Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Sep 14, 2025

A Rare, Flying Saucer–Shaped Futuro Home Touches Down in England

A Rare, Flying Saucer–Shaped Futuro Home Touches Down in England

One of fewer than 100 ever manufactured, the Space Age prefab offers guests an out-of-this-world stay in Somerset’s Marston Park.

In 1965, Finnish designer Matti Suuronen set out to design an après-ski cabin that would be efficient to heat and easy to transport, giving rise to the Futuro home-truly a product of the Space Age with its sleek, UFO-like shape. Made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic to reduce weight, the modular panels were meant to be bolted together on site, and the structure’s metal legs could be adapted for different topographies. Though marketed as a prefabricated tiny home suitable for the masses, fewer than 100 Futuro pods were made, with an estimated 60 still in existence.



Originally conceived by Finnish designer Matti Suuronen as a portable ski cabin, the spaceship-like Futuro was later marketed as a prefabricated tiny home able to be placed virtually anywhere. Today, there are some 60 Futuros left in existence, and opportunities to stay in one are rare.

One Futuro house, however, has just touched down on the banks of a lake in Marston Park, a Victorian estate in Somerset, England. It was recently restored by artist and owner Craig Barnes, who discovered the derelict specimen in South Africa.
"Workers were knocking down a building nearby and we thought they were going to tear it down too," says Craig. "It was a wreck: There was no front door left, and the windows had been smashed in. We found out who owned it, and on an impulse while on top of Table Mountain, we agreed to buy it."



Suuronen envisioned the unit as the cutting-edge evolution of the Nordic cabin, crafting it with sleek, rounded curves.

Since undergoing the restoration, the turquoise Futuro has popped up all over London, including a stint on the rooftop of the city’s Central Saint Martins, an art school. During its stay, it caught the attention of Michael Fenna, the director of Marston Park. "I first saw it and thought, This has to come here!" he remembers.



On a trip to visit his childhood neighborhood in Port Alfred, South Africa, artist Craig Barnes-now based in London-spotted this Futuro home, which was in dire need of repair. "It was horrible and grotty," says Craig.

After a long process of coordinating logistics and timing, the Futuro house at Marston Park offers guests a unique chance to savor a slice of architectural history in a tranquil, wooded setting. (Chances to stay in a Futuro house are hard to come by, though one is also available to rent in California’s Joshua Tree.)



In contrast to its vibrant turquoise facade, the interior of the Futuro house presents a calming aesthetic of crisp white walls and Space Age furniture. Oval windows that echo the prefab’s shape look out on the park.



Despite its small footprint, the tiny home feels much larger inside as a result of the tall, curving roof.

"It was always important to me that wherever [the house] goes, it functions as a space to live and experience-an inspiring place that everyone can see," says Craig. "I never wanted this to be something that you cannot touch. The launch at Marston Park is the fulfillment of a longstanding dream to offer this womb-like structure for people to stay in."



A private sleeping nook is located off the open-plan living spaces.

For a limited time, overnight guests can experience this otherworldly design. Featuring a double bed and a flexible sleeping space, the prefab can comfortably accommodate up to four people and also comes with its own private bathroom facilities. Though it is not equipped with a kitchenette, food services are available on site all day.



The Futuro house at Marston Park is also just steps from the water.

"The Futuro at Marston Park will be the first in what we hope will be a long line of collaborations with artists, architects, designers, and ingenious folk from the world over," says Fenna.



"[This] is a sculpture that I have been working on for years-restoring it, curating it, programming it," says Craigt. "But I don’t want to hide it from the world. I want to share it."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
×