A request from an old school friend of architect Matti Suuronen, the Futuro house was originally commissioned as a skiing lodge that would be quick to heat up and easy to construct even in rough terrain. The Polykem plant was chosen as the manufacturer of the house as a result of the work being put out to tender.
The Futuro house made headlines in Finland and abroad. The Futuro house was first exhibited on television and to the press at the Polykem plant in Hiekkaharju in Vantaa, Finland, at the end of March 1968. At this point only the shell without interior was completed. The light blue Futuro no. 000 was set up in June 1968 as a skiing lodge in a private ski slope in the Finnish town of Turenki. The yellow Futuro no. 001 was constructed soon after the prototype and in August 1968 Finnish television persona Matti Kuusla bought it for his summer cottage by the lake Puulavesi in Hirvensalmi.
The Futuro made its international breakthrough in October 1968, when the third yellow Futuro no. 002 was displayed at the Finnfocus Export Fair in London. The event showcased Finnish design on the ferry Finnpartner, which was moored on the river Thames. The Futuro house was placed on the on the Finnpartner’s upper deck. It attracted so much attention that during the following months, the Polykem plant received more than 400 enquiries from abroad regarding a manufacturing license. Among them, the managing director of Polykem chose the most suitable negotiation partners.
The Futuro made headlines in the international press as well. For example The New York Times presented the Futuro in its article “Saucer-Shaped House Arrives on Earth” on 20 July 1969, the same day Apollo 11 landed on the moon.
Despite the wide attention in Finland and abroad, the Futuro never became the expected commercial success. It was too peculiar and too expensive to break into the mass market. The manufacturer Polykem also lacked the experience and resources required for a large scale launch. With the 1973 Oil Crisis tripling the price of plastic, all hopes of the Futuro house ever conquering the world had to be abandoned.
