The Futuro House

Update 120217

These great photos of Daniel Soma's Futuro model were recently posted to Instagram by amcsviatko; we particularly like the photo of the interior.







Original Information

This rather nice model has appeared in at least two installations by Sydney artist and arts worker Daniel Soma. Its most recent appearance was as part of an installation at the The Finnish Crazy Games (092317-092417) at the Embassy of Finland to Australia as part of a celebration of the centenary of Finnish independence. My thanks to Laura Tchilinguirian for the photo.

Angela Toma recently sent me the photos below which are of a rather cool Futuro model she created using Autodesk 123D. Thanks for sharing them Angela.

On 120504 Chicago based auction house Wright held an auction titled "Modernist 20th Century"; Lot 369 of the auction featured an architectural model of the Futuro House and an extensive archive with original tear sheets, photographs, floor plans, articles and a book about the Futuro project. These two photographs of the model are from the auction catalog.





The model was constructed according to the Canadian floor plan of the Futuro House and the additional materials were from Futuro Fiberglass Homes Ltd, the Canadian licensee of the Futuro House. Pre-auction estimates for Lot 369 were $3,000 to $4,000; the realized price was $7,800.

Richard Pisani, owner of the Danvers Futuro and creator of the website Futuro-House.net, includes some personal recollections of his experience with this auction on his website here. Richard was planning to bid on the auction with a budget of $3,200 (which, with a 20% buyer's premium and Chicago Sales Tax of 8.75%, actually equated to $4120) and on auction day he was on the phone with a representative of the auction house ready to bid. Unfortunately the opening bid came in at $4,500 and Richard was effectively out of the running before he was even able to place a bid.

Prior to the auction Richard had visited Chicago and taken a large number of photographs of the items comprising Lot 369 which he added to his website. Unfortunately the link to the "photo album" no longer functions (and while the Photo Gallery pages can be accessed in the Internet Archive Wayback machine here the images themselves cannot). If anyone happened to archive these photos we would love to see them; let us know if you can help.

More information on the Canadian Futuro House can be found on Len's website FuturoHouse.com in pdf format here.

Damien David posted the photo below to Facebook along with the comment:

"Look what my friend made me for Christmas!"

The model (kinda cool in our opinion) is made from "Sculpey" which Damien describes as a kind of bake at home modeling clay.

The photo below shows a very cool "concept" Futuro model that is rather reminiscent of the Futuro II-X. Both have the two "halves" of a Futuro separated and an additional section added between the two halves.

The photo is by Ilkka Jukarainen and is displayed here under CC 2.0.

The model is from Matti Suuronen's archive and is photographed on display at KAMU, Espoo City Museum (which is located in the WeeGee Exhibition Center along with EMMA, Espoo Museum Of Modern Art which of course hosts Futuro #001 and the "Futuro World" Exhibition). The archive was donated to KAMU by Matti Suuronen's Estate earlier this year (our thanks to Marko Home for the background information).

We came across this photo on Flickr; it was posted by Jan Jacob Trip. The photo is of a rather interesting "cut-away" model of a Futuro which features parts of the exterior and interior but also shows the underfloor construction.

This photo was posted to Instagram by kurt_cyr 082417. It shows an awesome model of a Futuro on display at the Design Museum, Helsinki.

This 3D printed Futuro model was produced by Die Neue Sammlung as a prize in a competition related to the 2017 display of a Futuro at the Pinakothek Der Moderne in Munich. The photo was posted to Instagram by Die Neue Sammlung.

These photos of sections of a 3-D printed Futuro model were posted to Facebook by ETH Zurich D-Arch Raplab.

On 071214 we were fortunate enough to be able to visit the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki, Finland and take these photos of the awesome Futuro model displayed there.

2020 saw a vast number of us dealing with Covid-19 related lockdowns at one time or another and we all dealt with that in our own individual way.

In the case of Hannah Tomlinson-Roe (aka htr___) that included a modeling project titled "Living in a Simulation. Lockdown 2.0" which Hannah describes as "Paying homage to some of my favorite artists, architects, places and designers".

The work includes representations of Futuros on a mountainside that, to us at least, are rather reminiscent of the models seen in "The Sandbox".

