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Matti SUURONEN FUTURO Article A white plastic house resembling a flying saucer, Futuro amazed many people. It was designed by architect Matti Suuronen in 1968. In advertisements, Futuro was typically depicted as if it had descended from the sky smack in the middle of a traditional Finnish forest landscape. The juxtaposition was a startling one. Futuro shook traditional Finnish housing architecture in many ways. Its innovative features included the use of plastic as building material, serial production, mobility, ellipsoid shape, and bright colour. "Futuro represents the modern, comfortable way of housing - practical coziness. Futuro is the dwelling of future." (Futuro brochure, late 1960s) A Space Age Dwelling Looking like something transplanted from a science-fiction film into reality, the concept of Futuro reflected the optimism of the 1960s. The ideal was a new era, a space age, where everybody would have more leisure time to spend on holidays away from home. Mobile dwellings were seen as a new opportunity of the future. Futuro satisfied the requirement of a mobile home, as it could easily be transported from one place to another by helicopter. Futuro was a brilliant example of space age dwelling. Everything was planned to function electrically at the push of a button, even the door with steps that dropped down from the side like in an airplane. Futuro is a space age product down to its interior. The streamlined seats in the boldly coloured living space converted into beds, and lights were concealed in their armrests which resembled the head of a horse. The Birth of Futuro Futuro got its start when an old school friend of the architect Matti Suuronen commissioned him to design a modern ski cabin in Janakkala in central Finland. The basic design principles were dictated by the difficult terrain - the result had to be light, easy to assemble and transport. The light grey prototype was completed in summer 1968. Futuro was suited to all kinds of terrain, because its adjustable steel legs. Thanks to reinforced plastic, Futuro also easily coped with all weather conditions. It could even withstand snowstorms, because the wind blew the snow through the open space between the legs. One of the important features of Futuro was that it could be quickly heated with the Futuro fireplace. In addition to the fireside suite, the interior included spaces for living, sleeping, and storage. Futuro could accommodate eight people and partitions could be used to create temporary "guest rooms". Matti Suuronen had been an architect in the industry and business sector. At the time Futuro was completed, he designed a grain silo in Seinäjoki. The silo was capped by a large, transparent plastic dome, which was the origin of the shape of Futuro. The final shape was a simple ellipse four metres high and eight in diameter. The ellipse motif was repeated throughout the dwelling including windows and furniture. Moulds had to be made to produce furnishings, because standard furniture did not fit the curving space. Futuro was part of the Casa Finlandia, or CF, range of plastic houses. In addition to Futuro, it included the Venturo dwelling, a kiosk, and two different service stations. Through such plastic buildings, Matti Suuronen became an internationally known designer. From Santa Claus' Flying Saucer to Air Force Observer Station - Futuro Applications Most of the Futuros that were produced in Finland were ment for export. The majority were purchased as holiday homes. The Finnish entertainer Matti Kuusla ordered the first mass-produced, bright yellow Futuro for his holiday home in Puulavesi, where it is still in use today. Two other Futuros are known to be in Finland, one used as a summer house, the other disassembled. The Students' Union of the University of Turku used to own one Futuro, which has apparently ended up in Estonia. At least there is a yellow Futuro on the Pärnu highway in Estonia. It used to be a cafe, and in the mid-1990s was Santa Claus's Flying Saucer. Other exported Futuros: - Three Futuros for use as observer stations by the Swedish air force - One half of a Futuro to Germany for use as a youth clubhouse in Stuttgart - A Futuro prototype to the Central Museum in Utrecht, the Netherlands - One Futuro to Solna, Sweden, for use as an office - Futuros to Dombai and Sotsi, Soviet tourist resorts on the Black Sea, for use as holiday cabins - One Futuro to England for use as an office in a Yorkshire plastics factory - Futuros to Florida, Philadelphia, and California, USA, for use as