150 Strange Buildings of the World
1. The Crooked House (Sopot, Poland)
Construction of the building started in in January 2003 and in December 2003 it was finished. House architecture is based on Jan Marcin Szancer (famous Polish drawer and child books illustrator) and Per Dahlberg (Swedish painter living in Sopot) pictures and paintings.
Image via: brocha
2. Forest Spiral - Hundertwasser Building (Darmstadt, Germany)
The Hundertwasser house “Waldspirale” (”Forest Spiral”) was built in Darmstadt between 1998 and 2000. Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the famous Austrian architect and painter, is widely renowned for his revolutionary, colourful architectural designs which incorporate irregular, organic forms, e.g. onion-shaped domes.
The structure with 105 apartments wraps around a landscaped courtyard with a running stream. Up in the turret at the southeast corner, there is a restaurant, including a cocktail bar.
Image via: Kikos Dad
3. The Torre Galatea Figueras (Spain)
Image via: manuelfloresv
4. Ferdinand Cheval Palace a.k.a Ideal Palace (France)
Image via: Mélisande*
5. The Basket Building (Ohio, United States)
The Longaberger Basket Company building in Newark, Ohio might just be a strangest office building in the world. The 180,000-square-foot building, a replica of the company’s famous market basket, cost $30 million and took two years to complete. Many experts tried to persuade Dave Longaberger to alter his plans, but he wanted an exact replica of the real thing.
Image via: addicted Eyes
6. Kansas City Public Library (Missouri, United States)
This project, located in the heart of Kansas City, represents one of the pioneer projects behind the revitalization of downtown.
The people of Kansas City were asked to help pick highly influential books that represent Kansas City. Those titles were included as ‘bookbindings’ in the innovative design of the parking garage exterior, to inspire people to utilize the downtown Central Library.
Image via: jonathan_moreau
7. Wonderworks (Pigeon Forge, TN, United States)
8. Habitat 67 (Montreal, Canada)
Expo 67, one of the world’s largest universal expositions was held in Montreal. Housing was one of the main themes of Expo 67.
The cube is the base, the mean and the finality of Habitat 67. In its material sense, the cube is a symbol of stability. As for its mystic meaning, the cube is symbol of wisdom, truth, moral perfection, at the origin itself of our civilization.
354 cubes of a magnificent grey-beige build up one on the other to form 146 residences nestled between sky and earth, between city and river, between greenery and light.
Image via: ken ratcliff
9. Cubic Houses (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
The original idea of these cubic houses came about in the 1970s. Piet Blom has developed a couple of these cubic houses that were built in Helmond.
The city of Rotterdam asked him to design housing on top of a pedestrian bridge and he decided to use the cubic houses idea. The concept behind these houses is that he tries to create a forest by each cube representing an abstract tree; therefore the whole village becomes a forest.
Image via: vpzone
10. Hang Nga Guesthouse a.k.a Crazy House (Vietnam)
The house is owned by the daughter of the ex-president of Vietnam, who studied architecture in Moscow.
It does not comply with any convention about house building, has unexpected twists and turns, roofs and rooms. It looks like a fairy tale castle, it has enormous “animals” like a giraffe and a spider, no window is rectangular or round, and it can be visited like a museum.
Image via: JonasPhoto
11. Chapel in the Rock (Arizona, United States)
Image via: santanartist
12. Dancing Building (Prague, Czech Republic)
Image via: jemil75
13. Calakmul building a.k.a La Lavadora a.k.a The Washing Mashine (Mexico, Mexico)
Image via: marj k
14. Kettle House (Texas, United States)
Image via: y luckyfukr
15. Manchester Civil Justice Centre (Manchester, UK)
Image via: tj.blackwell
16. Nakagin Capsule Tower (Tokyo, Japan)
Image via: pict_u_re
17. Mind House (Barcelona, Spain)
Image via: angelocesare
18. Stone House (Guimarães, Portugal)
image via: Jsome1
19. Shoe House (Pennsylvania, United States)
Image via: James Gordon
20. Weird House in Alps
Image via: nicolasnova
21. The Ufo House (Sanjhih, Taiwan)
Image via: cypherone @ Taiwan
22. The Hole House (Texas, United States)
Image via: melinnis
23. Ryugyong Hotel (Pyongyang, North Korea)
Image via: Pricey
24. The National Library (Minsk, Belarus)
Image via: ledsmagazine.com
25. Grand Lisboa (Macao)
Image via: Michael McDonough
26. Wall House (Groningen, Netherlands)
Image via: Liao Yusheng
27. Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao, Spain)
Image via: disgustipado
28. Bahá’í House of Worship a.k.a Lotus Temple (Delhi, India)
Image via: MACSURAK
29. Container City (London, UK)
Image via: y Fin Fahey
30. Erwin Wurm: House Attack (Viena, Austria)
Image via: Dom Dada
31. Wooden Gagster House (Archangelsk, Russia)
Image via: deputy-dog.com
32. Air Force Academy Chapel (Colorado, United States)
Image via: dbking
33. Solar Furnace (Odeillo, France)
Image via: f2g2
34. Dome House (Florida, United States)
Image via: easement
35. Beijing National Stadium (Beijing, China)
Image via: littlemalt
36. Fashion Show Mall (Las Vegas, United States)
Image via: b2tse
37. Luxor Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas, United States)
Image via: wallyg
38. Zenith Europe (Strasbourg, France)
Image via: Edouard55
39. Civic Center (Santa Monica)
Image via: karenchu121
40. Mammy’s Cupboard (Natchez, MS, United States)
Image via: Live Simply
41. Pickle Barrel House (Grand Marais, Michigan, United States)
Image via: the naked fauxtographer
42. The Egg (Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York, United States)
Image via: iessi
43. Gherkin Building (London, UK)
Image via: Lawrie Cate
44. Nord LB building (Hannover, Germany)
Image via: iterby
45. Lloyd’s building (London, UK)
Image via: ryanfb
46. “Druzhba Holiday Center Hall (Yalta, Ukraine)
Image via: Argenberg
47. Fuji television building (Tokyo, Japan)
Image via: kamoda
48. UCSD Geisel Library (San Diego, California, United States)
Image via: ewen and donabel
49. Ripley’s Building (Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada)
Image via: Bekah267
50. The Bank of Asia a.k.a Robot Building (Bangkok, Thailand)
Image via: hewy
51. Office center “1000″ a.k.a. Banknote (Kaunas, Lithuania)
Image credits: RA Studija
| Architects: Rimas Adomaitis, Raimundas Babrauskas, Darius Siaurodinas, Virgilijus Jocys. Dates: 2005-2008. | Despite what you might think this amazing building is not a temporal installation. The image of the LTL 1000 banknote is brought onto this building using special enamel paint. Money theme well represents various businesses located in this spectacular building. It’s an office center located in the second biggest city in Lithuania.By the way, banknote dates back to 1925. However it’s not used nowadays. |
Image credits: RA Studija
52. Kerala House Boats (Alappuzha, Alleppey, Kerala, India)
Image credits: Jiths
53. Olympic Stadium (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
Image credits: Wikipedia
54. Blur Building (Yverdon-les-Bainz, Switzerland)
Image credits: Dillerscofidio
| Architects: Diller Scofidio + Renfro Dates: 2002 | Seven years passed from expo 2002 but this building is still one of my favorites. It’s probably the mist that makes it so unusual and amazing at the same time. So called ‘blur pavilion’ with self generated mist was meant to give an impression that the building is floating above the water without any structural support. And indeed it looks just like that. |
Image credits: Dillerscofidio
55. Tenerife Concert Hall (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain)
Image credits: extranoise
56. The Never Was Haul (Berkeley, California, USA)
Image credits: drewdomkus
57. The Puerta de Europa towers a.k.a Gate of Europe a.k.a Torres KIO (Madrid, Spain)
Image credits: wikipedia
| Architects: Philip Johnson and John BurgeeDates: 1996 | Torres KIO are two twin office buildings in Madrid. Each building is 115 m tall with an inclination of 15º. These twin towers are the world’s first leaning high-rise buildings. |
Image credits: Santiago Vila, bjaglin, Santiago Vila
58. UFO house (New Zealand)
Image credits: fletchy182
59. Gas Natural headquarters (Barcelona, Spain)
Image credits: Alberto OG
60. Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles, California, USA)
Image credits: Phillip Ritz
| Architects:Frank GehryDates: 1987 - 2003 | Walt Disney Concert Hall is designed to be one of the most acoustically sophisticated concert halls in the world providing an unparalleled musical experience. The project was launched in 1987 and completed in 2003.You can read more about this amazing building on wiki and Los Angeles Philharmonic homepage. |
Image credits: Phillip Ritz
61. Cob House (Vancouver, Canada)
Image credits: neil-san
62. The Mushroom House aka Tree House (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA)
Image credits: The Rocketeer
63. Ewok House (Location unknown)
Image credits: piH9
64. Edificio Mirador (Madrid, Spain)
Image credit: javier1949
| Architects: MVRDV Dates: 2004 | It’s a building developed by Dutch architects MVRDV. The building reaches 63.4 meters in height with 21 stories. The highlight of this building is the large central hole which is 36.8 meters above the ground. It’s the large lookout area that provides inhabitants with a community garden and a space from where they can contemplate the skyline.Different colors represent different blocks with its own planning, which offer at least 9 different types of apartments. |