In 2017 Finland celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Finnish Declaration of Independence. On Lego.com it is suggested that this was:

"... a chance for the Danish to make a Lego set for their friendly neighbour."

Not too sure that Lego would be the first thing that came to mind for most people when thinking about such an auspicious anniversary but each to their own. The suggested Lego set comprises five "landmark" buildings one of which was the Futuro House. The model is perhaps not the most "exact" model of a Futuro ever but Lego has its limitations and the model can clearly be seen to resemble the Futuro.

The photo below of a rather cool 3-D printed model of a Futuro was posted to Instagram by mm.arq.art recently. As far as we can tell based on Google Translate this was created by a group of Architecture students.

In a tweet that we missed way back on 032815 Aalto Fablab posted the photo below. The tweet read as follows:

"we're at @emmamuseum this weekend making parts for our futuro model with our @makerbot and @formlabs 3d printers YAY!"

We have not come across any photos of the completed model yet; the capabilities of 3D printers seem to be advancing rapidly and it would be interesting to see the final product.

Len Reitlep posted photos of this 3-D printed Futuro model to Facebook in July 2016. Ulitmately we purchased this and another similar model for our collection (they can be found here). The models are incomplete and will take some work to get then completed. One day there will be the time to do that.

Update 012921

012721 saw Stephen launch two versions of his Futuro model complete with display stand/case for sale. The larger of the two is 1/100 scale (80mm in diameter) and the smaller 1/200 (40mm in diameter). The models can be found on Etsy; the larger of the two here and the smaller here. At the time of writing (012921) the smaller is sold out and there are two of the larger ones left; hopefully some more will come along in due course.



Update 012321

First there was Baby Yoda and now we have Baby Futuro. Stephen introduced us to this "oh so cute" 1/200 scale Futuro model via his Instagram Feed recently. The first photo came to us 012021 and the second, sporting a redesigned support structure, a few days later.





Update 121120

Stephen Ward continues to share his Futuro modeling journey with us via his Instagram feed. The latest posts, the two photos below, give us a look at an awesome finished model complete with display stand and a glimpse of a smaller concept model.





Update 060120

These two photos from Stephen's Instagram feed show the completed top section (with the exception of some work on windows) of the awesome model he is working on. We cannot wait for the work to be complete so we can get our hands on one of these beauties.





Update 041020

Stephen continues to work on his project to be able to produce multiple Futuro models for sale (and we are absolutely in line for one!) as can be seen in this set of photos from his Instagram feed

The photos, as described by Stephen, show:

• [the] final futuro house section mold complete and silicone poured
• [the] futuro house roof section mold split and first cast of 8
• All 8 Futuro house roof section cast and ready for spraying. All cast from the same 3d printed master
• 1st test fitting of the complete roof and base sections of the futuro house (4 photos)

Update 102619

Stephen posted this interesting time lapse footage of him working one of the models upper body segments to Instagram 102619

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Stephen Ward (@stephen.j.ward) on Oct 26, 2019 at 1:50am PDT

Update 101819

As can be seen in these photos posted to Instagram recently Stephen Ward is now working on the next generation of his awesome Futuro models; we cannot wait to see what the finished models look like!







Update 062418

Stephen Ward completed his Futuro models which were then displayed at model makers exhibition/recruitment fair "New Blades 2018" where he won the Asylum Creative Award; congratulations Stephen - well deserved. Stephen can be seen in the photo below from his Instagram feed. The other two photos, from the New Blades 2018 Gallery on Flickr, are close ups of the models as displayed at the exhibition.







Update 061018

Another couple of photos of Stephen Ward's Futuro modeling project from his Instagram feed; they provide a clear look at the incredible level of detail that Stephen built into his models.





Update 050518

Stephen Ward's Futuro modeling project seems to be nearing completion as these most recent photos from his Instagram feed show; two awesome models by the look of things.







Update 033118

It is interesting to follow the progress of Stephen Ward's Futuro modeling project via his Instagram feed; these are the latest photos he has added.











Update 021118

stephen.j.ward added these additional photos to Instagram recently showing his progress as he continues work on his Futuro model.







Original Information 012018

I came across this little snippet of video along with a couple of photos on Instagram a few days ago. They were posted by stephen.j.ward; the video snippet shows a Futuro segment in the process of printing and the two photos show several sections assembled together.