dwellings, and one as a bank in a New Jersey shopping mall The Soviet youth travel agency, Sputnik, planned to fill a ski slope with Futuros to serve as after-ski cabins, but the plan was dropped for lack of funds. The University of Yokohama studied Futuro to see how it would withstand earthquakes and hurricanes. It seemed to suit disaster conditions quite well but only two Futuros were sold in Japan. Licences for manufacturing Futuros were sold to over 25 countries, including the USA, Japan, the Benelux countries, England, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and Lebanon. The German conceptual artist, Charles Wilp, owned a Futuro where he entertained several famous guests. Visitors to the plastic house included the princes of Kuwait, Andy Warhol, Arthur Paul, the publisher of Playboy magazine, and Christo, the artist. Christo even transformed a Futuro into an artwork by wrapping it up. Futuro and Publicity Futuro amazed people wherever it appeared. Abroad, it was accepted with less prejudice than in Finland. Futuro's first appearance abroad was in London in 1968, where it was extensively reported in the Daily Mirror. The house was transported to the "floating" Finnfocus Fair held on the top deck of Finnpartner. The ship was moored in the middle of the Thames in central London, where Futuro could be seen far and wide. One of the people who visited the Futuro in London was Princess Margaret. Another occasion when Futuro caused consternation was when a helicopter of the Swedish air force flew one over the roofs of Stockholm to Solna to be used as an office. The New York Museum of Modern Art bought photographs of Futuro for its collections in the late 1960s, and the New York Times published a report on the plastic house in 1969. In 1970, Playboy published an article on Futuro headed "Portable Playhouse". Many articles on Futuro also appeared in the Finnish press. Apu magazine published in 1968 a story about Matti Kuusla's Futuro headed "Matti munaa maisemaa" (Matti Screws the Landscape). In summer 1969, a Futuro was on display on the ground floor of the Stockmann department store for a month. It drew crowds; according to a report in the press, over 50,000 people visited the futuristic dwelling. Criticism and the End of Production The marketing of Futuro attracted criticism. Such a relatively expensive product should have been marketed to a carefully selected target group. The fact that a Futuro was displayed at Stockmann's for all to see was, in particular, considered a bad move, because it was thought to diminish the interest of potential buyers. Futuro was also criticised for the lack of sufficient storage space, and its price was considered too high considering its lack of conveniences. Many people also thought the space-craft-like plastic house too modern for a dwelling. In the late 1960s, Finns were still relatively inexperienced in exporting Finnish products. A more efficient export strategy would probably have improved Futuro's chances of becoming a success abroad. As a result of the oil crisis in the early 1970s, the price of plastic rose so much that it became unprofitable to make new Futuros and production had to be wound down. Futuro Today In recent years, Futuro has been featured abroad particularly at many exhibitions, where it still generates a lot of discussion. The idea of a mobile dwelling has re-surfaced. In 1998, 30 years after the completion of the first Futuro, the Finnish Museum of Architecture organised a small Futuro exhibition in honour of the event. The same year saw the completion of Mika Taanila's documentary, "Futuro ? A New Stance for Tomorrow." Futuro featured at the Istanbul Biennial that ended in November 2001 and at an exhibition in Amsterdam in autumn 2001. A scale model of Futuro was seen at the exhibition Les Années Pop held in the Pompidou Centre in Paris, ending in summer 2001. The Futuro from the collections of the Central Museum in Utrecht was last transported to the exhibition Visions and Reality, held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Louisiana, Denmark, from September 2000 to January 2001. The Dallas Morning News published an article on Futuro in September 2001. The moulds for making Futuros still exist. Technical specifications of Futuro: Weight without furnishings, 2,500 kg, total weight about 4,000 kg Dimensions: diameter 8m, height 4m, volume 140m3 Floor area in the middle 50m2, total floor area 23-28m2 Mechanical air conditioning, including a heating/cooling system Material: reinforced plastic Prototype completed on 1 April 1968 Kati Huovinmaa