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.
During the course of our ongoing research into the Futuro House we have come across a great variety of things that do not quite fit into any of the other pages or sections of this website and these are collected on these pages categorized as listed below. The content is split into several pages but the entire list of categories is listed and linked below.
This drawing by 2rakvraiment seems to be "Mini focused" rather than "Futuro focused" but it does feature what appears to be a Wanli inspired representation of a Futuro in the background.
Ambassador Graphics - Pensacola Beach Futuro House
Ambassador Graphics has an interesting Futuro inspired "work in progress" underway. From top to bottom the photos below are described as "a new poster being worked on" (two images), the "first draft of the poster" and "Pieces of the poster, die cut on vinyl". The original images can be found on Ambassador Graphics Instagram. We are looking forward to seeing the finished poster.
Amberly N. Heiny - Day 7 UFO
This whimsical little Futuro drawing by Amberly N. Heiny (aka @bingobuttercupart) popped up on Instagram 100722.
betitusquest - Wanli UFO Village
Artist betitusquest posted this nice drawing of Wanli to Instagram 052719 along with a cool timelapse video of the creation of the piece.
Brad Ford Smith - Lunch & Learn
The Futuro sometimes pops up in the oddest of places. In this drawing by Brad Ford Smith posted to Instagram 101119 we see a framed drawing of a Futuro in the background of a drawing of a speaker at a "lunch and learn" session. We have no idea as to whether the Futuro actually had a place in the presentation or whether its presence in the drawing was purely coincidental.
billybaker28 - Futuro House
billybaker28 recently posted this drawing to Instagram.
ChrisBoganCreative
- Blueprint & Space Saucer
We rather like this ChrisBoganCreative minimalist style drawing of the Pensacola Beach Futuro. It is available for purchase in several sizes on Etsy starting at $35.
This second piece by ChrisBoganCreative is a rather interesting "blueprint" style representation of the Pensacola Beach Futuro. It is also available on Etsy with prices starting at $39.
We came across this rather excellent drawing of Idyllwild on Instagram the other day. The drawing is by Danny Heller and is, we think, the precursor to an oil on canvas work (at least based on the description attached to the Instagram photo which includes "coming soon" and the fact that oil on canvas appears to be Danny's main medium).
This little Futuro drawing is by E. Robin Magsino (aka @swanandgooseworkshop); the original can be found on Instagram here.
Edith Boucher - Dream Home
We recently came across this interesting drawing on Instagram. The piece, titled Dream Home, is by Edith Boucher; the original can be found on Instagram here.
Édouard Marpeau - Futuro House
French graphic designer Édouard Marpeau has this Futuro drawing/poster up on Tumblr.
ellenfive - Futuro House
We recently came across this drawing by ellenfive on Instagram. The drawing was inspired by a visit to "Futuro 22" in London. Not sure who the "furry friends" are.
emanuelletomato - Hen House & Dralloween
This whimsical piece is by emanuelletomato; the original can be found on Tumblr. Art is very subjective and the old and over used cliche "art is in the eye of the beholder" is, in our opinion, very accurate (and there goes us contributing to it's over use); no idea what anyone else will think of the piece but we rather like it.
This second, equally whimsical drawing titled Dralloween, also by emanuelletomato posted on the web in October 2015 also features the Futuro House.
Emily Lewis - Tentacle Girl
This whimsical little work is by Emily Lewis (aka @emlewisart); the original can be found on Instagram here.
Erik Berndt - Imaginary Architecture
This interesting drawing is by Erik Berndt. The original drawing can be found on Flickr here. Erik indicates that the drawing was inspired by this video; worth a look - our view - she is crazy!
Erin Elder - Futuro Home
This whimsical little drawing by Erin Elder can be found on Instagram here and is one of the images in her 2019 Calendar which can be purchased here.
@fridalasvegas - Deep Creek
This Deep Creek inspired piece seems like such a happy looking drawing; it is by @fridalasvegas. The original can be found on Instagram here.
harriet_quilty_artstuff - Futuro
To be frank we are not sure we quite "get" this drawing but that said it is a drawing of a Futuro and so its inclusion here seems appropriate. The drawing is by harriet_quilty_artstuff and is accompanied by this description/explanation:
"The Futuro is looking good - Futuro house shaped like a ufo and manufactured in the later sixties in Todmorden. Lots of ufo sightings here too, involving cows!"
