9 Retro-Futuristic Homes From Across The USA That Imagined The Future
America has long been home to visionary architects who built houses that seemed straight from science fiction. These amazing structures pushed boundaries with unusual shapes, materials, and technologies that weren’t common when they were built.
From plastic pods to flying saucer designs, these homes show how Americans once imagined we’d all be living in the future.
1. Monsanto House Of The Future – Anaheim, California
Standing proudly in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland from 1957 to 1967, this all-plastic marvel welcomed over 20 million visitors during its lifetime. The X-shaped structure floated above a central pedestal.
Inside, visitors marveled at microwave ovens and flat-screen TVs decades before they entered regular homes.
2. Elvis Presley’s “House Of Tomorrow” – Palm Springs, California
Known as the honeymoon hideaway where Elvis and Priscilla spent their first days as newlyweds in 1967, this space-age home turns heads with its dramatic circular shape and futuristic vibe.
Designed by William Krisel in 1960, the house features four perfect concentric circles, creating a spaceship-like appearance.
3. High Desert House – Joshua Tree, California
Rising from the desert like an alien exoskeleton, this organic masterpiece took architect Kendrick Kellogg two decades to complete. Its curved concrete shell mimics the surrounding rock formations while creating an otherworldly silhouette.
Floor-to-ceiling windows blur the line between inside and out. The home’s fluid design feels simultaneously prehistoric and futuristic, with not a single straight line or right angle to be found in its insect-like form.
4. tresARCA House – Las Vegas, Nevada
Wrapped in a metallic skin that shimmers under the desert sun, this 2011 creation looks like it dropped from another planet. A massive steel mesh screen drapes the upper level, creating ever-changing shadow patterns throughout the day.
Assemblage Studio designed the home around a central courtyard with a swimming pool that appears to float in space. Natural materials like river rock contrast dramatically with industrial steel elements, creating tension between earth and technology.
5. House Zero – Austin, Texas
Resembling something from a sci-fi novel, this groundbreaking home was literally printed from concrete in 2022! ICON’s massive 3D printer created the curved walls layer by layer, showing how we might build homes in the future.
Despite its high-tech origins, the house feels surprisingly warm and organic. Flowing walls create spaces that seem carved rather than constructed. The technology reduced waste and labor while allowing architectural forms impossible with traditional construction.
6. Schridde’s Cliff House Concept – 1960s Motorola Advertisement
Perched impossibly on a needle-like rock spire, this dramatic concept home captured America’s Space Age optimism. Artist Charles Schridde created this fantasy dwelling for Motorola’s “House of the Future” ad campaign.
Though never built, the image influenced real architecture for decades. The glass-walled living room jutted dramatically over a dizzying drop, while a central Motorola television promised that even in such futuristic settings, their products would feel right at home.
7. Round Glass House With Skyline View – Charles Schridde Concept
Floating above a glittering cityscape, this circular glass dwelling merged urban living with space-age aesthetics. Another Motorola advertisement creation, the home featured impossible engineering that still inspires architects today.
Curved glass walls provided panoramic views while a central fireplace anchored the living space. The minimalist interior highlighted the thin line between indoor comfort and outdoor exposure. Though fictional, the design anticipated our modern fascination with transparent architecture and indoor-outdoor living.
8. Futuro House – Multiple Locations Across America
Looking exactly like a landed UFO, these prefabricated plastic pods were designed as portable ski chalets but quickly became icons of Space Age architecture. Finnish designer Matti Suuronen created only about 100 worldwide.
Measuring just 26 feet in diameter, these elliptical flying saucers featured airplane-style doors that lowered like gangplanks. Inside, the curved walls housed built-in furniture and futuristic amenities. A handful still exist across America, from New Jersey beaches to Wisconsin fields.
9. Chemosphere House – Los Angeles, California
Hovering dramatically above a steep Hollywood hillside, John Lautner’s octagonal masterpiece seems ready for liftoff at any moment. Built in 1960, the home solved an engineering puzzle by mounting an entire house atop a single 30-foot concrete column.
Reached by funicular or a long staircase, the flying saucer-shaped dwelling offers 360-degree views through walls of glass.
