp (1932-2005) was a prominent German advertising mogul, artist and photographer. By all accounts he was a "larger than life" and perhaps eccentric character and he certainly made his mark on the advertising scene, perhaps most notably with his 1968 Afri-Cola campaign.

Among many "claims to fame" Wilp was the owner of a Futuro House which was located on the roof of his Wittlaer, Germany residence. The Futuro House was a gift from the pharmaceutical giant Bayer who co-sponsored the 1971 "Holiday Building Exhibition" held in Iserlohn, Germany. Bayer provided the chemical materials to construct the Futuro and, at the end of the exhibition, gave the Futuro to Wilp who then transported it to Wittlaer and, after reinforcing the concrete roof of his house with steel, placed it on top of his residence.

The book "Dazzledorf: Suburb Of The World - 20 Years Of Photography" chronicles some of Wilp's life and work through photographs and the book includes three photographs featuring the Futuro House; one showing a Futuro being transported by air, one of Wilp and a large party of guests in front of the Futuro and a third showing the Futuro "wrapped" by renowned artist Christo (this photo is not real, Christo never wrapped the Futuro though the idea was considered).

More information on Wilp's Futuro, demolished in the early 1980's, can be found here.

• Author: Charles Wilp
• Photographer: Charles Wilp
• Hardcover: 154 pages
• Publisher: Melzer 1979
• Language: German | English
• ISBN-10: Unknown
• ISBN-13: Unknown
• Product Dimensions: 14 x 0.75 x 11.4 inches

Published in 1980 the book "Dombai" written by Konstantin Rototayev with photographs by Alexander Markelov contains some awe inspiring images of the Karachayevo-Cherkess area around Dombai. The book features text in both Russian and English and along with the photographs of the beautiful landscape of the area we find three photographs of the Dombai Futuro. The Futuro is not mentioned in the text.

This book is not available on Amazon but if anyone is as avid a collector as we are there is a copy available (at the time or writing anyway) on AbeBooks.co.uk and there is what looks like a 2009 edition (with fewer pages) available on the Russian site Ozon.ru (again as at the time of writing). We cannot find an ISBN for this book though it is referenced at Worldcat.org.

• Author: Konstantin Rototayev
• Designer: Oleg Grebenyk
• Photographer: Alexander Markelov
• Hardcover: 119 pages
• Publisher: Moskva: Sovetskaja Rossija (1980)
• Language: Russian & English
• ISBN-10: Unknown
• ISBN-13: Unknown
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.6 x 0.375 inches

Dominic Bradbury's Atlas Of Mid-Century Modern Houses is described as:

"A fascinating collection of more than 400 of the world's most glamorous homes from more than 290 architects"

It is actually a fascinating book and well worth browsing through, yes there is a Futuro interest of course, but there are also 100's of other pretty interesting houses included in the book.

Page 243 sees a short entry on the Futuro House. Nothing new; just a little general history and a photo of Futuro #001 at the WeeGee Exhibition Center in Espoo, Finland.

• Author: Dominic Bradbury
• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (October 16, 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714876747
• ISBN-13: 978-0714876740
Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 1.6 x 13.7 inches

1968: Radical Italian Design was a project from Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari's Toilet Paper in collaboration with the Deste Foundation in Athens that offers an unorthodox, kaleidoscopic walk through the Dakis Joannou collection of Italian Radical Design furniture.

The book is a sturdy beast to say the least! The pages are actually very thick heavy cardboard and the book weighs in at an impressive 8.6 pounds.

Dakis Joannou of course owns the Limni Futuro and that features twice in the book as can be seen in the photos below.

• Photographs: Maurizio Cattelan & Pieropaolo Ferrari
• Drawings: Alessandro Mendini
• Contributor: Maria Cristina Didero
• Publisher: DESTE Foundation/Toilet Paper (May 31, 2014)
• Language: English
• Hardcover: 120 pages
• ISBN-10: 6185039044
• ISBN-13: 978-6185039042
• Weight: 8.6 pounds
• Dimensions: 9.5 x 3.8 x 14.2 inches

150 Houses You Need to Visit Before Your Die is sub-titled "A selection of the 150 most illustrious houses - each having reached a cult status" and features a selection of 150 architectural icons, with homes by Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Ray Eames, Le Corbusier, and many others among the gems between the covers.

Pages 138-139 feature the UK Futuro during the days it was on display in Les Jardins Suspendus (The Hanging Gardens) in Le Havre in the Normandy region of France back in 2018.

• Authors: Thijs Demeulemeester & Jacinthe Gigou
• Publisher: ?Lannoo Publishers (May 14, 2021)
• Language: ?English
• Hardcover: ?256 pages
• ISBN-10: ?9401462046
• ISBN-13: 978-9401462044
• Item Weight: ?2.04 pounds
• Dimensions: ?7.08 x 1.09 x 9.41 inches

In A Letter to Annabelle Larry J. Tracy passes on a lifetime of experience and family history to his new granddaughter. The book takes you from living in poverty, in a small Minnesota town, to traveling, to traveling the world as an International consultant for some of the world's major corporations.