A post shared by Stephen Ward (@stephen.j.ward) on Jan 7, 2018 at 4:33am PST

Update 091821

While we have not added any updates to progress on this project for quite some time it has quietly continued to move along at quite a clip.

The project has evolved significantly over the last several months and the end result, the product that will be launched to the public next year, is a faithful 1/32 scale replica of a Futuro House that also has the functionality of an advanced lamp with multiple colors and brightness levels. It will be launched under the brand name Wololow and we are pleased to tell you that we have partnered with Konstantin and others to bring this project to fruition.

The project is now quite mature and the intent is to launch a Kickstarter campaign shortly. At that time we will be adding lots of information and photos along with the links you will need for the Kickstarter should you be interested to this site on its own page so we do not intend to add much additional content here but we did just want to add a few items today that we particularly like before moving the Wololow "UFO" to its own page on the site.

The first is a short video showing the awesome packaging that has been developed to ensure quality and safe shipping for the models. The model you see in the video is one of a limited edition series of pre-production "samples" that were produced recently; we think you will agree the model looks great.



The second item is just a cool photo of Konstantin, our projects CEO (Chief of the Earth Occupation) with one of the pre production samples standing in front of the Dombai Futuro. Though not actually the case it sure looks like the model is specifically a model of this Futuro!



These final photos illustrate the stunning results that can be achieved when you are truly passionate about something. The photos show a "marriage" between the Futuro House model and some absolutely amazing modeling work featuring buildings, people, animals and much more; the result is quite marvelous and shows us what a world might look like with the ultra modern superimposed upon times gone by.

When posting these photos to Instagram Konstantin described his post this way:

"The post about the partnership. Despite the fact that the year of birth of Futuro House is 1968. We dare to assume that extraterrestrials could have had contact with humans before, for example, in the Middle Ages. These photos are a fantasy on this topic.

In April 2020, when I just decided to try to make a Futuro model on the Internet, I accidentally found information that a manufacturer of figures for board games from Yekaterinburg is conducting a Kickstarter campaign. The name of this brand is @tiny_furniture. Its creator started his business as a hobby many years ago. His Kickstarter campaign was successful last year and raised $60K+. I met him, and his experience gave me strength in the implementation of our project. And although we work in different styles, I want to thank Andrey for his support and new ideas. How great it is when you have like-minded people who are just as crazy as you are!!!"















If you are as excited about all of this as we are about this and would like to check out the Kickstarter campaign when it is launched or perhaps wait for the full product launch and get your own model be sure to sign up for our mailing list and/or follow us and Wololow on Instagram so you do not miss any updates as they come down.

Update 022721

Konstantin Trunov (aka futurohousemodel on Instagram) continues to work on design, concepts and prototypes for his Futuro model that we expect to be available for purchase in the coming months. The photos below are a few of the ones Konstantin has posted to Instagram recently; there are many more in his Instagram feed.

We are very much looking forward to getting one of these models in due course as we imagine many of you are. For news and updates on when these models might be available follow us on Instagram (@thefuturohouse) as we will be adding news there as and when we hear it. Once the launch is a little closer we will add a page to this site with full details, photos and details of how to order your own model.











Update 121120

Konstantin Trunov (aka futurohousemodel on Instagram) has been working hard on developing his model that will be available for purchase sometime 2021. The photos below show how far the project has come and how great the current prototype looks. We will be following closely and will of course let you know when the models are available for purchase.







This last photo shows an interesting sketch of a concept model that functions as an illuminated humidifier suggested by one of the partners Konstantin is working with; not sure that will ever come to fruition but who knows - sometimes it can be a strange world.



Original Information 060520

Here we have another awesome Futuro modeling project. This time by Konstantin Trunov or, on Instagram, futurohousemodel. We believe this is another project where the goal is to produce models for sale; Konstantin - add us to the list of prospective purchasers!

This Futuro project, "The Futuro House Mug", is a work in progress by Sailor Lars. To be honest we are not quite sure we can even see a "mug" here and so we eagerly await Spring 2021 when it should be complete and for sale.

This cool little item is described by its creator as a "commemorative patch". The piece is by Jessica Cheers who posted it to Instagram 112519.

