THE CONVERSATION PIT (1950-70s)

The humble conversation pit, an architectural feature that incorporates built-in seating into a depressed section of flooring within a larger room, often with a table in the centre the proximity facilitates comfortable human conversation, dinner parties, and table top games. One of the earliest widely publicized applications of the concept was designed into the Miller house in 1958 in Columbus, Indiana by Eero Saarinen. Saarinen later incorporated a conversation pit into TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Other influential residential projects that contained a pit include the 1955 Cohen House in Sarasota, Florida by architect Paul Rudolph, for whom the conversation pit became a signature element. Many of Bruce Goff’s houses incorporated the feature, including the 1965 Nicol House in Kansas City, Missouri.

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TEXT & IMAGE SOURCE:
Wikipedia.com
Indianapolis Art Museum.com
paulrudolph.org
AZarchitecture.com
Playboy Archive/Corbis

FUTURO HOUSE (1960-70s)

Futuro, or Futuro House, is a round, prefabricated house designed by Matti Suuronen, of which fewer than 100 were built during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The distinctive flying saucer like shape and airplane hatch entrance has made the houses popular among collectors. The Futuro is composed of fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic, measuring 4 metres high and 8 metres in diameter.

The Futuro house was a product of post-war Finland, reflecting the period’s faith in technology, the conquering of space, unprecedented economic growth, and an increase in leisure time. It was designed by Suuronen as a ski cabin that would be “quick to heat and easy to construct in rough terrain.” The end result was a universally transportable home that had the ability to be mass replicated and situated in almost any environment. The material chosen for the project – fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic – was familiar to Suuronen and was previously used in the design of a large plastic dome for the roof of a grain silo in Seinäjoki. To facilitate transport, the house consisted of 16 elements that were bolted together to form the floor and the roof. The project could be constructed on site, or dismantled and reassembled on site in two days, or even airlifted in one piece by helicopter to the site. The only necessity on site for its placement were four concrete piers, so the project could occupy nearly any topography. Due to the integrated polyurethane insulation and electric heating system, the house could be heated to a comfortable temperature in only thirty minutes, from -20 to 60 degrees F. An excerpt from a February 1970 copy of Architecture d’aujourd’hui describes “Futuro” as:

The first model in a series of holiday homes to be licensed in 50 countries, already mass-produced in the United States, Australia and Belgium. The segments of the elliptic envelope are assembled on the site using a metal footing. Through its shape and materials used, the house can be erected in very cold mountains or even by the sea. The area is 50 sq m, the volume 140 cubic m, divided by adaptable partitions.

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TEXT & IMAGE SOURCE:
Wikipedia
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