The Futuro House

Update 021515

It seems that in fact at least one Futuro II-X was actually manufactured; for more information see the Concept, Design, Manufacturing & Marketing page.

Original Information

This architectural plan (pdf), titled Futuro II-X Floor Plan, numbered II-X A-1 and dated 050471, relates to an "oversized" Futuro that was, to our knowledge, never manufactured.

Additional floor space was created in Futuro II-X by the addition of a straight sided 10 foot section between the two halves of a conventional round Futuro House. The resulting unit was 36' in one direction and 26' in the other direction and featured two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a centrally located island kitchen.

This plan was included in a New Dimensions Of Delaware Inc. marketing package and other documents included in that package suggest that the addition of the 10 foot straight sided section increased the floor area of the unit to 820 square feet.

The marketing package in which this plan was found also included an Elevation & Section for the Futuro II-X.




This is a series of detailed Interior design plans (pdf) for the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado. They were drawn by David Decker, the company's architect, and are dated 110170.

The series contains five plans that include detail of the following:

• Plan
• Interior Elevation
• Section Thru Bathroom
• Section Thru Entry
• Section Thru Bedroom
• Various Connectors & Engineering Details
• Electrical Plan

This late 1970 Stock Offering Prospectus indicates that the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado planned on manufacturing a Futuro House that was "substantially larger" than the original Finnish model but it does not indicate the actual size. The first of these plans gives an indication of what that size might be; assuming that the plans in the archive are the original size then based on the scale on the first of these plans the Futuro depicted would have a diameter of 28 feet rather than the original 26 feet.

The commonly quoted area of a Futuro House is 500 square feet and is based on a diameter of approximately 26 feet at window height. A 28 foot diameter unit would have an area of approximately 615 square feet; an increase of some 23%. Whether that qualifies as a "substantial increase" is a subjective determination; for us it does. That said there are other drawings and plans that provide different dimensions; for example this Floor Structure plan dated 060170 suggests a diameter of 30 feet which would have equated to an area a touch over 700 square feet.

What is clear is that the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado and it's architect did a lot of design work while working towards their own, somewhat modified, design for the Futuro House. What is unclear is whether or not any units were ever manufactured and sold based on a specification larger than the original 26 foot diameter.

Though not attached to the plans this three page series of notes dated 110370 were in the same envelope. That document includes notes on Heating & A/C, Kitchen Appliances & Cabinets, Bathroom Appliances & Fixtures, Electrical and Plumbing and, given the content of these plans and the presence of both documents in the same envelope, it seems likely that the notes and plans were associated with each other.












Update 021515

It seems that in fact at least one Futuro II-X was actually manufactured; for more information see the Concept, Design, Manufacturing & Marketing page.

Original Information

This architectural plan (pdf), titled Futuro II-X Elevation & Section, numbered II-X A-2 and dated 040671 relates to an "oversized" Futuro that was, to our knowledge, never manufactured.

Additional floor space was created in Futuro II-X by the addition of a straight sided 10 foot section between the two halves of a conventional round Futuro House. The resulting unit was 36' in one direction and 26' in the other direction and featured two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a centrally located island kitchen (see Floor Plan).

This plan was included in a New Dimensions Of Delaware Inc. marketing package and other documents included in that package suggest that the addition of the 10 foot straight sided section increased the floor area of the unit to 820 square feet.

The plan carries a stamp which reads:

"New Dimensions Inc., Distributors For Futuro Fiberglass Homes, Route 1, Box 272, Milton, Delaware, 19968, Phone 302-645-8675"

and the marketing package in which it was found also included a Floor Plan for the Futuro II-X.




This pair of plans (pdf) dated 102870 has no company/architect identification and they are clearly incomplete.

That said given the date and similarity it seems likely that they were partially completed plans by David Decker as he worked on producing this series of 110170 plans for the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado.

It is however worth noting that despite the hypothesis that the plans are early version of 110170 plans there are some significant differences. For example the bathroom is effectively "reversed" in orientation from 102870 to 110170; such deviations provide an interesting insight into the "design process" and remind us that designs evolve and change and are not simply static.






This is a small plan titled "Futuro Floor Panel Layout" that is stapled to this much larger "Floor Structure" plan.

The plan is dated 052270 and carries the initials DBD (presumably David Decker, architect to the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado) who drew the plan to which this was attached.