A small number of Futuros were manufactured in the UK by Todmorden company Waterside Plastics. Though none of them can currently be accounted for they are known to have been located in Burnley, Todmorden and Wrightington.

Recently artist Cat Byrne was commissioned to paint a mural at the Todmorden Public Library. Cat included the Todmorden Futuro in her work. The shots below are from Cat's blog; the originals and more photos of her work can be found here.

J.W. Walls offers this mural/wallpaper featuring the Futuro House that can be printed to match the exact dimensions of your wall (with a suggested maximum width of 3230 mm). The cost is $185 and up.

The image below illustrates how the mural might look.

This painting of the Media Futuro is a 6" x 7" Acrylic on paper work by Emily Adleblute. Emily posted this to her Facebook feed here.

This work depicting the Milton Futuro is by Elia Aharon. The original can be found on Instagram here along with the photo that inspired the painting which is credited to Bruce DeFrancis.

This painting, inspired by Joshua Tree, is by aleksandrabirch and was posted to the artist's Instagram feed 121219.

Kristen Allen added this image of her watercolor of the Hurzuf Futuro to her Instagram feed 071517. Kristen's original posting can be found on Instagram here.

This nice painting of the pair of Futuros in Carlisle, Ohio appeared a couple of months ago on the website wetcanvas.com. The painting, by artastic, is oil over acrylic.

This painting, by artoctupa was posted to Instagram 090118. Based on the color of the Futuro we would assume the imspiration for the piece was the Livingston Futuro.

This great oil on canvas painting by Daniel Blagg depicts the Royce City Futuro prior to its paint refresh in 2014.

Gustav Bolin was a well known painter of Swedish/Russian descent who spent most of his working life split between Paris and Antibes in France. This painting, titled "Personnages devant la mer, 1969" or, according to Google Translate "Characters before the sea, 1969" was sold at auction 121918 (artnet.com).

It is now in the possession of Galerie PF Garcia and again on the market; the gallery posted this photo to Instagram 122518. It is described as "Noël à la plage avec Gustav Bolin, 'terrasse en bord de mer' antibes 1969" or "Christmas at the beach with Gustav Bolin, 'seaside terrace' antibes 1969". We have never come across mention of a Futuro in Antibes (which does not mean there was not one there) and would love to hear from you if you know anything about this Futuro. We can be contacted directly by email or through our Contact Form

It would make an awesome addition to our collection of "Things Futuro" but the artist is well known and its a little rich for our budget. If you are interested contact Galerie PF Garcia.

The three paintings below are from the series "Dawn Of A New Day" by artist Susan Marie Brundage; the paintings are of the Houston, Livingston & Royse City Futuros respectively.

When we were preparing to add this work featuring the Royse City Futuro to these pages we were somewhat unsure exactly where to add it, is it a painting, a drawing, something else?

Even now we are still not sure but in the end it had to have a home somewhere and so we decided to add it to this section and call it a "painting". That is only our opinion of course and others may feel differently but wherever it "lives" it certainly deserves its place on these pages.

The work is by @bryanpetersonart and the original can be found on Instagram here.

This rather nice painting by Jimmy Carender can be purchased in a wide variety of mediums and formats via FineArtAmerica here.

Barb Clark (@miniest_museum) posted this photo to Instagram; the posting is accompanied by the following comment:

"Goofy little painting I did of the @area_fiftyfive @thefuturohouse near #joshuatree I found this piece of metal debris near the location and wanted to repurpose it into something orange for my mini museum!"

Clearly a lot of talent going on here to be able to grab a little bit of trash and turn it into a nice little art piece featuring the Joshua Tree Futuro.

The title of this work by Raleigh, NC artist Greg Clayton, "Attack on Frisco", leaves no doubt as to the inspiration for the work - the Frisco Futuro. Prints of the piece are available for purchase from the radYAK store on Etsy. The original of the image below can be found on Instagram here.

This take on the Milton Futuro was created by Create Magic Studios and is titled Aesthetic Arrest. The original can be found on Instagram here.

This painting, a very realistic look at the interior of the UK Futuro, is by the very talented Thomas Doran. The work was posted to the artist's Instagram feed 120921.

