Thursday, November 19, 2009

UFO / Flying Saucer took root on Earth


This flying saucer is very real looking and has sat atop an adult nightclub in Tampa for over 30 years. It looks every bit as rough in person as my photo captured (this is from the back). Sitting exposed as it is in Florida’s extreme heat and humidity, maybe it's doing better then its designer ever imagined (NO, not a little green man - Finnish actually.) Other then being called the Flying Saucer by young and old alike, it actually started its intergalactic life with a real name from its manufacturer, the Futuro House. It's a perfect approximation of what everyone thinks a saucer from outer space looks like. It’s a round, prefabricated house that was originally designed and built in 1968 of fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. A bit latter this one appeared and has stayed in place and firmly attached to the building and its own staircase ever since.

The following was posted earlier this year at Google Sightseeing by Alex Turnbull: “About 100 of the kits were erected around the world. Suuronen’s aim was actually to design a ski-cabin, one that would be “quick to heat and easy to construct in rough terrain”, and in this respect he succeeded – a Futuro House can be placed on virtually any terrain, requiring only four concrete supports, and thanks to the integrated polyurethane insulation and electric heating system, even in the most extreme conditions it only takes around thirty minutes to achieve a comfortable temperature inside. Despite the obvious awesomeness of these UFO-shaped homes, by the mid 70s they had been withdrawn from sale – although this was mainly due to the 1973 oil crisis, which had sent the price of plastic skyrocketing. Around sixty of the original Futuros have been accounted for over the years, but there are still many that remain undiscovered."

If you want to read more, click HERE to go to Futuro House and, with thanks to Alex Turnbull for his research, click HERE to read his full post on Google Sightseeing.

7 comments:

  1. This is great love this stuff.

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  2. Amazing that it really was a house! But I like the idea of a house that can be set up anywhere.

    Flying saucers and cows. Not to mention all the other odd figures you've posted in the past. Honestly, Frank, the stuff you have in Tampa are crazy! :)

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  3. Great to find a 'folly' like this, it's amazing to think that he thought it would really catch on, but then it gives the rest of us a smile.

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  4. How very fascinating. And it is the "perfect approximation" of a space vehicle. Can't imagine trying to live in it, but it might be fun for a night or two.

    Tampa continues to titillate!

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  5. I have seen this before, they are very cool.

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  6. Hahaa--looks just like the cloud I shot the other day--with the exception of a nob on the very tippy top. What a funny place!

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