Jacob Martinez - Untitled
Jacob Martinez, who goes by children_of_ink on Instagram, recently posted this interesting drawing that features a Futuro as the "back drop".
Jane Gardner - Futuro House
This untitled Joshua Tree inspired piece is by LA based artist and graphic designer Jane Gardner; the original can be found on Instagram here.
"an art challenge that takes place in November. Its goal is to draw one drawing each day, for all days of the month of November, in a given hue. Each day is linked with a certain hue - you can use all colors you want in your drawing as long as the hue of the day stays the main visible color of the image."
This interesting, perhaps even weird, Futuro inspired work was posted under the #huevember2021 hashtag by Jennifer Lewis-Price (aka @jennpriceart); the original work can be found here.
Kelly Eckstein - Royse City
We love this Royse City inspired work by Kelly Eckstein (aka @kellyecksteinart); the original can be found on Instagram here.
Kelwin Wong - Poster Challenge Day 286
This drawing was posted to Instagram by Kelwin Wong. I rather like the somewhat minimalistic representation of Futuro.
"to indulge (her) love of art and to feature artists creating unusual and beautiful artwork."
Polish architect and professional artist Klara Ostaniewicz
"is interested in architecture from the past twenty years and the way the design highlights interior and exterior spaces. She uses pencil to celebrate architectural structures through beautifully crafted drawings."
This rather nice sketch was posted to Instagram by lou_is_sketch recently. The artist seems to have titled it "Ovni - UFO" and indicates the inspiration was a photo of the Karuizawa Futuro by shirako_527.
malgrelavitesse - Futuro
Not 100% sure we even have this artist's name correct; somewhat difficult to navigate the website we found it on but since the website is http://malgrelavitesse----------lebleu.com/ we have assumed that malgrelavitesse is the artist's name. Also not too sure what medium was used to generate this image but we had to put it somewhere so we chose this section. No matter our trials and tribulations concerning names and categorization we love the image itself.
We came across this rather nice Futuro drawing on Instagram the other day. The drawing is by Michele Svengsouk and shows the Saint-Ouen Futuro. It was posted to Instagram 042016.
Mike Shisler - Pensacola Beach
We recently added this 8" by 10" print of a pen and ink drawing of the Pensacola Beach Futuro by Mike Shisler to our collection of "Things Futuro"; it will look great once we get around to having it framed and hung.
Miriam Persand - Futuro House
This untitled Futuro drawing by Miriam Persand can be found on Tumblr here.
Nanainen - Ihan ufo stoori
We came across this drawing on Nanainen's blog. We have observed many times that while Google Translate does an effective job with some languages Finnish to English is not one of them and it is not easy for us to understand the story that accompanies the drawing.
As best we can tell it relates to the possibility (if indeed there is even a possibility) of time travel. Nanainen observes though that many things we take for granted now were once as unthinkable as time travel is now. Nanainen goes on to talk of the "crazy dream" of further development of the Futuro; perhaps into "time travel"; here we are not sure and it is where we run into translation issues. If anyone can correct us on the story we would love to hear from you.
This amusing drawing popped up in an Instagram search the other day. By Rebecca Eilering and titled (by us not the artist) "Chicken" this is actually a digital drawing with the hardware rather colorfully being described in one of the comments as "an electronic Etch A Sketch".
Rex Parker - Livinston Futuro
This awesome piece featuring the Livingston Futuro is by talented artist Rex Parker. We enjoyed it so much We had to own it; a 13" x 19" print is now a part of our collection of "Things Futuro". You can get your own copy by visiting Rex's online store here.
Rod Legrand - Le future ... & Le passé ...
Update 072421
Rod Legrand recently posted this work to Instagram. It is described by the artist this way (according to Google Translate):
"The past ... The layers in this drawing are partially recycled because space is not a trash can."
which follows on from a previous work (see below) titled "The Future ..." The original piece can be found on Instagram here.
Original Information 042921
This atmospheric piece is by the very talented Rod Legrand; Rod's original work can be found on Instagram here.