This painting is a work in progress by etherealgeometry that was posted to Instgram 032419. Looking forward to seeing the finished work at some point.

This 38 x 30 oil and acrylic on canvas painting is by Renee Forrestall. For collectors of all "things Futuro" such as ourselves this would be cool to own but unfortunately it is priced a little high for us. If it takes your fancy it is available for purchase for $2250 here.

A work entitled "Paysage nocturne avec mer de nuage et maison Futuro, 2008" was painted in 2008 by Alain Fraboni. Google translates the title to "Night landscape with sea and cloud Futuro house, 2008". The painting can be found on Alain's website here.

The Dombai Futuro inspired this wonderful oil on canvas work by Eliza Gosse titled "Vodka at Hotel Tarelka".

Update 020920

heathersundquisthall recently posted another Futuro inspired work Instagram.



Update 120819

We recently came across another painting by heathersundquisthall, this work has the same "whimsical" feel to it as the earlier work.



Original Information 100718

This painting by heathersundquisthall was posted to Instagram 090918.

We came across this photo of a nice looking framed painting of Frisco by Manda Holden on Instagram the other day. Manda's original Instagram posting can be found here.

This nice piece of work by HollyJ26 appeared on the website wetcanvas.com 032716. The painting, in acrylics, depicts one half of the pair of Futuros located in Carlisle, Ohio.

This nice little painting of the Pensacola Beach Futuro is by Jasmine Hunt. Jasmine posted this to her Instagram here.

It seems like we like this painting of the Joshua Tree Futuro a little more than the artist. The piece is by La Belle Couleur who (according to Google Translate) commented on it this way:

"It took a while before posting this painting because I am really not happy with it."

I guess it is all a matter of expectations; not that we would but were we to try our hand at such a piece it would, for sure, be far less successful. The original posting can be found on Instagram here.

This rather nice piece featuring the Berlin Futuro is by Laeti-Berlin; the original can be found on Facebook here.

Its rather cool to see the subject of the piece, the drawing the artist made and then the final painted piece all encapsulated together.

This painting by Lindsay Hurley is described by the artist as a "futuro landscape inspired by futuro houses". The original image can be found on Instagram here.

This rather nice work features three images of which one is the Pensacola Beach Futuro. The piece is by Elizabeth Kohler and the original image can be found on Instagram here.

Royse City was the inspiration for this work by Kristina (aka @glitchandgracearts). The original can be found on Instagram here.

Taiwanese watercolorist Javi Kuo recently posted these images of a piece he painted at Wanli to Instagram; the originals can be found on Instagram here and here.

This nice watercolor and graphite work depicting the Canberra Futuro is by LeonieAndrewsArt. The original posting of the work can be found on Instagram here.

This work by Desert Moonrise can be found on Instagram here. We rather like its minimalistic simpliciy.

This rather nice Futuro painting is by Matt Muirhead. It was posted to the artist's Instagram feed 042720.

This fun Futuro/Beach inspired piece is by the talented Nanda Ormond (aka @famousandcooler); the original can be found on Instagram here.

We came across this painting in acrylic on this webpage. As it often does Google struggled to translate a page in Finnish but as far as I can tell it is a blog titled VariPala written by someone who goes by the name Pepito; that of course could be completely wrong!

Finding this painting was somewhat fortuitous as the page actually turned up in the result set as we were searching for a copy of the book Pikkuväen Askartelukirja for our collection of "Things Futuro".

In 2005 German artist Katrin Plavcak painted a Futuro; the painting is shown below and you can find it on Katrin's website here. Given the painter's nationality, the location by water and among trees and the appearence of the antenna on top of the Futuro it seems almost certain that the inspiration for this painting was the Berlin Futuro.

This untitled work is by Rise Up Art Studio: it was posted to Instagram 123021.

The landscape depicted is reminiscent of dessert and the color of the Futuro reminds us of Joshua Tree so that may have been the inspiration here though the river might be a little poetic license; not sure there is one close by the Joshua Tree Futuro. Either way its a cool little painting.

We came across this piece of art by Maria Rodilla on Tumblr. The piece is annotated "Texas" so the inspiration must be the Royse City Futuro based on the color and general appearance.