Larry tells us of his brief business involvement with the Futuro House as a "distibutor" and as the individual, at least in part, responsible for Playboy Magazine's interest in the Futuro. See the Janesville Futuro for more information.

• Author: Larry J. Tracy
• Paperback: 114 pages
• Publisher: The Peppertree Press (August 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1936051494
• ISBN-13: 978-1936051496
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.2 inches

There are two different versions of A Wild Ride: The Story Of Morey's Piers, Planet Earth's Greatest Seaside Amusement Park written by Jack Wright with only the cover and title being different; the other version can be found here. The two different covers can be seen below (this version first).

During the 1970's there was a Futuro at Morey's Pier in Wildwood, NJ. The Futuro was refinished several times at Morey's Pier and the book contains two double page images of the Futuro. Text in the book references the Futuro only briefly and even then it is referred to only as the "spaceship". This Futuro was later located in Seaside Heights, NJ and eventually demolished.

• Author: Jack Wright
• Perfect Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Exit Zero Publishing Inc (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097990515X
• ISBN-13: 978-0979905155
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 8.9 x 0.7 inches

Architecture; Drafting and Design, 2nd Edition written by Donald Hepler & Paul Wallach is a very detailed architectural text book and reference and, unlike many of the books we have purchased in the name of "Futuro", most likely this is a book we will never read.

The book makes very brief mention of the Futuro House on page 476. This reference is accompanied by one of the most commonly seen Futuro House photos that features the Hirvensalmi Futuro (now in the collection of the WeeGee Exhibition Center).

• Authors: Donald Hepler & Paul Wallach
• Hardcover: 568 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 2nd edition (1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070282900
• ISBN-13: 978-0070282902
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.7 x 1.6 inches

Bare Essentials: The Best of Nude Magazine 2003-2011 written by Ian Lowey & Suzy Prince is a compilation of the best stories from the British Indie Magazine Nude from its inception in 2003 to its final issue at the end of 2010. Perhaps a little eclectic it is still an interesting read.

Pages 6 through 10 feature an interesting and nicely illustrated history of the Futuro House. While the article is a little general in tone and we don't really learn anything new the book would nevertheless make a nice addition to any Futuro fan's collection.

• Authors: Ian Lowey & Suzy Prince
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Nude Magazine (December 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0956905900
• ISBN-13: 978-0956905901
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches

Berlin Wasserwelten ("Berlin Water Worlds" based on Google Translate) written by Corinna Weidner & Max Hiller is a guide to many of the waterways in the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, the areas that surround them and the sites, food, architecture, attractions and culture found there.

On pages 82-83 of the guide we find an article on the Berlin Futuro owned by Cora Geißler. What does the article tell us about the Futuro? We have absolutely no idea; once we get the article translated into English we will update this page.

• Author: Corinna Weidner & Max Hiller
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Grebennikov Verlag (May 1, 2011)
• Language: German
• ISBN-10: 3941784145
• ISBN-13: 978-3941784147
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches

Capture Cincinnati Volume IV, a collection of photographs of the Cincinnati area, subtitles itself "The Best of the Greater Cincinnati area in Photography". An online community of Cincinnati photographers submitted photos to be considered for the book and then area residents voted to determine which photos would be published.

Page 24 of the book includes an interesting photo by Lisa Sullivan titled "Blue View". It is a photo of one of the Carlisle Futuros; or more specifically one of the windows, the sky and the reflection of the sky in the window.

• Edited By: Capture Cincinnati
• Hardcover: 144 Pages
• Publisher: Pediment Publishing (2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597254339
• ISBN-13: 978-1597254335
• Package Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.6 x 1 inches

Chasing The Perfect: Thoughts On Modernist Design In Our Time by Natalia Ilyin discusses design and the world it helped mold.

On page 44 of the book we see an interior shot of a Futuro; the same shot (cropped) is also seen on page 38. The photo is captioned "Matti Suuronen. Futuro House, 1968" but we cannot find any mention of the Futuro House or any reference to the photo in the text so we really have no idea exactly what point is being made or what the representation of the Futuro is actually supposed to communicate.

• Author: Natalia Ilyin
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Metropolis Books; annotated edition edition (November 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933045213
• ISBN-13: 978-1933045214
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

CNIT Ou Les Temps Modernes was written by Pierre Dottelonde and documents the history of the Center of New Industries and Technologies or CNIT located in La Défense, Paris.

For many years there was a Futuro located outside the CNIT; this Futuro is now located in Saint-Ouen.

The book contains a couple of photos that include the Futuro on pages 124 and 148. One is an interesting aerial view of the CNIT with the Futuro just visible lower left.

