While visiting Ohio in the fall of ’22, I stopped to see the double Futuro UFO House in the town of Carlisle. To the best of my knowledge, which isn’t much, this is the only instance of conjoined Futuros. Looking around the web, these two had previously appeared to be deteriorating but were clearly given a big dose of TLC.

The Futuro House was a uniquely designed prefab home, created by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen in the 1960s. It was designed to be a portable, affordable, and customizable dwelling that could be easily transported and assembled anywhere.

It’s most striking feature is clearly the distinctive saucer shape. The rounded design was not only super cool, but it was also functional. It’s curves allowed the house to withstand extreme weather conditions and heavy snow loads. It also helped to distribute the weight of the structure evenly. Plus… it looks like a UFO. So, there’s that.

Inside, the houses were designed to be spacious and open, with a minimalist aesthetic. The interior featured a central living space surrounded by a wraparound sofa, space-saving built in furniture and storage, and a small kitchen and bathroom. The Futuro House could accommodate up to eight people in its compact footprint.

The entire structure was made up of modular, interlocking pieces that could be quickly and easily assembled on site – a great choice for vacation homes, ski chalets, and temporary dwellings.

Despite its maximum fabulosity, the Futuro House never gained widespread popularity. Only something like a hundred were ever produced. Many of these unique homes were eventually dismantled and discarded, and today, only a handful remain.

This green Futuro shell can be found on Route 66 in Livingston, Illinois outside of the Pink Elephant Antique Mall along with said pink elephant, a Harley-Davidson muffler man, and a curious collection of other roadside wonders.

This Futuro calls Milton, Delaware it’s Earth home.