The piece is described by the artist as depicting "Le future ... D'après the Futuro house de Matti Suuronen" or, according to Google Translate "The future ... Based on the Futuro house by Matti Suuronen"
saanailija - Sketchtober Week 2
This drawing, one of a series under the heading "Sketchtober week 2" is by saanailija. The original image can be found on Instagram here.
This nice little piece by sketch_by_lex is clearly a drawing of the Milton Futuro. The original work can be found on Instagram here.
Spencer Williams - Spaceship Or Tiny House?
Based on its hashtags this somewhat minimalist drawing by Spencer Williams poses the question "Spaceship Or Tiny House?". The original image can be found on Instagram here.
Stephen Ulman - Pensacola Beach Futuro
Stephen Ulman recently graduated Washington State University with a master's in landscape architecture; our congratulations. The image below is of a 2009 drawing Stephen (along with Ryan Anderson according to the drawing's tag line) did of the Pensacola Beach Futuro.
On his blog Stephen says "I drew this from a photo and added my own improvements to the property." Looks pretty good to us; if we ever manage to buy my own Futuro you might just have a job Stephen!
strifeofbrian - Futuro & 63 Avanti
Artist strifeofbrian describes this drawing as depicting a "Futuro vacation home and (a) "63 Avanti". The original can be found on Instagram here.
"Each entry is a postcard sized watercolor sketch based on real events and memories from my life. I will post one daily for a year."
This drawing - Day 178 in Suzi's series - is inspired by Craig Barnes' "Futuro 22" currently located on the third floor terrace of the University of the Arts London's Central St Martins' building.
A second entry in the year long series also features the Futuro. The entry for Day 299 is titled "Childhood Drawings"; the original can be found on Suzi's blog here.
This sketch is by ttlh76 (the ttlh76 Instagram account appears to have been deleted)
thedietofworms - Futuro House
This great drawing is by artist thedietofworms (aka Krystle Suzanne) who is clearly highly talented. We particularly like the reflections in the windows.
This previously posted video by the artist shows the piece while it was a "work in progress"; the original can be found on Instagram here.
@tuomasikonenart - Museum Cultural Tours
We enjoyed seeing this fun illustration promoting Museum Cultural Tours around the area of the WeeGee Exhibition Center by @tuomasikonenart that was posted to Instagram 060322 by @weegeemuseums. The original post on Instagram can be found here.
The Ear Rings
This pair of Futuro themed ear rings is by La Kiva; they are available for purchase at the WeeGee Exhibition Center shop along with other Futuro themed items.
The Jigsaw Puzzle
Looking for something to occupy a few minutes? This might be the ticket; a rather cool little Futuro jigsaw puzzle you can complete online. The puzzle features Futuro #001 in Espoo (rather than the UK Futuro's stay in Le Havre, France as the title of the puzzle suggests).
The puzzle, by ilikeboats, can be found on jigidi.com along with a whole bunch more if you need to occupy even more time!
These photos are from a fashion shoot titled "Tentacle Salon"; which incidentally, much like the fashion itself, we do not understand. That said they are unusual photos that feature a Futuro, in this case Craig Barnes' "Futuro 22", and so they get a place on this page. The photographer for the shoot was Chen Chen, the stylist was Qin Peng and the designer was Chen Peng.
Nemo Niemann is an accomplished and successful professional American photographer. The photo below, titled "Future Shock - The Saucer", won a nomination in the "6th Annual Black & White Spider Awards". The photo is of the Milton, DE Futuro; the final image is of course photoshopped but only for lighting and the removal of unwanted elements. We happen to love black and white photography and this superb shot by Nemo is no exception.
A full color version of this same shot can be found on Nemo's website here; there is a also second shot that features the Futuro here.
The Fashion Statement
There is one thing that is certain about opinions; there are as many opinions as there are people. Where one sees treasure another sees junk, where one sees something as interesting another sees the same thing as boring. We have never been much for advertising; we have a jobs where sales people contact us and to be honest we do not particularly like sales people, if you try to sell to us we will likely not buy your product even if we need it. Advertisers, in our opinion have some strange ideas about what might encourage people to buy their product.
For example; in Summer 2010 fashion house Diesel came up with what, to us at least, was a somewhat bizarre advertising concept; suggest that people "be stupid". To be honest we would have thought that counter productive - tell my target market to "be stupid" - does that not imply that we "are stupid"? If we were not already stupid how could we now "be stupid"?