Various documents in the archive reference an alternative "Futuro" design; among them this 062471 letter refers to a new "three-quarter" house design and in this 061973 letter we read of a "house on a platform". It is likely that these references are to the structure depicted in this series of photographs.

In a manila envelope not associated with any of the other files in the archive was this 12¼" by 9" hand painted artist's impression of a structure that certainly appears to be the same. There are however no identifying marks of any kind.




In a 120470 letter to Charles Cleworth Polykem proposed a business arrangement that would involve the licensing in the US of Polykem's "new house" along with the CF-100 to the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado. That letter was accompanied by several other letters and documents.

In among the package of documents was this architectural plan for a Gulf Oil branded CF-200 Service Station. The plan is 32¾" by 22¼" and so is too large for us to scan to produce a pdf file. It is dated 100170 and appears to have been signed by Matti Suuronen himself (we might be mistaken on that but it does look that way to us).




FOR THE RECORD - This item is no longer held by us. It is now in the hands of an avid collector and archivist of CF-xxx related materials who will give it the care and attention we give to our Futuro related items. That said we have left this entry here as a record of the fact that this item was originally a part of the Cleworth Archive.

In a 120470 letter to Charles Cleworth Polykem proposed a business arrangement that would involve the licensing in the US of Polykem's "new house" along with the CF-100 to the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado. That letter was accompanied by several other letters and documents.

In among the package of documents was this booklet (pdf) containing architectural drawings of the CF-10. This is interesting as nothing in the archive suggests any discussion about Polykem and Cleworth ever took place that involved the CF-10. That said it did appear, at least based on the documents it was found with, to be associated with the package (though the booklet does contain one drawing that could perhaps explain the presence of the booklet in the package of documents).

There are five CF-10 drawings in the booklet and though they are all very similar they do depict five different versions of the CF-10; a Shop (with and without WC), a Kiosk (also with and without WC) and a storage unit.

There is also a drawing of the CF-5 Canopy; a designation we have not come across before that appears to show the use of CF-100 sections as a "stand-alone" canopy structure. This might possibly explain the presence of this booklet in the package of documents since the CF-100 was a part of the business proposition Polykem made to the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado.

Individual larger versions of these drawings, with additional detail, were also found in the same package of documents.

This architectural plan (pdf) shows the Elevation, Section and Floor Plan for a Futuro. The plan does not include dimensions, there are few details and it is neither numbered nor dated. This plan was the one plan included in this Futuro Corporation of Colorado Stock Offering Prospectus from late 1970.

There were actually several copies of this plan in the archive. It is interesting to note that while all bear the company name Futuro Corporation at the bottom the "loose" copies have had "of Colorado" added (see this pdf) whereas the plan included in the Stock Offering Prospectus does not have this addition as seen in the photo below.

One notable feature of the plan is that there is a "Sleeping Loft" marked on the bottom left drawing. We do not recall seeing this feature on any plans or drawings before and we certainly are not aware of a Futuro being built that way but it is interesting to note nonetheless.




These are two full size (36" x 23" - too large for us to create pdf's) Futuro Corporation blueprints; specifically a Floor Plan and a Steel Plan (plans A-1 and S-1 dated 010170 and 011470 respectively). These are actually the same as two of the plans we saw and photographed when visiting with Ira, owner of the Austin Futuro, on 091314.

There is however one interesting, even quirky, difference and that is that these plans were reversed when printed; what you see in the photos is how the plans are actually printed and not an error in our photography. Much like stamps or other collectibles with errors that probably makes these plans ever rarer than plans with no errors.






This is a small rough sketch of a modified Futuro (pdf); it is on a postcard sized piece of white paper, is undated and anonymous and it reminds us of the sort of drawing that might result from a business meeting in a bar. The sketch shows a Futuro with rectangular windows and what could be a kind of "French door" like entrance.

The ideas seen in the sketch are reminiscent of some of the ideas David Decker (architect to the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado) explored in this series of drawings and so, though pure conjecture, it would be reasonable to think this might perhaps have been drawn by David Decker to quickly illustrate one of his ideas to one of his colleagues.




FOR THE RECORD - These items are no longer held by us. They are now in the hands of an avid collector and archivist of CF-xxx related materials who will give them the care and attention we give to our Futuro related items. That said we have left this entry here as a record of the fact that these items were originally a part of the Cleworth Archive.

