35 Unusually Bizarre Buildings That Will Make You Say WTF
Architecture that
is beyond your wildest dreams....one that leaves you bewildered and
star-struck. Here's presenting a list of those buildings that stood out
from the rest.
1. Nautilus House - Mexico City, Mexico
www.designrulz.com
The
Nautilus House is a unique shell shaped house designed by Mexican
architect Javier Senosiain. The house design is very innovative, unusual
and audacious. Javier Senosiain decided to bring the life aquatic into
architecture. A young family with two children from Mexico City were
tired of living in a conventional home and wanted to change to one
integrated to nature. The modern Nautilus House is wonderful to look at,
walk through and enjoy for what it is – a blend of modern architecture
and contemporary art. The sculptural whimsical house features a striking
entry cut into a wall of colorful stained glass. Each element has been
carefully chosen to coincide with the organic theme of the building.
www.designrulz.com
Interiors of the Nautilus house
www.naturalbuildingblog.com
2. Habitat 67 - Montreal, Canada
www.inhabitat.com
Habitat
67 is a model community and housing complex in Montreal, Canada,
designed by Israeli–Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. It comprises 354
identical, prefabricated concrete forms arranged in various
combinations, reaching up to 12 stories in height. Together these units
create 146 residences of varying sizes and configurations, each formed
from one to eight linked concrete units. The complex originally
contained 158 apartments but several apartments have since been joined
to create larger units, reducing the total number. Each unit is
connected to at least one private terrace, which can range from
approximately 225 to 1,000 sq ft
www.en.wiipedia.org
Panoramic view of Habitat 67 as seen from Montreal's port
3. Rotating Tower - Dubai, UAE
www.strangebuildings.com
Visionary
architect Dr. David Fisher is the creator of the world’s first building
in motion. It will adjust itself to the sun, wind, weather and views by
rotating each floor separately.
This building will never appear exactly the same twice.
In addition to being such an incredible engineering miracle it will
produce energy for itself and even for other buildings because it will
have wind turbines fitted between each rotating floor. So an 80-storey
building will have up to 79 wind turbines, making it a true green power
plant. It's never the same when you see it. Keeps on rotating all the
time! The cost of the building has been put at a whooping 2 Billion
Dirhams.
4. Atomium - Brussels, Belgium
www.akademifantasia.org
The
Atomium is today the most popular attraction in the Capital of Europe.
Built for the 1958 World Exhibition, the Atomium is shaped on the model
of an elementary iron crystal enlarged 165 billion times.
Beyond surreal walks through tubes and spheres, the Atomium houses a
permanent exhibition about its history as well temporary exhibitions for
a broad public.
The upper sphere offers unique and spectacular views across the city
skyline.
At night, 2970 lights offer a fairy dimension to the 102m high building.
www.expedia.com
Atomium interior
www.exploringmonkey.com
Interior - Pavillion of happiness
5. Wonderworks - Pigeon Forge, TN, USA
www.funjunkie.com
It
resembles an upside-down building, complete with inverted palm trees.
It was built in 1998. The inside of the building has an upside-down
appearance as well. In 2006, this second location was built in Pigeon
Forge. In 2010, another location was built in Panama City Beach. Another
one in Myrtle Beach, SC opened in 2011.
6. Cubic Houses (Kubus Woningan) - Rotterdam, Netherlands
www.all-that-is-interesting.com
One
of the icons of Rotterdam are the cubic houses. 40 conventional houses
were tilted 45 degrees to become the first cube-shaped houses in
Holland. The cubes are prominently located in the center of
Rotterdam. Structurally, the cubes sit tilted on a hexagonal pole. They
are made up of concrete floors, concrete pillars and wooden framing.
Inside, the houses are divided into three levels accessed via a narrow
staircase. The lower level is a triangular area used as the living room.
The middle level houses the sleeping and bathing area, and the highest
level is a spare area used either as a second bedroom or another living
area.
1001scribbles.wordpress.com
7. The Basket Building - Ohio, USA
www.strangebuildings.com
The
basket building is the 7-storey corporate headquarters of America's
famous basket manufacturer the Longaberger Basket Company. The basket is
a replica -- 160 times larger -- of Longaberger's Medium Market Basket.
It is a magnificent sight - especially at night. Dave Longaberger, who
founded the company, dreamed up the idea of running his growing
organization from the world's largest replica of a basket. Most of his
employees, less farsighted than their leader, didn't take Dave's notion
seriously when the plan was announced. Many were still astounded when
they moved into the office, but the beauty of the building is beyond all
imaginations and is the glory of Ohio's skyline.