Anyway we digress; what is interesting here is that one of the images used in the advertising program featured a Futuro House. It is unclear which Futuro is used, why there is smoke emanating from it or what the native American has to do with it but it does feature the Futuro and so it has a place here.
Check out the images below and see what you think; would that encourage you to buy Diesel? The second image is taken from Diesel's "Be Stupid" catalogue, a pdf file that can be downloaded here.
What is interesting for the Futuro fan is The Futuro House Stage which we are told will be "a space for fashion shows and concerts, taking inspiration from the houses created by Danish architect Mati Suuronen in the 1970s". Of course Matti Suuronen was Finnish not Danish and he designed the Futuro in the 60's not the 70"s but they get points for trying! The two images below illustrate the concept.
We came across this video on YouTube recently which depicts a Futuro constructed for the game Minecraft. Not entirely sure we would have recognized this as a Futuro were it not identified as such but perhaps within the confines of what can be done in this particular game this is as accurate a representation as you can get. The Futuro is seen about 1:20 into the video.
Sim City 4
On the website Simtropolis, a fan site for the game Sim City 4 we find the Futuro House used as the basis for a game mod.
ancientsociety has created a mod for the game Sim City 4 that adds the Futuro House as one of the buildings available to the player when constucting their virtual city.
Simtropolis
Another option for gamers wanting to add the Futuro House to their gaming experience has been added to the website Simtropolis by jimbobbedyjobob.
The Graffiti Artist
A Google search on the term "graffiti definition" returns this:
"... writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place."
so strictly speaking this should probably not be described as graffiti since it was clearly not done illicitly. That said it does "fit" how we think of graffiti and so that is how we are describing this 2013 art work by EDGE on a wall at the Marché Dauphin that includes the Saint-Ouen Futuro among super heroes and cartoons in a composition titled "In Art We Trust".
Others may feel this is more "street art" or perhaps "urban art"; in the end it really does not matter, we all have our opinions and however we choose to categorize this it is still, in our opinion, a cool piece af art that features a Futuro.
With the 2016 holiday season just around the corner it seemed like an appropriate time to add this Gingerbread House that was posted to Instagram (actually last Christmas) by chrnerland.
The cake is very clearly reminiscent of Futuro and the Instagram post does include the hashtag futurohouse but it also pays homage to the sci-fi movie genre as it carries the iconic quote "Klaatu Barada Nikto!" (that will, we are sure, be immediately recognizable to those with an interest in that genre) from the classic 1951 movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still".
Weegee Exhibition Center
The Weegee Exhibition Center recently posted these photos of an awesome Gingerbread House to their Instagram feed. The house was created by Tanja, one of the center's employees, and it even includes Futuro #001.
We saw a photo of this structure some time ago but never followed up on it and when we did we could not find it again until our good friend Yves sent us a couple of links; thanks Yves.
"Imported piece-by-piece from China and assembled on site. The space(ship) is fully insulated, with high-speed internet and automatic doors that literally open and close like a real-life shuttle. The final call has yet to be made on the space and what it will be utilized as, but with room to seat approximately 10-12 people, it would make for a great breakout area, a hybrid conference/meeting space, or an on-demand co-working hub for remote workers living in the area."
The photos below are from the above referenced website with the exception of the last which can be found on the website 3D Design Bureau (where they mistakenly seem to think this is an actual Futuro).
Aquashell
The Futuro House inspired several very simlar projects over the years and one of them was the Tony Gilbert designed Aqaushel which could be described as a floating Futuro "look alike".
The February 1984 issue of Popular Science included a short article on the Aquashel. The image below accompanied the article and is reporduced from our copy of the magazine.
The article does not indicate whether Gilbert was inspired by the Futuro but it seems, based on the evidence, that we can assume that "beyond a reasonable doubt" (to use a term nore normally associated with the legal system).
The article tells us that Aquashel, much like Futuro, was designed for ease of production and transport, on site assembly and that it was constructed from 20 (unlike Futuro's 16) segments. Once you take that information and then take a look at a photo, for us at least, the Futuro influence is evident.
There does not seem to be a whole lot of information out there on Aquashel though we have found a couple of references; an archived Wirral Globe article from 022106 and a forum discussion on Wirral History.
