Futuro,
or Futuro House, is a round prefabricated house designed in
1968 by Finnish architect, Matti Suuronen; fewer than 100 examples
were built, inspired by the post-war futurism and space exploration.
It has become an iconic piece of mid-century architecture, conceived
as a “portable” ski chalet.
The
distinctive flying saucer-like shape and airplane hatch entrance has
made the houses popular among collectors. The Futuro is composed of
fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic, polyester-polyurethane, and
poly(methylmethacrylate), measuring 13 feet (4 metres) high and 26
feet (8 metres) in diameter.
The 1970
issue of Architecture d’aujourd’hui described
the house as ideal for very cold mountains or even by the sea.
The
oil crisis of 1973 tripled gasoline prices and made manufacture of
plastic extremely expensive. Today
around 60 of the original Futuro homes survive, owned mostly by
private individuals. The prototype (serial number 000) is in the
collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, The
Netherlands.
Futuro
House landed
on
roof of Central Saint Martins College, London, in
2015 for an initial year long stay, has now been extended until
Summer 2017
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento