Ōhoka The vast network of wetlands and plains of Kā Pākihi Whakatekateka o Waitaha (Canterbury Plains) is inherently important to the history of its early occupation. The area was rich in food from the forest and waterways. Major awa such as the Rakahura (Ashley) and the Waimakariri were supplied from the mountain fed aquifers of Ka Tiritiri o te Moana (Southern Alps) while other spring fed waterways meandered throughout the landscape. The rivers teemed with tuna, kōkopu, kanakana and īnaka while the forest supplied kererū, tūī and other fauna as well as building materials. Ōhoka is situated on the edge of the historic 18,000-acre wetlands that lay between the Waimakariri and Rakahuri rivers providing a good supply of wading birds and fibres for weaving, food and medicine. The name Ōhoka may derive from Ō (the place of) and Hoka (‘the stick’) which was used to snare the birds for food. Ara tawhito (travelling routes) crossed over the landscape providing annual and seasonal pathways up and down and across the Plains. The resources supported the nearby Kaiapoi pā, a vibrant and successful pā which was a thriving trading centre for a range of goods, including pounamu. From the mid nineteenth century, Pākehā missionaries and immigrants settled in the Canterbury Plains, many arriving as part of the Canterbury Association settlement programme of the mid twentieth century. In the Waimakariri district, small colonial towns and settlements developed in the 1850s and 1860s, including at Ōhoka. By 1866 there were some 25 farms established in the Ōhoka area. These days, Ōhoka remains a small semi-rural township and, as at the 2018 census, the wider area’s population was just under 300 people. The McQuoid family bought the property at 56 McRoberts Road, Ōhoka in 1998, but in the late 2010s their home was destroyed by an electrical fault fire. Since 2018, Nick McQuoid has turned around this misfortune by installing Area 51 Futuro House at the site and redeveloping the surrounds to create a private resort for short-stay hire. Futuro House Design The Futuro house was the invention of Finnish architect, Matti Suuronen, who specialised in designing functionalist buildings such as petrol stations, kiosks, grain silos and various solutions for housing. He had a particular interest in prefabrication and the use of plastics. When a friend asked him to design an after-ski hut, after extensive research and development, in 1968 Suuronen’s solution was the prototype Futuro house, an ellipsoid capsule made of segment-like pieces of fibreglass-reinforced polyester plastic that could be assembled and taken apart, like an orange, for relatively easy relocation. The pieces could be carried by truck or the whole could be suspended from a helicopter. Once on site, it was supported by a metal ring with adjustable legs. Basing his design purely on mathematics, Suuronen’s ellipsoid shell provided optimum structural efficiency for managing weather conditions such as wind and snow load. Quick to heat and easy to construct in rough terrain, the sealed-up saucer shape all but eliminated dust and humidity. Helsinki plastics firm, Polykem Ltd (Oy Polykem Ab), was granted mass-production rights to create Futuro houses. While the first prototype was built in early 1968, it was only when the third one was manufactured that the name ‘Futuro’ was born. The spectacular design went into production world-wide. The smooth surfaces, requiring little maintenance, came in a range of through-dyed colours. The Futuro plans were largely open space, except for partitions for the kitchen and bathroom areas, and streamlined plastic recliners positioned around the periphery could be also used for sleeping. Despite their spaceship like appearance, Suuronen was adamant that his inspiration was grounded in efficient mass production of practical housing solutions, rather than thinking of sci-fi or alien themes. The public and media thought otherwise and the Futuro was eagerly embraced for its flying saucer connotations. This was the era of space exploration and in July 1969 the Apollo 11 moon landing screened on live television. When the Futuro debuted in the United States in mid-1969, its arrival by helicopter was described as in the papers as ‘looking more like a flying saucer than a home’. By 1969, manufacturing rights were being sold to developers outside Finland. Around 30 companies in 20 countries bought the rights to Futuro construction. The Futuro captured the attention of many, including artists and the rich and famous. German conceptual artist, Charles Wilp, owned a Futuro in Düsseldorf where he entertained famous guests including the princes of Kuwait, Andy Warhol and Arthur Paul, the publisher of Playboy magazine. A Futuro featured in the September 1970 issue of Playboy, as the magazine wanted to do a story on it as a vacation retreat for ‘the sophisticated bachelor’. The US$14,000 portable playhouse turned out to be the most popular feature that magazine had run in 1970, demonstrating appeal of these units in parts of the United States. Australasia followed the international trend. In Australia, businessmen imported a single Futuro House from Finland in circa 1970 and from that a set of moulds were created to manufacture brand new Futuro house units. While production was straightforward, difficulties in satisfying local regulations, coupled with peculiarities of the design – for example the problem of accommodating standard furniture – meant that, ultimately, the Futuro house was not a success in Australia. Even those involved in the original production and distribution in Australia are unsure how many were made, but it seems that the total number was probably seven plus the original Finnish one that was imported. It is not clear if any were produced in Australia after 1974. New Zealand production In 1972, a newly established Christchurch company, Futuro Homes (NZ) Ltd, gained the licence from Polykem Ltd to build Futuros in New Zealand and the Pacific. The business offices were at St Asaph Street and their factory was at 122A Wainoni Road, where they made all 12 of New Zealand’s Futuro houses, using Matti Suuronen’s moulds. By August 1973 the first had already been made and featured in the local Christchurch Star newspaper. By early 1974 two or three of the New Zealand-made Futuros were being show-cased as eye-catching features at grounds associated with the Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch. Two were located near the entrance to the Games at Queen Elizabeth II Park. One of these, greeny-blue in colour, was a fully furnished show home (sponsored by Seiko watchmakers) and the other, coloured yellow, was used by the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), the Games’ major sponsor. Bank of New Zealand, Commonwealth Games branch, Feb. 1974 (Bank of New Zealand Archives) A third Futuro - a white one – appears to have been by the Games’ boxing venue, Canterbury Court, Addington. It can be seen in an aerial image in a 1974 publication produced about the Commonwealth Games, although the image itself may date to later in 1974, for example when the November agricultural and pastoral show was being held. The white Futuro seems to have remained at the site, or at least was brought back by late 1974, as it was advertised as being on display at the Agricultural and Pastoral Show at Addington Showgrounds in November 1974, where attendees were invited to ‘inspect the leisure home of the future’. The Futuro show home - presumably the same one - was again advertised at the showgrounds in August the following year. Promoting their ‘Futuro Leisure Home of reinforced fibreglass’, Futuro Homes (NZ) Ltd emphasised their low initial cost, virtually no maintenance, outstanding insulation and security when unoccupied. Said to be easily transported and ideal for hill side sections, with no site preparation required, they were advertised as being immediately available. The exterior and interior was made of fibreglass - including built-in furnishings - and colours available were white, blue, gold or red. To begin with, the company was busy and optimistic. It gained the rights to the construction of not only the ellipsoid Futuros resting on concrete mounted steel legs but also the Venturo, a rectangular, modular building, also self-supporting but on standard foundations. The Venturo design was originally planned to be produced before the Futuro but a mishap to the moulds en route from Finland postponed Venturo production until late 1975. The only company in New Zealand with the capacity and licence to make the Finnish-designed Futuro houses, it claimed its designs were the most advanced outside of Finland and that they had the potential to produce two houses a week and possibly even more. The Futuros were advertised as taking around 120 ‘man hours’ (or three men, five days) to erect on site – the designs could be one or two bedroomed. In July 1974 the price in New Zealand for a Futuro was $9,500 for a shell only or $11,980 for a fully furnished unit, though this didn’t include the cost of cartage or erection. Prices increased the following year. In mid-1975 the government announced its Housing Corporation would provide loans for private individuals to buy Futuro houses. One of the early New Zealand-made Futuros was a white one made and installed in hillside Huntsbury, Christchurch, for author and journalist, Marjory Staples, and her husband, Richard. After finally getting through ‘red tape’ of planning regulators unused to this type of building, it took some time for the couple to sort installation errors and other gremlins before they could say that they had ‘…adapted to space age living’. In 1976 Futuro Enterprises, working under parent company Futuro Homes (NZ) Ltd, had a staff of 20 – General Manager, David Hamilton, came from a background in plastics; Brian Moseley, Project Manager; Brynn Beechey, manager; a secretary; two people in the erection team and 14 in the factory. Des Walker was responsible for new design and development through Futuro Homes NZ Ltd and the hope