Update 042220

Tony Rodrigues posted this image to his Instagram feed 042220. The work is acrylic, latex and gypsum on canvas. Tony certainly has a very distinctive style. This actually appears to be the completed version of the first of Tony's works added to this page 041420.



Original Information 041420

This interesting work was posted to Instagram by artist Tony Rodrigues 041320; we are not sure what the medium the artist used.

This 2012 painting by Jan Ros is a depiction of the Dombai Futuro and is one of our favorite pieces of Futuro art.

This nice Dombai inspired work is by CJ Rufin. For the artists among you the work is Acrylic on Canvas and Gesso primed and varnished (whatever all of that means). The original post can be found on Instagram here.

This painting, inspired by the Frisco Futuro, is by Sierra Saylor. The original image can be found on Instagram here.

This "tasty" take on the Futuro is by Elizabeth Schulz and is titled Scenic Sundae. The original can be found on Instagram here.

Update 041616

We came across another nice Futuro work by Donald Short the other day. "Space Age Daydream" (oil on canvas) can be purchased for $2,900 on the website saatchiart.



Original Information

Donald Short is an artist who lives in the university town of Oxford, England with an interest in architectural forms; you can check out Donald's work on his website.

In 2009 Short painted a work he titled simply "Futuro". The work is clearly inspired by this photo of the Dombai Futuro.

Over the course of Christmas Eve into Christmas Day 1974 the city of Darwin, Australia was devastated by Cyclone Tracy. Wikipedia tells us that:

"Tracy killed 71 people, caused $837 million in damage (1974 AUD) and destroyed more than 70 percent of Darwin's buildings"

The destruction of a Futuro House located in the Larrakeyah area was included in those terrible loses.

In an art piece titled "Futuro II (should we try again Tracy?)" Brisbane based visual artist Richard Stride:

"... questions the resurrection of the Futuro House in Darwin and its potential through the lens of architectural representations."

Stride's work is being showcased 092014-101114 as a part of the NCCART (Northern Center For Contemporary Art's) "Boxset" program. The images below are courtesy of the website dispatch.net.au where you can find additional "detail" shots.

"Modern Problems" by suzannemeowmeowfalk is a miniature (2" by 2") oil painting depicting a Futuro and a cat. Not sure how the title relates to the image or why a cat would be so much bigger than a Futuro but it is art depicting a Futuro and so earns its place on this page.

"Unidentified Blues", a second miniature (2" by 2") oil painting by the same artist depicts a Futuro on an "alien planet" (our description).

This oil on canvas work is by Piotr Szczur; the artist posted it to his Instagram feed 121719. The work is titled "UFO Bar" and appears to be inspired by the Frisco Futuro.

This work is by Hercules Trigo; it was posted to Instagram 082620.

This Joshua Tree inspired work was posted to Instagram by artist Cynda Valle.

This acrylic on wood piece, titled "Home Is Where The Heart Is", is by Javier Velasco: it was posted to Instagram 041420.

Barney Vincelette, long time owner and resident of the Houston Futuro, has made many varied contributions to these pages. This week he kindly shared with us (and you) this painting. In his own words Barney tells me that this is a:

"painting I did for a front cover of some history that I will pass to my next of kin. It is a surrealistic painting that has a Futuro house and a flying wing approaching an island in the sky to land where the Futuro is."

Barney - you are clearly a man of many talents; thanks for sharing.

This painting is by Kain White; it can be found on his website here.

This interesting acrylic on canvas piece by Scott Woodard is titled "The Frenchman Arrives from the Future". Scott notes that the "Water wheel transport was borrowed from Science and Invention magazine c1920". The original post can be found on Instagram here.

These two Gouache paintings, the first titled "Desert Rain Frogs" and the second untitled, by Erin Workman appeared recently on Instagram; though not specifically mentioned almost certainly the works were inspired by Joshua Tree and Dombai respectively.

These interesting monochrome paintings of Dombai are by talented Digital Dream Illustrator Sea Zlatokryletz; they were posted to the artist's Instagram feed 022920.

This photo is by Philipp Chistyakov; the original can be found on Flickr here. Though not noted as such in the Flickr posting we are assuming that this mosaic, clearly inspired by the Wanli site, is also located somewhere on that site.