Image credits: javier1949
65. Free Spirit Spheres (Qualicum Beach, BC, Canada)
Image credits: freespiritspheres.com/
66. Tempe Municipal Building (Tempe, Arizona, USA)
Image credits: phxpma
67. Korowai Treehouse (Papua New Guinea, Indonesia)
Image credits: 710928003
68. Turning Torso (Malmö, Sweden)
Image credits: Bjaglin
| Architects: Santiago Calatrava Dates: 2005 | The tower reaches a height of 190 metres (623 feet) with 54 stories.The design is based on a sculpture by Santiago Calatrava called Twisting Torso. It uses nine segments of five-story pentagons that twist as it rises; the topmost segment is twisted ninety degrees clockwise with respect to the ground floor. |
69. Wozoco Apartments (Amsterdam, Holland)
Image credits: yellow book ltd
70. Stata Center (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)
Image credits: rpongsaj
71. Great Mosque of Djenné (Djenne, Mali)
Image credits: wikipedia
72. Glass House (Boswell, B.C., Canada)
Image credits: Christopher Armstrong
73. Beer Can House (Houston, Texas, USA)
Image credits: J. Smallwood
74. Strawberry Ice-cream shop (NC,USA)
Image credits: unknown
75. Strawberry house (Tokyo, Japan)
Image credits: chipple
76. Sculptured House (Colorado, United States)
Image credits: Runder
77. Nautilus House (Mexico City, Mexico)
Image credits: Javier Senosiain via worldarchitecturenews.com
78. Kvivik Igloo (Kvivik, Faroe Islands)
Image credits: Paul & Kelly
79. Modern Igloo (Alaska)
Image credits: rrriles
80. Atomium (Brussels, Belgium)
Image credits: /*dave*/
81. Cathedral of Brasilia (Brasil)
Image credits: wikipedia
82. Great arche of defense (Paris, France)
Image credits: wikipedia
83. La Pedrera (Barcelona, Spain)
Image credits: joe_aesmorga
84. Errante Guest House (Chile)
Image credits: Beauty addict
85. Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Nice, France)
Image credits: The Anti-ZIM
86. Agbar Tower (Barcelona, Spain)
Image credits: xn44
87. The Museum of Play (Rochester , USA)
Image credits: Mike.Hanlon
88. Bubble House (Bay Area of California, USA)
Image credits: blmurch
89. Raffles Dubai in Wafi city (Dubai, UAE)
Image credits: Wikipedia
90. Atlantis (Dubai, UAE)
Image credits: Tom Olliver
91. Casa da musica (Porto, Portugal)
Image credits: wikipedia
92. Berlin Zeiss Planetarium (Berlin, Germany)
Image credits: wikipedia
93. National Theatre (Beijing, China)
Image credits: Azure Lan
94. Montreal Biosphère (Canada)
Image credits: wikipedia
95. Eden project (United Kingdom)
Image credits: wikipedia
96. Kobe Port Tower (Japan)
Image credits: wikipedia
97. Cybertecture Egg (Mumbai, India)
Image credits: worldarchitecturenews.com/
98. Kunsthaus (Graz, Austria)
Image credits: watz
99. Federation Square (Melboune, Australia)
Image credits: wikipedia
100. The Esplanade (Singapore)
Image credits: wikipedia
101. Conch Shell House (Isla Mujeres, Mexico)
(Image credits: Mark Stadnik)
This unusual building was designed by architect named Octavio Ocampo and built in a lovely island of Mujeres in Mexico. The house is said to be the most outstanding and original house on the island. Surrounded by Caribbean Ocean it gives you an unique opportunity to experience what it’s like living in a Sea Shell.
102. Device to Root Out Evil (Vancouver, Canada)
(Image credits: papalars)
Yea yea, I know… It’s not a house, it’s a statue. However it’s unusual, unique and still a peace of architecture.
Rod Mickleburgh in his article (May ‘08) wrote: “It was too hot for New York City; too hot for Stanford University. But a controversial, imposing sculpture by renowned international artist Dennis Oppenheim finally found a public home in laid-back Vancouver.”
It was too hot for Vancouver as well…:) The project has been removed from the city, and is now in Calgary, Alberta.
103. Experience Music Project, Seattle, WA, USA
Experience Music Project (EMP) was founded by Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft. It is a museum of music history sited near the Space Needle and is by one of the two stops on the Seattle Center Monorail, which runs through the building. The structure is also home to the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.
Designed by Frank Gehry, the building resembles many of his firm’s sheet-metal construction works, such as Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Walt Disney Concert Hall and Gehry Tower.
104. Upside Down House (Szymbark, Poland)
(Image credits: Radziooz)
Daniel Czapiewski, Polish businessman and philanthropist, built this house as an artistic statement about the Communist era and current state of the world. Many tourists who visit complain of mild seasickness and dizziness after just a few minutes of being in the structure.