had been that a factory would be opened in the North Island. A ‘Futuro Space Home (moonhouse)’ was displayed at the New Zealand Building Field days at Mystery Creek in Hamilton, in 1976 and 1977, but it appears as though no factory was established in the North Island. David Hamilton enthused that the main draw-card of their product was the instant housing, ready for occupation within two weeks of ordering. This, along with the attractions of portability for relocation, permanent materials, no maintenance and competitive pricing helped ‘to allay first impressions of spacy, gimmicky structures not really intended for the real world’. Compared of other low cost housing of the time, such as Keith Hay Homes, Futuros were said to have cost advantages – with Futuro houses costing around $18 per square foot (.09 square metre) compared with $20 for a similar size in summerhill stone. Hamilton said he felt Futuros may well last 100 or 150 years, off-setting a conscience about the use of non-renewable fossil fuels in the manufacture of fibreglass. New Zealand Futuros were promoted as having a wide range of potential uses - ‘Vacation House; Motel Units; Ski and Resort area Lodges; temporary Class Rooms and Housing; Portable Housing for Air Force, Military and Forestry Personnel; Boys’ and Girls’ Camp Bunks; Tourist Housing and Guest Cabanas for Swim Clubs; Foreign Government and Migrant Housing; Commercial Sales Offices; Guest House; Teenage House; Studio’. Some of these alternative uses could be seen as the Bank of New Zealand temporary space bank, car yard offices, and portable research stations and accommodation for the Ministry of Works and Development in Canterbury and Central Otago. The demand for Futuros as actual houses did not escalate as anticipated, however. By 1976 Futuro Homes (NZ) Limited found themselves between two markets – not so many New Zealanders could afford between $14,000 to $20,000 for a holiday home and, despite an alliance with Housing Corporation, it didn’t seem to make inroads with the housing market. Many felt they were too radical a design, impractical for daily living. In 1976 a yellow demonstration Futuro on site at the factory in Wainoni Road was revamped internally to show that the interior could be designed to meet individual tastes. However, a commentator at the time pointed out the resulting ‘rather confused identity: the shag pile carpet, the heavily patterned wall paper on specially built curving wood internal wall panels to replace fibreglass wall panels’, all making for ‘schizophrenic additions to de-plasticise the interior’. A significant unexpected downturn in the building industry and the rapid escalation of costs in its petroleum-based supplies of raw materials meant that Futuro house production in New Zealand appears to have ceased in the mid-1970s and, by 1987, both Futuro Homes (NZ) Limited and Futuro Enterprises had gone into liquidation. Even after the companies were dissolved, the occasional potential client was enquiring about their kitset home options. What happened in New Zealand was a reflection of the fate of Futuro manufacture globally. The oil crisis of 1973 resulted in the price of plastic tripling, meaning the Futuro became too expensive to market to the masses. This is generally the reason cited for the worldwide failure of the product, though there were also critics of the design and its unsuitability as mass-produced accommodation. While Futuros attracted mass interest, internationally they also saw hostility. Some felt they were too unnatural for their rustic environments, and in the United States, Futuro houses were banned in some cities by zoning regulations. Banks were reluctant to finance them. Public perception began to shift from plastic as being a miracle material to an ecological concern. Polykem came close to collapse, and it (including moulds) was bought by Suuronen, who then sold to a company named Exel Oyj, now known as Exel Composites. In New Zealand, attempts were later made to take up production elsewhere. In the 1990s, in the North Island, some effort was given to try to reignite ‘spaceship house’ production, but nothing eventuated. Futuro house enthusiasts still had the small pool of the New Zealand-made Futuros from the 1970s – and potentially ones from overseas – as possibilities for purchase. The very fact that they were designed to be relocatable meant that New Zealand’s 12 Futuros moved around in much the same way as other Futuros did globally. And, just like the international Futuros, they met with mixed fate or have murky histories. Some have had a long life on a single site - for example, a Futuro that has been used as a bach in Warrington, North of Dunedin, since the 1970s, and the original Futuro house which has been in situ on Huntsbury Hill in Christchurch, since the mid-1970s (and has been joined in in the early 2000s by another relocated Futuro to create a larger dwelling of two connecting Futuros). Shortly after the closing of the Commonwealth Games, tenders were invited for the sale ‘as is, where is’ of the two Futuro units at Queen Elizabeth II Park, the Bank of New Zealand one shifting to Parapara Beach near Collingwood in September 1974 for fit-out to create a home, though it is no longer in that location. This shifting around is more typical of Futuro house histories. Most have not stayed in one location and plotting their movements is something of a challenge. It appears that are ten still in New Zealand, in various conditions and states of assembly.   