Outer Banks Futuro House

In 1970, when Futuro houses were still a novel technoutopian experiment, Lee and Mary Jane Russo bought a plot of land in North Carolina and decided to buy one of these newfangled houses to put on the property.

The portable pre-fab plastic flying saucer shaped home arrived in two halves and was assembled on the land. It’s been the Outer Banks area near Frisco, North Carolina every since, serving various different purposes including a Boy Scout meeting place, magazine office, and “The Footlong Out Of This World Hot Dog Stand.”

Designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen, the concept was a portable house, made of fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic, that could be constructed onsite and adapt to any kind of terrain and climate. However the alien-looking structures were immediately faced with criticism, and fewer than 100 Futuros were built during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Only about half remain today, the Outer Banks Futuro among them.

At one point the Outer Banks saucer house was a bright alien green fitting of its UFO aesthetic, but has since gotten a silver paint job. Now going on 45 years old, it’s seen better days. The otherworldly home is tattered and ragged, falling into disrepair. Still, visitors delight in the alien faces peering from the saucer’s portholes. The current occupant is even known to dress in a green alien suit for photo ops with visitors.

Update as of October 2022: The house was recently destroyed in a fire.