American Prefabricated Round Houses
American prefabricated round houses mainly include types such as Futuro House, Quonset huts, and round houses built using air-supported membrane technology.
Futuro House was designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen in 1968. With a flying-saucer-like appearance, it is a typical round prefabricated house. The main body of the house is made of glass-fiber-reinforced polyester plastic, standing 4 meters high with a diameter of 8 meters, and composed of 16 prefabricated modules. This modular design provides excellent convenience for transportation and assembly: all components can be transported to the site by trucks and dismantled or reassembled within two days, and can even be airlifted by helicopters to remote areas. Its interior space is centered around a circular layout, including a kitchen, a bathroom, and a living area that can accommodate 4-6 people. It was once listed as the "Ultimate Bachelor Pad" by Playboy magazine. Futuro House became popular from the late 1960s to the early 1970s due to the rise of the counterculture movement. However, due to public opposition to unconventional architecture, local building code restrictions, and the increase in material costs caused by the 1973 oil crisis, only about 100 were built, with about 60 remaining today, making it a classic case in postmodern architectural history.
Quonset huts originated as semi-circular corrugated iron buildings developed by the U.S. military during World War II for the rapid deployment of military facilities. Their standard structure features a semi-circular cross-section, built with prefabricated corrugated iron components, and is lightweight and easy to assemble, allowing construction to be completed within a few hours. After the war, these buildings were widely used in civilian applications, such as being converted into warehouses, residences, or mixed-use building complexes. During the conversion process, the semi-circular characteristics of the original structure are usually retained, while skylights, ventilation systems, and insulation layers are added to improve living comfort. Their modular design makes them an excellent choice for post-disaster reconstruction or temporary housing.
In addition, there are round houses in the United States built using air-supported membrane technology. This technology uses an inflated plastic membrane as a temporary formwork. Air is injected into the membrane to form a dome shape, and then cement or concrete is poured outside the membrane. After the material solidifies, the air is released and the formwork is removed, resulting in a beamless and columnless dome structure. This technology eliminates the need for traditional bricks and tiles, can shorten the construction period by more than 30%, and the curved surface design of the dome can evenly distribute pressure, enhancing the building's wind and earthquake resistance. It is commonly used in large-span buildings such as stadiums and exhibition halls, and can also be applied in the residential sector.