Area 51 Futuro House The Futuro that it now known as Area 51 Futuro House has been at several different locations and had multiple utilitarian functions since it was first produced in Christchurch in the mid 1970s. It is believed to have been constructed in 1974 or 1975, as one of the 12 produced in the Wainoni Road factory, and while its very first use is not known, it is not out of the question that it could have had a role associated with the early 1974 Commonwealth Games and/or as the show home that was displayed at the Addington Showgrounds in November 1974. By 1977 (or late 1976) it was in place at Lincoln College (now Lincoln University), approximately 20 kilometres south-west of Christchurch. In fact, images show that there were two white Futuro units, side by side, adjacent to some other buildings. There was also at least one Venturo (the other fibreglass modular product being made at that time) at this site. One recollection is that the Lincoln ‘flying saucer’ structures were installed or ‘parked up’ by Ministry of Works for their Water and Soil staff, possibly as part of an intended collaboration with Lincoln College. Ministry of Works had a close association with Lincoln College over a long period. One aspect, from the 1950s, involved officers of the Catchments Boards and Soil Conservation Division of Ministry of Works initiating field studies including in the high country. In 1978 the Ministry of Works and Development was looking for a contractor to shift a Futuro Fibreglass Unit – ‘no demolition involved’ from Lincoln College up to ‘Middle Rock Farm’ near Lake Coleridge, adjacent to the Dry Acheron Stream.   This shift to the high country location around 80 kilometres north west of the Lincoln campus, appears to have taken place in late 1978 or 1979. The Futuro sat at the back of Middle Rock Farm’s water intake and functioned as a low-key Ministry of Works research station associated with monitoring water conditions in the creek. A Ministry of Works water and sediment discharge recording station was constructed in the late 1970s or 1980 downstream of where Dry Acheron Stream exits from its moutainous catchment – a v-shaped weir, a sediment storage basin, and rock dam structures all formed part of this station. This is likely where the Futuro was situated for a few years. It was only occasionally used by Ministry of Works and some time in the 1980s it fell into the hands of Tony Crowe, owner at the Dry Acheron, a sub-division of Middle Rock Farm. At Dry Acheron’s yard it was used to store dog food. In around the late 1980s or 1990, helicopter pilot, Richard Mee, was flying over the Dry Acheron site and he spotted the Futuro and decided to purchase it. It was taken apart, trucked over the Haast Pass and flown down the Paringa River, South Westland, by helicopter pilot Alan Bond, where it was reassembled for use by the Mee family as a whitebaiting and fishing hut. The Futuro remained in this remote location in the ownership of the Mees until 2018 when it was purchased by Futuro aficionado, Nick McQuoid. The difficult task of retrieving the Futuro from such a remote location is well documented – it was reached by jetboat and had to be dismantled using battery-powered tools, charged on a solar panel. It was then taken out by helicopter, boat and lastly on trucks to its new home in Ōhoka in 2018. In its new location at McQuoid family land at 56 McRoberts Road, Ōhoka, McQuoid and his contracting friends spent a year full-time renovating the Futuro, including making new moulds for wall partitions, moulding new entrance stairs and fitting Perspex window replacements. Like the removal, the restoration and renovation project was documented and images and recordings shared through social media. McQuoid’s inspiration for the colourful interior is a colourful vintage photograph from the collection of graphic artist Alfred E. De Martini Collection, along the lines of Suuronen’s prototype Futuro 000, which had an interior of predominantly purple and red (including cushioning on the chairs and beds and the carpeting). McQuoid’s childhood curiosity with a local Futuro house has grown into an all-consuming endeavour to acquire and restore Futuro houses in New Zealand. He’s owned three Futuros - but no more than two at a time - and has been described as a ‘premier owner’ of these internationally sought-after structures. In 2012, McQuoid bought his first Futuro, a white one that had been at Kaimaumau in Northland, which he partly did up and on-sold to David Walsh in Tasmania, and then his second in 2013 (the yellow Bank of New Zealand one from the Commonwealth Games site, which had been in storage in Australia since the 1990s) which he holds in storage awaiting restoration. The one affixed to land at 56 McRoberts Road, Ōhoka, McQuoid has named Area 51 Futuro House and the place has been developed as resort-style accommodation. In 2022 it won the category of New Zealand’s best unique listing on Airbnb. The name Area 51 is in reference to a secret United State Air Force base in Nevada often associated with conspiracy theories and stories about UFOs and aliens (Area 51 is its map location). There is another restored Futuro, now in Los Angeles, that was for a time in Rockland, Wisconsin, where it operated as an Airbnb, also called ‘Area 51 Futuro’.