Google's search algorithms are interesting to say the least; even though we run a series of queries every day to try to find out what is "new" in the "Futuro world" every now and again one of those queries throws up a result for something that was actually posted to the web a long time ago but that had not appeared for that query before. In this case the photo below originally posted to Facebook back in 2016 by Gerrie Vernon showed up in a set of query results for us for the first time on 062119.

Of course the photo is not of a Futuro but rather an ornately decorated Merry-Go-round located at Morey's Pier in Wildwood, NJ.; the photo dates from 1974. Also located at Morey's Pier at that time was a Futuro, the Futuro served as a part of one of the rides; initially the Planet Of The Apes ride and later Star Trek, Star Wars, and finally The Empire Strikes Back. The unit subsequently served as a tourist information office in Seaside Heights, NJ and was, to the best of our knowledge later demolished.

The decoration on the Merry-Go-Round includes scenes from around the park and one of those scenes depicts the Futuro which was serving, at that time, as a part of the Planet Of The Apes ride. More information about this Futuro can be found here.

Kinotar, who hold the rights to the excellent Mika Taanila directed 1998 documentary film Futuro: A New Stance for Tomorrow, recently uploaded this trailer for the film to YouTube. Though the film has been around for some time it is still screened several times a year at various international film festivals and other events.

For those who might like to own a copy of the film it can be obtained on the compilation DVD Aika & Aine (Time & Matter) or by purchasing a copy of the book Futuro: Tomorrow's House from Yesterday edited by Marko Home and Mika Taanila. The book can be very expensive but it is a must have for any "rabid" Futuro fan and comes along with a DVD that includes the film along with several fascinating extras.

@futuro_house posted this nice little piece to Instagram along with the comment:

"Just won the auction for this super cool NFT featuring a #FuturoHouse in the backdrop! By artist @miriampersand"

Congrats on your successful bid @futuro_house!



We were not aware of this auction and as avid collectors of all "Things Futuro" we found ourselves wondering if we should have been in on this and whether we needed to be "on alert" for Futuro NFT's moving forward.

But first came this question. What in the heck are NFTs or "Non-fungible tokens" in the first place? The BBC explains it this way

"Traditional works of art such as paintings are valuable because they are one of a kind. But digital files can be easily and endlessly duplicated. With NFTs, artwork can be "tokenized" to create a digital certificate of ownership that can be bought and sold."

They then go on to ask (and answer):

"What's stopping people copying the digital art? Nothing. Millions of people have seen Beeple's art that sold for $69m and the image has been copied and shared countless times. In many cases, the artist even retains the copyright ownership of their work, so they can continue to produce and sell copies. But the buyer of the NFT owns a "token" that proves they own the "original" work."

A good example of this concept might be Mars House by Krista Kim; a "digital home" that does not exist. As an NFT it sold for 288 Ether (around $514K at the time - current value can be found here) more than our "real" home is worth. So the new "owner" owns the home right? Maybe. Krista Kim's original is still on Vimeo and it is perfectly legal to view and even to embed on another website like this one. So what does the "owner" really own? The video below? Even though I can watch it right here right now?

Mars House (2020) from Krista Kim on Vimeo.

So with "ownership" a somewhat amorphous concept when it comes to NFT's and the fact they basically only exist in the blockchain within which they were tokenized do they even make sense? Our answer: it makes a whole lot of no sense at all and there are at least some others who agree. Again from the BBC article:

"Former Christie's auctioneer Charles Allsopp said the concept of buying NFTs made "no sense". "The idea of buying something which isn't there is just strange," he told the BBC."

For anyone who finds all of this as clear as mud and who would like to know more The Verge ran an article titled NFT's, explained which provides an interesting and entertaining "primer" on NFT's.

Anyway in summary and after a little research that found answers that in many ways still do not make a whole lot of sense (and that is to someone who has worked in IT for the last 15 years or so so technology is not something "new") we have concluded we will not be trying to add Futuro "NFT's" to our collection of "Things Futuro". That said we wish good luck to all who do; after all our differences are a big part of what makes the world such an interesting place.

Oh and one other thing that came up during our research into NFT's. The blockchains (and the associated mining and/or transaction processing) that support cryptocurrencies and NFT's are huge consumers of electricity and so bad for the environment - who knew!