8. Borgund Stave Church - Norway
www.en.wikipedia.org
Built
around 1180 and is dedicated to the Apostle Andrew. The church is
exceptionally well preserved and is one of the most distinctive stave
churches in Norway. Some of the finest features are the lavishly carved
portals and the roof carvings of dragons's heads. The stave churches are
Norway's most important contribution to world architecture and Norway's
oldest preserved timber buildings
9. The National Library - Minsk, Belarus
www.eugeneandtex.com
This
23-storey library is designed in the form of a rhombicuboctahedron
(diamond) and symbolises the enormous value of knowledge that mankind
has stored in books. The building is covered with glass panels and
during the day all 24 sides sparkle like a real diamond. Architects
Victor Kramarenko and Michael Vinogradov wanted to preserve and convey
this vision at night.
10. National Theatre - Beijing, China
www.strangebuildings.com
It
is a curved building, with a total surface area of 149,500 square
meters, that emerges like an island at the center of a lake. The
titanium shell is in the shape of a super ellipsoid which is divided in
two by a curved glass covering, 100 meters wide at the base. During the
day, light flows through the glass roof into the building. At night, the
movements within can be seen from outside.
11. Snail House - Sofia, Bulgaria
www.strangebuildings.com
The
construction of this Snail-House in Sofia's Simeonovo district lasted
almost 10 years and ended in 2009. The project idea belongs to the
building owner, some Bulgarian construction specialist, who mostly
involved in overseas high-end projects and did not want his name
disclosed. It is a five-story family house in the form of funny colorful
snail, with horns on its head and butterflies on the back. Internal
design combines ancient antique furniture from owner's ancestors with
funny heating radiators in the form of a frog, a ladybug or pumpkin. The
House has already become one of the most popular attractions in Sofia.
12. House Attack - Vienna, Austria
www,strangebuildings.com
Erwin
Wurm, a renowned Austrian artist, combined to create some architectural
buzz in 2006, and the result was the "House Attack" artistic
installation on the external side of the building of MUMOK. This
artistic installation represents a family-home, which hits the facade of
the museum like a "bomb". "House Attack" is a confusion of our
perception of art and everyday reality and in its striking appearance
and humorous, dramatic staging of the banal is a perfect example of
current developments in the artist's work. Craftsmanship of the
architect is shown in the fact that the House Attack exactly looks like
someone threw the house onto the building. This funny building became
famous throughout the world and is considered to be one of the most
unusual landmarks representing contemporary art.
13. Pallais Bulles - Cannes, France
www.superradnow.wordpress.com
The
iconic Bubble House just outside of Cannes was designed by renowned
architect, Antti Lovag. The personal playground of famous avant-garde
designer Pierre Cardin, the Bubble House is notorious for its legendary
festival parties and other grand events. See below for a comprehensive
gallery on this iconic European building along with information on the
architect, the property and owner. Enjoy!
14. Olympic Stadium - Montreal, Canada
www.panoramio.com
Built
to welcome the 1976 Olympic Games, the Olympic Park has become the
international symbol of the city of Montréal. The Olympic Park Tower is
the tallest inclined tower in the world, with its 165 m rising at angle
of 45 degrees (to compare, the Tower of Pisa has an inclination of only 5
degrees).
www.canadiandesignresource.ca
15. Museum of Contemporary Art - Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
www.wondermondo.com
It
was designed by the famed Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and
completed in 1996. This iconic saucer-shaped structure, situated on a
cliffside above Guanabara bay in the city of Niterói, brilliantly frames
the panoramic views of the city of Rio De Janeiro and encapsulates the
simple, yet brilliant signature aesthetic of Niemeyer.
www.mimoa.eu
16. Sagrada Familia - Barcelona, Spain
www.pastmycurfew.com
The
Sagrada Família, Antoni Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece, is one of
Barcelona's most popular tourist attractions. Construction on this
church will continue for at least another decade, but it has already
become Barcelona's most important landmark. Because Gaudí was constantly
improvising and changing the design while construction was going on, he
left few designs and models. And most of these were destroyed in 1936
during the Civil War.
Still, architects now have a clear idea of what Gaudí had in mind. The
last version of his design called for a church 95m long and 60m wide.
The church will be able to accommodate some 13 000 people. When
finished, the Sagrada Família will have a total of eighteen towers.
www.eyehearttravel.com
Interiors of Sagrada Familia
17. The Crooked House - Sopot, Poland
www.terrapapers.com
It
is an irregularly-shaped building which was built in 2004. It is
approximately 4,000 sq m in size and is part of the Rezydent shopping
center.