In a 120470 letter to Charles Cleworth Polykem proposed a business arrangement that would involve the licensing in the US of Polykem's "new house" (not specified but likely the CF-45 Venturo based on other documents in the package) along with the CF-100 to the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado. That letter was accompanied by several other letters and documents.

In among the package of documents was this series of drawings of the CF-10. This is interesting as nothing in the archive suggests any discussion bewteen Polykem and Cleworth ever took place that involved the CF-10. That said they did appear, at least based on the documents they were found with, to be associated with the package.

The drawings are 16½" by 11¾" and so are too large for us to produce pdf files. There are five drawings in the series and though they are all very similar they do depict five different versions of the CF-10; a Shop (with and without WC), a Kiosk (also with and without WC) and a storage unit.

These same drawings appeared in this booklet which was found in the same package of documents.












FOR THE RECORD - This item is no longer held by us. It is now in the hands of an avid collector and archivist of CF-xxx related materials who will give it the care and attention we give to our Futuro related items. That said we have left this entry here as a record of the fact that this item was originally a part of the Cleworth Archive.

In a 120470 letter to Charles Cleworth Polykem proposed a business arrangement that would involve the licensing in the US of Polykem's "new house" (not specified but likely the CF-45 Venturo based on other documents in the package) along with the CF-100 to Cleworth's Futuro Corporation Of Colorado. That letter was accompanied by several other letters and documents.

In among the package of documents was this undated document (pdf). We are in no way shape or form engineers but this appears to be a structural engineering document that speaks to the wind and snow load capabilities of the CF-100.


This series of Design Studies (pdf) by David Decker (architect to the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado) dates from February 1970.

The drawings include sketches of various window configurations, among them square windows, skylights, long slit windows and sliding glass doors to a deck.

There is also a study on the central fireplace which incorporated seating facing outwards from the center of the Futuro and bedroom, bathroom, dining area and kitchen studies.

This series of drawings is very basic and dates from much earlier than other David Decker plans and drawings in the archive which suggests these were done early on in the process of the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado coming up with their own plans and design for their Futuro House.


This is a 24" x 18" (too large for us to scan a pdf) architectural plan for the floor structure of a Futuro House. It is titled "Floor Structure For The Futuro Corporation Of Colorado", dated 060170 and drawn by David Decker (architect to the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado).

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this particular plan lies in the overall dimensions of the Futuro depicted. Though the diameter of the unit is not specifically detailed based on the scale of the drawing and those dimensions that are detailed the diameter of this Futuro would have been 30 feet rather than the 26 feet of the original Finnish design.

Whether or not such a Futuro was ever produced is unclear and other plans such as this 110170 series suggest a diameter of 28 feet but there is ample evidence (including this Stock Offering Prospectus) that suggest the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado was at least planning to manufacture and sell a Futuro larger than the original.

As found in the archive this plan had a much smaller plan titled "Floor Panel Layout" stapled to it.




This is a large (36" x 24" - too large for us to scan and create a pdf) architectural plan titled "Futuro House Support Framing Details" dated 061970 and produced for the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado.

Unlike many other plans in the archive that can be attributed to the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado this one was not drawn by the company's architect (David Decker) but instead by a third party; The Ken R. White Company, which was presumably an architectural and/or engineering company.

The plan provides details of the floor support structure, the support struts and the manner of connection of the support struts to the frame of the Futuro.




FOR THE RECORD - These items are no longer held by us. They are now in the hands of an avid collector and archivist of CF-xxx related materials who will give them the care and attention we give to our Futuro related items. That said we have left this entry here as a record of the fact that these items were originally a part of the Cleworth Archive.

In a 120470 letter to Charles Cleworth Polykem proposed a business arrangement that would involve the licensing in the US of Polykem's "new house" along with the CF-100 to the Futuro Corporation Of Colorado. That letter was accompanied by several other letters and documents.

In among the package of documents was this set of three architectural drawings of the CF-45 Venturo. The plans are 25" by 23½" and so too large for us to scan and produce pdf files. The plans are undated and very similar though each does depict a different configuration.

The package of documents in which Polykem proposed a business arrangement with Cleworth does not actually mention the CF-45 by name (it references the "new design") but the presence of these drawings in the package along with evidence in other documents does suggest that the "new design" was in fact the CF-45 Venturo.