Aquashell cost between £40,000 and £60,000 so it was more costly than Futuro (though some 10 or so years later) and was designed to be located on water and not on land. The very cool photograph below by nancyo21 was taken in 1985.
Casa Mara
A few days ago we came across these two photos posted to Instagram by mustudio1969. The structure is, to us at least, reminiscent of the Futuro. The original photos can be found here and here.
The structure is described as "Casa Mara, Venezuela, 1970". We have not had the time to do any research and know nothing about it; if anyone happens to know anything about this structure please let us know.
Chalet Rajah Saab
This interesting structure was seen on a postcard that was listed for sale on E-Bay as of the time of writing (050116). The item was listed with the following description:
"Futuro House? Chalet Rajah Saab Beiruit Lebanon. By Architect F. Dagher 1952"
While this is clearly in no way a Futuro House it reminds us (a little) of one; a more "angular" cousin if you like!
Chicken Coop
OK - so this might not be the most Futuro like Futuro look alike but even so it does somewhat remind us of Futuro and furthermore it is just plain amusing so we felt obliged to add it here anyway. Our thanks to Barney Vincelette for sending the photo over to us.
Coober Pedy
A recent email we received suggested there was a Futuro in Coober Pedy, Australia. A little research revealed the "concrete UFO" structure seen in this screen grab from Google Earth. A post on the website Vice.com tells us that the structure was built in the 1970's and served as a waiting room for an underground brothel below and adds that:
"This was back in the days when guys outnumbered girls 400 to one. It's more like 40 to one now so we figured they still might want to keep it open but if there are still working ladies in town, they're not working here."
The Curling Stone
Recently we received an email from Donald McHugh in which he referenced a Futuro like structure previously located in Moncton, New Brunswick. VintageMoncton.com tells us that the structure was located in Moncton in the 70's and 80's and that it is believed it was constructed by Earl Davison, who also created the PEI UFO; the similarity is evident.
The "Curling Stone" started out as a pizza restaurant, served as the headquarters for the 1980 Air Canada Silver Broom Men's World Curling Championship held in Moncton and then as a video store and sub shop before being put up for sale and eventually disappearing. Its current whereabouts are unknown.
The photos below are courtesy of VintageMoncton.com with the second being credited to Doreen Johnson.
Faturo
Update 101621
Back when we added "The Faturo" here in 2014 the comments associated with the photos indicated this was a "one off" structure but this photo posted to Instagram 101621 by @emotivpic looks to be the same structure.
We do not know the original dates of any of the photos so we have no real way of knowing if there was only ever one of these which was relocated and repainted or if there are (or were) more than one of these (though this location does not appear to be one where it would be easy to transport a structure, even disassembled, either in or out).
Original Information 021514
The two photos below appeared in posts by Ten Tseng on the Futuro House Facebook Page. It seems Ten built the structure himself and calls it "The Faturo". Though clearly reminiscent of a Futuro this structure appears to be smaller and it has circular windows. The original Facebook posts can be found here and here.
Off-Grid Prefab Homes
A Euclid, OH company has taken the domain futurohouses.com and is intending to build and distribute this structure as a "new" Futuro House.
While we wish them well in their venture to us this is, at best, reminiscent of a Futuro and not something we would consider a "new" Futuro House.
The structure will be 30' in diameter and 13' high though we are told the design is not finalized yet. The units will be complete with interior fixtures and fittings and are expected to be available for somewhere under $100K late summer or early fall 2022.
Homer's Dream House
Though we are not Simpson's fans we know it has a huge following and, apparently, it's own "sim" style mobile game "The Simpsons: Tapped Out" within which users can create and maintain their own version of Springfield.
The image below, from the Tapped Out Wiki, depicts "Homer's Dream House" and, to us at least, it does have some resemblance to Futuro and so while "virtual" it still qualifies as a Futuro "Look Alike".
Joan Bennàssar Replica
Prominent Mallorca artist Joan Bennàssar is responsible for this interesting "replica" of a Futuro House. Created at the Centre d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona in the grounds of an old textile factory the replica appears to be constructed of some sort of fabric. More information can be found here (Spanish | English version by Google Translate here).
