Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 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

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×