It was designed by Szoty?scy & Zaleski who were inspired by the
fairytale illustrations and drawings of Jan Marcin Szancer and Per
Dahlberg.
18. Waldspirale - Darmstadt, Germany
www.greenapple.ca
The
building's name, which means "forest spiral" in German, refers to its
spiraling floor plan and its forested roof and courtyard. The structure
wraps around a landscaped courtyard with a running stream. This is the
first high-rise in Germany built out of recycled concrete. The roof
supports a garden of maple, beech, and lime trees and has space to
accommodate 6 private parties at the same time.
19. Kansas City Public Library - Kansas City, USA
www.idesignarch.com
One
of the most striking features of the building is the facade of the
parking garage for the Central Branch of the public library. Covered in
signboard mylar, the garage appears to be a row of books lined up on a
shelf except in this case the "books" are 25 feet high and nine feet
wide.
The garage behind the "books" was constructed in 2006 in response to the
need for additional downtown parking. Community members and patrons
were asked to vote on the titles to be displayed and the ones chosen
reflect a wide range of famous literature. Titles of the 22 volumes
represented include The Lord of the Rings, Fahrenheit 451 and Romeo and
Juliet among many others.
20. Air force Academy Chapel - Colorado, USA
www.flickr.com
Completed
in 1962, the building is the distinguishing feature of the Cadet Area
at the United States Air Force Academy north of Colorado Springs. It was
designed by Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of
Chicago. The most striking aspect of the Chapel is its row of 17 spires.
The shell of the chapel and surrounding grounds cost $3.5 million to
build. Various furnishings, pipe organs, liturgical fittings and
adornments of the chapel were presented as gifts from various
individuals and organizations.
21. Kunsthaus Graz - Graz, Austria
www.de.wikipedia.org
The
Friendly Alien Building - The Austrian city of Graz has its own
ultra-modern art museum. Designed by Sir Peter Cook and Colin Fournier,
the brilliant Kunsthaus Graz is an architectural landmark in the city
center, serving as a bridge between the historic and the modern. Known
to locals as the “Friendly Alien,” the blob-shaped structure contains
contemporary art, design, new media, film and photography. Although the
building makes quite a statement, its environmental impact is very low,
as the building's organic roof -- made from 1,288 semitransparent
acrylic glass panels -- generates energy with built-in photovoltaic
panels.
22. Conch Shell House - Isla Mujeres, Mexico
www.dailynewsdig.com
The
Conch Shell Hose is said to be the most outstanding and original house
in the island of Isla Mujeres. Surrounded by Caribbean Ocean (180
degrees of ocean views from the windows) it gives you an unique
opportunity to experience what it’s like living in a Sea Shell. The
conch shell house was built using a fairly traditional foundation, such
as concrete, as well as recycled and found materials.
If you enter the house you would be surrounded by a wonderful shell
themed interior. The main room has no corners – it is round. The
upstairs bathroom sink is made out of the base of a conch shell, the
faucets are made out of coral, the towel racks are made from conch
shells and other seashells and items found on the local beach.
www.strangebuildings.com
23. China Central Television Headquarters - Beijing, China
www.oddballdaily.com
The
new headquarters of China Central Television (CCTV) is a 234m tall
building with a highly unusual shape, described as a 'three-dimensional
cranked loop'. The building is formed by two leaning towers, bent 90° at
the top and bottom to form a continuous tube. Before the 2 towers were
linked, they were prone to independent movement from wind, and surface
temperature variations because of direct sunlight. Construction issues
were therefore a key consideration of the design process and it was
crucial to analyse the way the structure behaved in its
partially-constructed form.
24. Stone House - Guimaraes, Portugal
www.strangebuildings.com
Constructed
between two giant stones and linked with a concrete mix, the house is
rumored to be inspired by the popular American Flintstones cartoon.
Although quite unusual, the prehistoric-looking residence does feature
some traditional components such as windows, a front door, and even a
shingled roof. As you might expect, the house’s design attracts
thousands of tourists each year.
25. Upside Down House - Szymbark, Poland
www.weburbanist.com
A
unique house that stands on its roof, where visitors walk on the
ceilings and which is decorated in the socialist style of the 1970’s. It
was built on its roof. The “Upside Down House” evokes a strange feeling
– entry is through a roof window and visitors walk around on the
ceilings. The interior is furnished in the style of socialist realism –
there is a TV room and a dresser with crystal objects, a toilet from the
1970’s and propaganda of the time coming from the television. The
building of this house took longer and was a lot more expensive than a
normal house of this size.