Among its features is a selection of four films that do not distinguish real cinema and fiction cinema, where the device is put at the service of narration and from the director's point of view, through this hybrid format that enriches the stories. Not too sure what all of that actually means BUT:
The description of one of the films, "Just An Alien" by Weicheng Hua is accompanied by the interesting photo below which shows a structure clearly inspired by the Futuro though much smaller. No idea what it is or why it was constructed but its interesting nonetheless.
Midjourney AI
So this cool, bizarre, weird image almost prompted us to create a whole new category for these pages but in the end we did not. It's a rendering, of sorts - it's a lookalike, of sorts - and its AI generated which is a first - for us at least.
The image (and other similar ones) was posted to Flickr by Leo Reynolds. It is described as being "Artwork created by Midjourney from a sequence of text" and Wikipedia tells us that "Midjourney is an artificial intelligence program and service created and hosted by a San Francisco-based independent research lab Midjourney, Inc." Not 100% sure whether all the AI related activity these days is a good thing or not - in the end only time will tell but in this case the images it generates are interesting if nothing else!
Mid-West USA
This photo of a rather interesting structure somewhat reminiscent of a Futuro at an undisclosed location in the Midwest US was posted to Instagram by @realwondercabin (aka Lindsey Mears).
PEI UFO
We purchased this postcard recently without having seen a photo of it; the description suggested a Futuro but in fact it was a multi-view postcard from Rainbow Valley Amusement Park, Cavendish, PEI that included a photograph of a structure that was similar to a Futuro but clearly not a Futuro.
The structure can be seen far more clearly in the photograph below, by Matthew Jelley, from futurohouse.com where Len provides an in depth look at the interesting history of the PEI UFO along with many photographs, postcards and other items - check it out here.
Sochi Gas Stations
These two photos were included in an Album of Futuro photos posted on Facebook by Kirill Grekov. They are of course clearly not Futuros but they do get a place here as "look alikes".
The comment accompanying the photos, as translated by Facebook, reads:
"Futuristic filling stations in the city of Sochi and its suburbs were built in anticipation of the Olympic Games 80"
We are not sure what the "80" refers to. We initially thought it must refer to the year but quickly concluded that is obviously wrong as the Sochi Winter Olympics were held much more recently in 2014 and back in 1980 the Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid so we are assuming that these structures are relatively recent.
Rizhao City
The photos below show a development in Rizhao City in the Shandong Province of China that includes several structures that are somewhat similar in shape to the Futuro. The photos are from an 020113 article on the website gb.cri.cn which indicates construction on the site took place 2009/2010.
Russian Look Alike
Yves recently sent us this photo of a "look alike" located in Naro-Fominsk, Russia. It reminds us very much of the The PEI UFO.
UFO Bar
This clipping from a Dutch newspaper features a photo by Tim Dirven taken during a visit to Armenia in 2004. Though similar in shape to the Futuro the structure appears to be much smaller and while it is hard to tell from only the photo it looks to us as if it is fabricated from metal. The photo can also be see on Dirven's website (click "Navigate" and then select Europe followed by Armenia) with the caption:
"Armenia. August 2004. An UFO type bar on top of the Spitak pass. Drivers can take a rest after a steep climbing on the sloped of mount Aragats."
UFO Airbnb "Futuro Styled Flying Saucer"
This structure is located in Redberth, UK. That it is modeled after Futuro is evident from the photos and, in the Airbnb listing for the property, it is actually described as a "UFO Futuro Styled Flying Saucer". The property rents for £119 a night (about $149) at the time of writing.
Villa Benedetti
Back in 2012 the website wowhaus.co.uk published an article on an Italian property that was for sale. The property was Villa Benedetti, a 1970's six-bedroom house located in Ascoli Piceno, in the Marche region of southern Italy.
One of the unique features of the house can be found by following a corridor and climbing a spiral staircase after which you find yourself in a flying saucer-shaped psychedelic disco room. Externally the structure clearly fits the description "Futuro Look Alike"; the interior is also reminiscent of Futuro though the decor looks to us like extended exposure would result in a headache but perhaps we are just too old to appreciate it.
