June 2018                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Back to press page

PRESS RELEASE

PROTOLABS' 3D PRINTED FUTURO MODEL BREAKS THROUGH THE STRATOSPHERE

Futuro 3d printed house
Remember the Futuro house?

Originally designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen in the late 1960s, the Futuro spaceship-style house embodies the era’s confidence in technological progress and belief in the conquest of space. Together with artist Künstler Konstantin Landuris and The Design Museum, (Die Neue Sammlung), Munich, Protolabs 3D printed a replica of Futuro and sent it almost 40km up into the stratosphere!

The Futuro house is not only the most famous and innovative of its kind, but also one of the world's first mass-produced plastic houses. The house is currently part of a land art installation called “Futuro: A Flying Saucer in Town” at the Modern Art Gallery, (Pinakothek der Moderne).

"We are pleased to have Protolabs’ support in our attempt to make exclusive footage of the FUTURO in the stratosphere. In the balloon two cameras were integrated, which made the flight and unique shots of the environment. A 4K camera filmed the flight to the edge of the universe and so we were able to experience everything in 360 °! "
Konstantin Landuris, Konstantin Landuris Studio
A Symbol of technological progress in 3D printing

As part of the Futuro exhibition at the Pinakothek der Moderne, The Design Museum collaborated with 3D printing specialist, Protolabs. The industry leading digital manufacturer have previously supported The Design Museum with the production of custom models that illustrate the industrial 3D printing process and, as part of the Futuro project, they produced 14cm scale 3D-printed Futuro models using their advanced technology. The result: a true-to-life mini version of the Futuro that illustrates the importance of 3D printing for museums.

50 years on from its creation, Futuro is once again a symbol of technological progress and highlights the limitless possibilities presented by 3D printing.

 

"Together with the Design Museum, we have already been able to implement several projects. The true-to-scale 3D-printed miniature version of the FUTURO now flying into the stratosphere is another highlight. With this action, we emphasize once again that 3D printing stands for unlimited possibilities and a high level of innovation. "
Daniel Cohn, General Manager Protolabs – Central Europe

- ENDS -

Protolabs is a quick-turn manufacturer that helps product development teams minimise design risk, accelerate time to market and reduce production costs. They do this through rapid production of prototypes and low-volume parts, using industrial 3D printing, CNC machining and injection moulding technologies.