Current Description Set in fenced resort style grounds, with plantings, swimming pool, sauna and quirky memorabilia, in rural Ōhoka, North Canterbury, the setting of Area 51 Futuro has been created from 2019 by the Futuro owner, Nick McQuoid, on family land at 56 McRoberts Road. Recognisably a Futuro of international design, the smooth white fibreglass building is ellipsoid in shape with 16 ovoid bubble windows and an entrance door accessed by a retractable air-stair hinged opening. The structure is eight metres long and four metres high, and it sits on a raised metal ring. Its predominant construction material is fibreglass, a type of glass fibre-reinforced plastic that was innovative for house building when Matti Suuronen designed Futuro houses. A 1975 article in the Press described the construction materials: ‘The roof and corner sections are large double-skin mouldings of fibreglass with fibreglass insulation. The floor is an insulated composite beam construction of marine-grade plywood and wood, all facia parts showing covered with fibreglass mouldings’. Area 51 Futuro House conforms to this, being constructed out of fibreglass on the outside, with an insulation foam in between, and then another layer of fibreglass on the inside. The floor plan is 51 square metres. The interior layout comprises a large living area, with retro white bench seating, a compact kitchen space (with cupboards, shelves, bench and sink all moulded in fibreglass), toilet and shower room fibreglass bathroom, and two small sleeping areas. The interior reflects Matti Suuronen’s original vision and the purple and red colours of the renovation reflect the joyous experimental feeling the era. Iconic décor includes a shagpile rug, Luigi Colani hybrid table-chair, Verner Panton lights, and a late 1960s Egg Chair. Prefabricated Buildings in New Zealand Area 51 Futuro House is an example of a prefabricated building. Prefabrication is a method of construction where the elements of a building are manufactured at a different place from the final location. New Zealand has a long history of utilising pre-fabrication (‘prefabs’) for its buildings. A notable early example is the Waitangi Treaty House, which was brought from Sydney in 1833 as a pre-cut frame with fittings and most materials. In nineteenth century colonial New Zealand, prefabricated cottages were available to migrants from all backgrounds. From the 1880s the New Zealand Railways Department became a major producer of prefab housing and by the 1920s Railway Houses were being produced and transported by rail. From 1937 the State Housing programme utilised pre-cut framing and unlined wall panels made in joinery factories and trucked to site – a prefab technique that involved the combination of pattern book designs, unskilled labour and pre-cut prefab techniques. Ministry of Works prefab worker housing was especially notable from the 1940s, with large projects such as hydro-electric schemes provided easily relocatable prefabricated worker housing. Contracting companies also began prefabricating homes at an affordable price – Keith Hay Homes, Conecta and Lockwood. Keith Hay built his first relocatable home in 1949 and the company Keith Hay Homes still continues in the twenty first century as company producing homes to standard plans in their various building yards ready for shifting to their final site. Another company also still operating in the 2020s, Lockwood, emerged in the 1950s as a solid timber component-based system manufactured in a factory and transported for final assembly on site. While not particularly influencing architectural design in New Zealand, Futuro houses sit as an adventurous alternative option, albeit short-lived, in our history of prefabricated and relocatable buildings. Plastic houses The rapid growth of the petroleum industry in the twentieth century resulted in the use of plastic materials in the building industry, especially following the Second World War. In the United States, the land-tied Monsanto House of the Future was built in 1957, demonstrating the versatility of modern plastics, at least as an exterior skin. Futuro houses, on the other hand, were all-structural glass-reinforced polyester plastic portable homes – inside and out. Plastic exemplified a modern lifestyle – clean, functional and fun – and architects and industry leaders envisioned a future of fully plastic mass-produced housing. However, the cheap exploitation of plastics proved to be beyond the control of Western economies and the cost of oil made plastic housing prohibitive as a cost-effective solution. By the 1980s, fully plastic housing came to be seen as less than desirable. Nevertheless, while it is recognised that mass-produced plastic does have serious environmental consequences, it does remain in use for certain elements of building. By the 1990s plastic objects came to be considered suitable as heritage objects, and this included Futuro houses. Futuro Houses: International Design Icons Futuros can be found throughout the world, on almost every continent. They are considered part of an anti-in situ architectural movement and this fact that they were designed to be portable, readily transported from one location to another, means that it is hard to keep track of them and count how many remain in existence. As of 2023, throughout the world, there are about 68 surviving Futuro houses, with perhaps only about 40 being in reasonable condition. In Finland, there are five surviving Futuro houses and others can be found throughout Europe, in the United States, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. A common theme is that after being used by their first owners for a few years, many have been shifted around and quite a number have undergone a period where they’ve been somewhat neglected. They sort of fell out of favour. Over time, however, the Futuro house design began to be recognised as a space-age icon and a whole fan-base has developed. Some specific Futuros have recognition as art objects and/or as heritage places. Suuronen’s original 1968 after-ski Futuro was exhibited at the Vienna Secession in 1996, marking its place as art. A restored Futuro house (the Donaldson Futuro) is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places and as a California Historical Landmark on the California Register of Historical Resources. A second Futuro in the United States, called the Vincelette Futuro in Houston, Delaware, was listed on their National Register in January 2024. In New Jersey, United States, another Futuro House (‘Space Bank Futuro’, dated 1973) has received a ‘Certification of Eligibility’ to show that it is individually eligible to be listed in the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. Around five Futuro houses are in public collections. The Futuro prototype (No. 000) is at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. In Finland, Futuro House 001, the first ever mass-produced Futuro house, is on display at the Exhibition Centre WeeGee in Espoo. The Design Museum in Munich (Die Neue Sammlung) has a Futuro. The Swedish Air Force Museum in Linköping has one of three modified Futuros that had previously been used as observation towers at practice firing ranges. The University of Canberra, Australia, also has a refurbished Futuro house on its campus, which functions as a meeting place for students. In addition, the founder of Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona), David Walsh, purchased one of the New Zealand-made Futuros and relocated it to a seaside location near Marion Bay in Tasmania where it has been restored in the early 2020s. While not formally in a public collection, Walsh intends to make it available to the public ‘at an exorbitant fee’, one day. In New Zealand, it appears there are ten Futuros surviving in various states. As of December 2023, they are believed to be at the following places: 1. Ōhoka, Canterbury - Area 51 Futuro 2. Ōhoka, Canterbury - Yellow (former BNZ Commonwealth Games) Futuro which is dismantled, awaiting restoration (currently but temporarily on same land parcel as Area 51 Futuro, after being returned to New Zealand from Sydney, Australia). 3. Warrington, Otago. This white Futuro has been in this coastal hillside location since 1975. 4. Huntsbury, Christchurch. A white Futuro has been in this hill location since the mid-1970s and was recently joined by the one below. 5. Huntsbury, Christchurch. This white Futuro is on this same site as the one above (previously it had been at 24 Chalet Crescent in Hanmer Springs and later near Kaikōura). 6. Pōhara, Tasman. This white Futuro appears in Christopher Vine’s publication Nelson Observed: Portraits of a New Zealand Province (1992). 7. Kaukapakapa, Auckland Region (previously located at McLeans Island Road, Harewood, the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and before that on Fordingbridge Lane, Bexley (near New Brighton), Christchurch). 8. Auckland Region. This Futuro, partly painted green, is possibly dissembled (previously located in Thames). 9. Prebbleton, Canterbury. This is a Futuro that was previously in Raglan (and before that it was a house in Whangaparoa, and before that it was in Mount Maunganui) 10. Kaiapoi, Canterbury. This Futuro (in storage as at December 2023) was previously located in Richmond, Nelson.