Futuro Prefab: Spaceship-Shaped 1960s House of the Future Lands in Rotterdam

Imagine stepping inside a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nasa-researchers-say-climate-change-on-earth-could-provoke-an-alien-invasion/" target="_blank">flying saucer</a>. Now imagine living in one! In 1968, in light of the postwar boost in technology and space exploration, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/hel-yes-woodsy-exhibition-shows-the-roots-of-finnish-design/" target="_blank">Finnish</a> designer Matti Suuronen designed the Futuro House. Originally meant to be a modular ski-cabin that could be assembled and disassembled in rough terrain, the round home became an iconic piece of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/vertical-farm-for-futuristic-london-bridge/" target="_blank">futuristic design</a>. This particular space-age Home has had quite the tune-up, and it recently landed in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.

The Futuro prefab stands 10 feet high, is 26 feet in diameter, and comes complete with an airplane hatch entrance.

Suuronen chose a round design not only for its strength, but also for its ability to feel spacious while keeping material use to a minimum.

The walls are made of fiberglass-reinforced polyester <a href="http://inhabitat.com/ghigos-group-plastic-bag-installation/" target="_blank">plastic</a>, a new lightweight material that made the home both easily transportable and well-insulated.

Mo­bile li­ving seemed like the new pos­si­bi­lity for the fu­ture. People could take their mo­ve­able home wherever they went, and live like mo­dern no­mads.

The oil crisis in 1972 shut down production of the Futuro home as plastic prices nearly tripled. About 100 models were built and only half are estimated to survive today and are mostly privately owned.

Finnish conservator Anna-Maija Kuitunen wrote a <a href="https://publications.theseus.fi/handle/10024/15865" target="_blank">thesis</a> on how to repair the damage of the oldest Futuro model.

Anna-Maija Kuitunen's conservation thesis included never-before-seen images of the house's interior.

After two years of restoration, the original interior still houses up to 8 adults and includes a living room, kitchen, bathroom, fireplace, and bed chairs.

The show includes over 100 cultural pieces from the museum's permanent collection, from Durer and Bruegel prints to modern <a href="http://inhabitat.com/stella-chair-made-from-mexican-bus-seats/stella21/" target="_blank">fiberglass furniture</a> and recently acquired contemporary art.

Futuro no. 001 is on display for the first time in decades as the centerpiece of an exhibition called Futuro -- Constructing Utopia, displaying the search for the perfectly constructed form.

Though Futuro is certainly the largest piece in the gallery, it is also widely considered one of the best examples of perfect form in design history.