This article refers to the P.S.1 exhibition Arctic Hysteria: New Art from Finland
Futuro Lounge
Installation view at P.S.1
Photo by Matthew Septimus
Designed by the Finnish architect Matti Suuronen in 1968, the UFO-shaped prefabricated Futuro House was originally intended to be a ski cabin. Constructed of only 16 elements and created out of fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic, the ovaloid cabin was not only easy to construct in rough terrain, but also very quick to heat: an ideal cabin for the middle of a ski piste. Both the aesthetic appearance as well as the functionality of the Futuro House fit with the state of mind of the 1960s, characterized by a faith in technology, an optimism towards space exploration, and a belief that affordable housing should be available to everyone. The same qualities that enabled the Futuro House to be a ski cabin also enabled it to be internationally recognized as an affordable, easily transportable, and mass-producible house.
Partially due to the 1973 Oil Crisis, however, the success of the Futuro House came to a halt and this “dwelling of the future” was discontinued in 1978, as the manufacturing of plastic became highly expensive due to soaring oil prices. A bad marketing campaign, and the small size of the house may have also contributed to the stoppage: owners claimed that the house, approximately 13 feet high and 26 feet in diameter, was too small to conveniently live in. Regrettably, there are no remaining accurate records of production volumes; according to a conservative estimate, roughly between sixty and ninety Futuros have been produced around the world. Owners have launched fan websites such as http://www.futuro-house.net, where zealots can track down the locations of different Futuro Houses and contact other Futuro owners.
The 60-odd Futuro Houses that still exist are scattered all over the world and serve different purposes as family homes, movie theaters, or diners. Between 1969 and 1971, the Swedish Air Force even purchased three Futuros to function as lookout towers at a target practice area. Because of their unique futuristic aesthetic and their relative rarity, the houses have been presented at influential art shows such as the Skop exhibition at the Vienna Secession (May 10–July 7, 1996), and are now highly sought art objects.
For the exhibition Arctic Hysteria: New Art from Finland, P.S.1 has built a Futuro Lounge as an homage to the architect Matti Suuronen. Replicating the interior of the Futuro House, the Futuro Lounge serves as a screening room for the films in the exhibition, with the “windows” of the building replaced by video screens. What would originally have been a view onto a ski slope or a lawn is instead, for this exhibition, a look onto the viewpoint of several different artists. Having arrived at the future that the Futuro House so desired to represent in the 1960s and ‘70s, we now look out of this space not at our geographical surroundings, but onto the personal creations and desires of these artists working within current national, political, and ideological contexts: art, living within a present date once thought of as a distant future.
Based on research compiled by Fleur Schoonhoven.
Arctic Hysteria: State of Being
The Futuro Lounge: From Finnish ski cabin to Pop Icon
That Was Then...This Is Now: Weapons
That Was Then...This Is Now: Dreams
That Was Then...This Is Now: Flags
That Was Then...This Is Now: Where have all the flowers gone?
That Was Then...This Is Now: Bob Fiore: Winter Soldier
Looking Up at P.S.1: Olafur Eliasson and James Turrell