• Author: Pierre Dottelonde
• Hardcover: 162 Pages
• Publisher: Le Cherche midi (Dec 1 2009)
• Language: French
• ISBN-10: 2749113113
• ISBN-13: 978-2749113111
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 0.9 x 12.5 inches

Decorative Art 70's edited by Charlotte Fiell & Peter Fiell is described on Amazon as taking "key pages from "Studio Magazine" - a magazine dedicated to fine and decorative, innovative art, and explores the designs and styles of the 1970s. The text looks at natural materials, and designers of the decade as well as forms that captured 70s style."

The book is actually quite interesting but there is no mention of the Futuro House, at least that we can find; it appears it is used only for the cover art. Hard to be sure but it appears to be the Hirvensalmi Futuro.

• Editors: Charlotte Fiell & Peter Fiell
• Series: Decorative Art
• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (April 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822864064
• ISBN-13: 978-3822864067
• Product Dimensions: 10.0 x 1.6 x 7.9 inches

Design und Alltagskultur edited by Wolfgang Schepers is basically a catalogue for the exhibition "68 - Design & Popular Culture Between Consumerism & Conflict" staged at the Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf, Germany between 013198 and 042698. The exhibition featured the prototype Futuro #000.

Pages 72-73 of the catalogue feature a short article and a couple of photographs of the Futuro House from the exhibition. A review of the catalogue can be found here (German text - Google translation to English here)

• Editor: Wolfgang Schepers
• Paperback: 230 Pages
• Publisher: DuMont Buchverlag (März 2000)
• Language: German
• ISBN-10: 3770140990
• ISBN-13: 978-3770140992
• Product Dimensions: 10.25 x 9.5 x 0.7 inches

Die Spur des Sputnik: Kulturhistorische Expeditionen ins kosmische Zeitalter written by Igor J. Polianski & Matthias Schwartz examines the technological, political and cultural effects of the space age that started with the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik on 4 October 1957.

On page 150 of the book there is a single photograph of a Futuro House and on page 152 both Matti Suuronen and Futuro House are mentioned in the text. What is actually written there? We have no idea and this is now another item on the long list of items we need to get translated.

• Authors: Igor J. Polianski & Matthias Schwartz
• Paperback: 395 Pages
• Publisher: Campus Verlag; Auflage: 1 (9. November 2009)
• Language: German
• ISBN-10: 3593390426
• ISBN-13: 978-3593390420
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.0 inches

Dimensions of Change written by Don Fabun is a "forward looking" book that is now rooted in the past. Published in 1971 it was a look at how technology might impact the problems humanity could face over the following 30 years.

On page 71 there is a very brief commentary on the Futuro House. Interestingly it quotes the Futuro as having 20 windows, the configuration most often found in European examples, but it lists the prices normally quoted for the US market - $10,000 for the shell or $14,000 for a fully furnished model.

• Author: Don Fabun
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon; 1ST edition (June 1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0024755001
• ISBN-13: 978-0024755001
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches

Abandoned Taiwan gathers together and presents a great series of photos of the Wanli site; the photos are the work of Chelsea Chapman.

The book is, we think, self published. It can be found for purchase on the website cchapmanfilm (we have assumed that cchapmanfilm is "officially" the publisher though the book does not actually indicate that anywhere).

Though mostly just a collection of photographs there are a few pages with a little text; where this is the case the text is presented in English and (we believe) Mandarin Chinese.

• Author & Photographer: Chelsea Chapman
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: cchapmanfilm (2020)
• Language: English & Mandarin Chinese
• Product Dimensions: 8¼ x 5¾ x ¼ inches

Buch Zwei- Leben in Kunststoffbauten or Book Two - Life in Plastic Structures was written by Elke Genzel and Pamela Voigt.

The book is a companion and second volume to Kunststoffbauten: Die Pioniere also by Elke Genzel and Pamela Voigt and published in 2013.

The book was received in shrink wrap and we have so far decided to leave it that way so we have no photos of the interior pages of the book though we do know there is a reference to Futuro somewhere inside. The book also came with the rather cool bag shown below.

• Authors: Elke Genzel and Pamela Voigt
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Sphere Publishing (1st Ed. Of 500 2022)
• Language: German/English
• ISBN-10: 3982132770
• ISBN-13: 978-3982132778
• Product Dimensions: 9½ x 10 x ¾ inches

Abandoned Texas: Under a Lone Star Moon invites you to:

"... join photographer Mike Cooper as he travels thousands of miles on his late-night treks across Texas ... (and) illuminates a side of Texas you've likely never seen ... (with) otherworldly images, shot on quiet back roads and in near-deserted oil fields under a simple full moon, (that) take you back in time to the glorious Texas imagined by Crockett and the early settlers."

On page 16 we find a photo of the Royse City Futuro accompanied by a little brief commentary on the opposite page. The book identifies the location as simply being "East of Dallas".

• Author: Mike Cooper
• Publisher: America Through Time (November 22, 2021)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 112 pages
• ISBN-10: 1634993683
• ISBN-13: 978-1634993685
• Item Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.31 x 9.25 inches