Wyder AG Office Building
While this office building on the campus of Wyder AG in Sins, Switzerland does not actually "look like" a Futuro, it is considerably larger and a different shape, it very definitely "reminds" us of a Futuro. It is raised from the ground on angled supports, it has a stepped entry way and the shape while not circular is also not angular. It is interesting to see that the "framework" for the structure is wooden.
The E-Bay listing has been ended. Given that E-Bay shows the listing as "ended" rather than reporting the item as "sold" the house was not sold on E-Bay but of course the listing may have been ended early because the house was sold through other channels.
Update 012516
An example of the Nikolaos Xasteros House has been listed for sale on E-Bay (UK) as a "buy it now" for a little over $16,000.
DISCLAIMER: TheFuturoHouse.com is not the owner or seller of this item and is not affiliated with the sale in any way. This is a "big ticket" item so please due your due diligence if you are interested.
Update 112615
From time to time we get emails about possible Futuros and such was the case recently when we received an email from Giannis Sarris regarding a possible Futuro in Athens. Being Greece the Nikolaos Xasteros House came to mind and indeed when Giannis sent me some photos that turned out to be the case.
We do not often "revisit" look alikes but in this case one of the photos highlighted some of the similarities between the Xasteros structure and the Futuro to such an extent that we thought it was worth adding here.
The images below (Xasteros top and Futuro bottom) clearly show how both structures were manufactured in sections and how those sections had inward facing "flanges" to facilitate their assembly into a single structure. Both also show a radial structure upon which the floor could be mounted. Obviously there are also significant structural and design differences between the two; the windows were different and in the case of Xasteros the lower section appears to have been manufactured as a single section whereas with Futuro the segments run fully top to bottom. In addition the horizontal join between upper and lower sections is lower in the Xasteros house.
Overall while there are clearly significant and numerous differences the similarities in underlying concept are such that we wonder whether the designs originated entirely separately or whether one was prompted in some part by the other. The Xasteros structure was patented in 1969 not too long after Futuro.
Our thanks to Giannis Sarris for sharing his photo.
Original Information 010513
Recently we received an email reporting a Futuro on the coast around Athens, Greece. The email contained a link to the photo below taken by Marios Moros 092009.
Of course we had, at the time or writing, never come across any references to a Futuro in Greece so this was exciting - for about 30 seconds! At a first and brief glance the image does show something that appears Futuro like but after the initial excitement it becomes very clear that this is not a Futuro. This is actually a photo of a prefabricated building designed by one Nikolaos Xasteros and what is really interesting is that there are many similarities between this and the Futuro both in the actual design as well as in "the story". You can read more about this "non Futuro" here.
The Lingerie Store
We have come across all manner of things related in some way to Futuro over the years; this is perhaps one of the more unusual.
Posted to Instagram 012920 by interior designer Ana Correia the plans below appear to be a design study in a possible use for a Futuro with that "possible use" being a Lingerie and Beachwear store for women.
The designer describes the project this way:
"Futuro House - 2018 - Prefabricated housing, made of lightweight materials to facilitate its transport. In this building a store was designed whose name is "ERES". "ERES" is a space dedicated to ladies who sell lingerie and beachwear to them. A small and welcoming space was designed in order to draw attention to the sale products."
So this is clearly not a Futuro but this lamp is rather cool in a kind of "retro" way and it absolutely put us in mind of Futuro when we saw it. The video was posted to Instagram by cometgone.
We came across this interesting video (and stills) on the Facebook page Lichtbahner. Not sure how the technology works but "light painting" certainly produces some cool effects. The video was shot at the Munich Futuro.
Here we have a very cool decal based on that painting that Eliza has produced (the decal can be obtained with the purchase of one of her books from her store).
For an explanation of what the "deepdream project" actually is check out Alexander's article and while you are there take a look at the interesting and rather unusual images generated.
One of the images resulting from Alexanders work can be seen below (the original can be found on his website here) and is the end result of processing one of his photos of Wanli. The resulting image is certainly surreal and though it is entirely different for some reason it kind of reminds us of Salvador Dali's work. Our thanks to Alexander for again sharing his work.
The Guitar
This rather cool looking Futuro inspired guitar concept by @brute_bass_guitars was posted to Instagram 012523. The original posting can be found here. Unfortunately for any musicians out there who might have enjoyed owning this the post includes this:
"I'm not intending to make it so haven't worked it all out but (it) was a bit of fun."