Futuro House No. 001

1968 plastic flying-saucer house by architect Matti Suuronen

Address WeeGee, Ahertajantie 5, 02100 Espoo

The original Futuro House, prototype number one, sits on the lawn of the WeeGee centre in Tapiola — an oddly low-tech UFO landed on a Finnish lawn. Designed in 1968 by architect Matti Suuronen for a wealthy client who wanted a portable ski cabin, the eight-metre fibreglass disc was so weird and so well-engineered that it briefly looked like the future of architecture. About sixty-eight were eventually built worldwide; this is the original, restored and on permanent display.

The interior, accessible during WeeGee opening hours, has the original built-in furniture, a small kitchen, and bunk beds. It is much more intimate than it looks from outside. Combine with a visit to EMMA, since they share the same complex.

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A story
Suuronen designed the Futuro in 1968 as a portable ski cabin: heated by electricity, the eight-metre fibreglass shell could be warmed from minus thirty Celsius to a comfortable temperature in thirty minutes. The 1973 oil crisis ended the project after fewer than 100 were sold.

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