26. The Church of Hallgrimur - Reykjavik, Iceland
www.strangebuildings.com
The
church of Hallgrímur is a Lutheran parish church.. At 74.5 m, it is the
largest church in Iceland and the sixth tallest architectural structure
in Iceland. State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson’s design of the church
was commissioned in 1937. He is said to have designed it to resemble the
basalt lava flows of Iceland’s landscape.It took 38 years to build the
church. Construction work began in 1945 and ended in 1986
27. Walt Disney Concert Hall - Los Angeles, USA
www.kmozart.com
The
visual salience of the Walt Disney Concert Hall lies in its exquisite
stainless steel exterior and complex postmodern style. The Walt Disney
Concert Hall, also known as Disney Hall, is the fourth hall to join the
Los Angeles Music Center. Its sleek curves and intricate structural
patterns are matched by no other concert hall in the United States.
Disney Hall possesses a caliber and an architectural merit that attract
tourists from far and wide.
28. Low Impact Woodland House - Wales, UK
www.strangebuildings.com
The
Hobbit Home. The house was built with maximum regard for the
environment and by reciprocation gives us a unique opportunity to live
close to nature.
This building is one part of a low-impact or permaculture approach to
life. This sort of life is about living in harmony with both the natural
world and ourselves, doing things simply and using appropriate levels
of technology. It was built by Simon Dale and his father in law with
help from passers by and visiting friends. 4 months after starting they
were moved in and cosy.
www.strangebuildings.com
Interiors of The Hobbit Home
29. Seattle Central Library - Seattle, USA
www.strangebuildings.com
The
architects conceived the new Central Library building as a celebration
of books, deciding after some research that despite the arrival of the
21st century and the “digital age,” people still respond to books
printed on paper. Although the library is an unusual shape from the
outside, the architects’ philosophy was to let the building’s required
functions dictate what it should look like, rather than imposing a
structure and making the functions conform to that.
30. Eden Project - UK
ww.eden-project.net
The
Eden Project is a visitor attraction in Cornwall in UK. Inside the
artificial biomes are plants that are collected from all around the
world. The complex is dominated by two huge enclosures consisting of
adjoining domes that house thousands of plant species, and each
enclosure emulates a natural biome. The domes consist of hundreds of
hexagonal and pentagonal, inflated, plastic cells supported by steel
frames. The first dome emulates a tropical environment, and the second a
Mediterranean environment.
31. Montreal Biosphere - Montreal Canada
www.beauy-places.com
The
building originally formed an enclosed structure of steel and acrylic
cells, 76 m in diameter and 62 m high. The Biosphère is a museum in
Montreal dedicated to the environment. The architect of the geodesic
dome was Buckminster Fuller.
32. The Gherkin Building - London, UK
www.ilusioncreative.co.uk
It
is one of the most eye-catching buildings in London and it stands out
prominently in the city's skyline. The Gherkin is one of several modern
buildings that have been built over the years in a historic area of
London. The cigar-shaped structure has a steel frame with circular floor
plans and a glass facade with diamond-shaped panels. The swirling
striped pattern visible on the exterior is the result of the building's
energy-saving system which allows the air to flow up through spiraling
wells. Its unique, bold and energy efficient design has won the Gherkin
many awards
33. Experience Music Project - Seattle, USA
www.commons.wikimedia.org
It
was founded by Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft. It is a museum
of music history sited near the Space Needle. The museum contains mostly
rock memorabilia and technology-intensive multimedia displays. The
structure is also home to the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.
It was designed by Frank Gehry. The structure contains 140,000 sq ft
with a 35,000-sq ft footprint.
Herbert Muschamp (New York Times architecture critic) described it as
“something that crawled out of the sea, rolled over, and died.” Forbes
magazine called it one of the world’s 10 ugliest buildings.
www.en.wikipedia.org
34. Dancing House - Prague, Czech Republic
www.strangebuildings.com
The
very non-traditional design of the Dancing house was controversial at
the time. Czech president Václav Havel, had supported it, hoping that
the building would become a center of cultural activity. The building
includes several offices and a French Restaurant on the roof.
35. The National Stadium - Beijing, China
www.en.wikipedia.org
Stadium
is the world’s largest steel structure.The design was awarded to a
submission from the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron in
April 2003, after a bidding process that included 13 final submissions.
The design, which originated from the study of Chinese ceramics,
implemented steel beams in order to hide supports for the retractable
roof; giving the stadium the appearance of a “Bird’s nest”
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