1. The History
Known as Wanli UFO village, these incredible structures can be found on the coast in the Wanli District of Taiwan. Designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen, two types of pods make up this former camp of beach chalets: the space-ship looking ones are referred to as Futuros (more info HERE) and the more conventional Venturos (more info HERE). The houses typically contained a bedroom, bathroom and small kitchen. They also had a fireplace and six plastic lounge chairs.
Intriguingly there are no official records of these ones being built or licenced from the designer, hence are likely ‘fake’ versions of Futuros and Venturos. There is also little info on the demise of this place either.
The Futuros as still very much a cult phenomenon and there are a number of sites that document them, including this one HERE. It has specific info about Wanli (HERE).
2. The Explore
I’ve seen this pace crop up a number on times, especially on some of the click-bait urbex pages on the web. It was only after booking our side trip from Hong Kong to Taipei that I realised it was in striking distance from the Taiwanese capital. Hence it was a no-brainer to visit. The site is on the north-east coast about an hour’s coach ride from Taipei. The trip out there was relatively easy as was access on arrival. The majority of Venturos are unoccupied and easily accessed. However, there were a handful that were still in use as homes. All of the Futuros I saw were abandoned although they have fared better than the latter. The roofs of the Venturos are flat and a lot more prone to caving in. I have to say that this place was amazing and worth the trip and perhaps one of the most surreal places I have ever been.
3. The Pictures
The Futuros really are quite funky:
img2463 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Internally some are in better nick that others:
img2461 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Here’s some old Betamax videos:
img2459 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Singe bedroom:
img2456 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Loving the circular kitchen:
img2455 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2454 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2440 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Another pair of Futuros:
img2449 by HughieDW, on Flickr
This one is a bit dirty:
img2430 by HughieDW, on Flickr
On to the Venturos:
img2443 by HughieDW, on Flickr
This one is in decent condition:
img2432 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Others haven’t fared as well:
img2422 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2420 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2418 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2415 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2408 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Well-ventilated toilet!
img2404 by HughieDW, on Flickr
One of each:
img2399 by HughieDW, on Flickr
A Futuro’s bathroom:
img2395 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2375 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2374 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Some of the bases where the Venturos have now gone…
img2373 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2372 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2364 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Three Futuros:
img2360 by HughieDW, on Flickr
This Futuro was the worst, condition-wise:
img2357 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2346 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2344 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2335 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img2311 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Known as Wanli UFO village, these incredible structures can be found on the coast in the Wanli District of Taiwan. Designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen, two types of pods make up this former camp of beach chalets: the space-ship looking ones are referred to as Futuros (more info HERE) and the more conventional Venturos (more info HERE). The houses typically contained a bedroom, bathroom and small kitchen. They also had a fireplace and six plastic lounge chairs.
Intriguingly there are no official records of these ones being built or licenced from the designer, hence are likely ‘fake’ versions of Futuros and Venturos. There is also little info on the demise of this place either.
The Futuros as still very much a cult phenomenon and there are a number of sites that document them, including this one HERE. It has specific info about Wanli (HERE).
2. The Explore
I’ve seen this pace crop up a number on times, especially on some of the click-bait urbex pages on the web. It was only after booking our side trip from Hong Kong to Taipei that I realised it was in striking distance from the Taiwanese capital. Hence it was a no-brainer to visit. The site is on the north-east coast about an hour’s coach ride from Taipei. The trip out there was relatively easy as was access on arrival. The majority of Venturos are unoccupied and easily accessed. However, there were a handful that were still in use as homes. All of the Futuros I saw were abandoned although they have fared better than the latter. The roofs of the Venturos are flat and a lot more prone to caving in. I have to say that this place was amazing and worth the trip and perhaps one of the most surreal places I have ever been.
3. The Pictures
The Futuros really are quite funky:
Internally some are in better nick that others:
Here’s some old Betamax videos:
Singe bedroom:
Loving the circular kitchen:
Another pair of Futuros:
This one is a bit dirty:
On to the Venturos:
This one is in decent condition:
Others haven’t fared as well:
Well-ventilated toilet!
One of each:
A Futuro’s bathroom:
Some of the bases where the Venturos have now gone…
Three Futuros:
This Futuro was the worst, condition-wise:
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