(Image credits: Somerslea)
Stuart Landsborough’s Puzzling World is a tourist attraction near Wanaka, New Zealand. It started out as just a maze in 1973, but over the years expanded to accommodate a “puzzling café” where guests could try out several puzzles, rooms with optical illusions, the and other things.
One of the biggest attractions is the leaning tower. The Leaning Tower of Wanaka is, as the name implies, a tower that is seemingly impossibly balanced on one corner, making the whole structure lean at an angle of 53 degrees to the ground. Exactly how this is achieved is yet to be unveiled, but it can be assumed that some kind of counterbalance or anchoring device has been used.
If you feel like visiting this place check out the website.
(Image credits: Broken Piggy Bank)
106. Low impact woodland house (Wales, UK)
Once in a while you find something really amazing on the web. And I’m really happy that someone sent us a link of this truly astonishing house.
One guy with the help of his father in law and friends built this house for his family. “The house was built with maximum regard for the environment and by reciprocation gives us a unique opportunity to live close to nature.” he says.
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.
When asked why he is doing this, he gave this answer: “ It’s fun. Living your own life, in your own way is rewarding. Following our dreams keeps our souls alive.”
You can learn more about this project on this website.
107. BWM Welt, Munich, Germany
(Image credits: meironke)
The open style of architecture and the glass facade allow a lot of light into the rooms and open up the building towards its surroundings. Simultaneously, the BMW Welt harmonically blends into the context of the architecture of the Olympiapark and the existing BMW buildings.
108. Cowboy Boots Bathroom (Seattle, WA, USA)
(Image credits: kuow949)
These boots used to be the restrooms for a kitschy gas station. Now they adorn a park in Seattle. You can see the door on the side of the boots.
109. The Big Duck (Flanders, NY, USA)
(Image credits: the real janelle)
The Duck was built in 1930-1931 and was originally used as a retail outlet selling Long Island Duckling on West Main St. in Riverhead.
110. Lucy the Margate Elephant (Margate, NJ, USA)
(Image credits: amy_kearns)
Over the years, Lucy has served as a real estate office, a tourist attraction, a rental “cottage”, a bar, boarding house, hotel, restaurant and refreshment stand.
111. House Boat (California, USA)
(Image credits: TailspinT)
These are house boats, built in 1925 from the remains of a hotel and a bathhouse, now moored on Third St. between F and G in Encinitas, CA.
112. Giant Muskie (Hayward, WI, USA)
(Image credits: Staciaann Photography)
Giant Muskie at the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame
113. The Big Chicken (Marietta, GA, USA)
(Image credits: The Rocketeer)
The Big Chicken was built in 1963 by S.R. “Tubby” Davis as a method of advertising a restaurant on U.S. 41, a main thoroughfare through Marietta, Georga.
114. Guitar Museum (TN, USA)
(Image credits: jakekrohn)
The sign advertises the “world’s only guitar shaped music museum.”
115. Weird House Boat (Croatia)
(Image credits: lo_sgabuzzino (del guercio) )
Just another strange building sent by our commentators.
115. Doll’s Theatre (Torun, Poland)
(Image credits: _waj)
Building that looks like an old cupboard.
116. The sheep building (Tirau, Waikato, New Zealand)
(Image credits: PhillipC)
It’s a wool shop
117. Sheepdog building (Tirau, Waikato, New Zealand)
(Image credits: Susan Renee)
118. House Between The Rocks (France)
(Image credits: Blog-trotter)
119. Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Canada)
(Image credits: wvs)
120. UFO house (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
(Image credits: josephleenovak)
This house, on Signal Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee is shaped like a UFO. If you look closely you can see the staircase descending from the underbelly that leads up to the living quarters.
121. Wonder egg (Ishigakijima Island, Okinawa, Japan )
(Image credits:Ken@Okinawa)
This big wonder egg is built for a lookout of migratory birds point.
122. Bart Prince house (Albuquerque, USA)
(Image credits: Diluted)
123. The Amazing Flying House (Sarzana, Italy)
(Image credits: Babele Dunnit)
This is a real house. It goes up and down, can rotate 360°, runs on rails… the man built that all by himself alone and lived in it for seven years with his wife.
124. Teakettle Building (Rockbridge County, VA, USA )
(Image credits: taberandrew)
125. Cinema (Kongsberg, Norway)
(Image credits: Damiel)
It is the cinema in the town of Kongsberg, Norway.
126. Universum Science Center (Bremen, Germany)
(Image credits: Bogdan Morar)
127. SunTrust Bank (Annapolis, MD, USA )
(Image credits: Radio Rover)
128. Steam World Museum (Gramado, Brazil)
(Image credits: Mauro Mello)
As the name says, it is dedicated to showcase the many applications of the steam engine — in manufacturing, transportation, arts & crafts etc. The “disaster” reproduced in the front is a reference to a real accident, that occured at Gare Montparnasse, Paris, on 22 October 1895 (a picture of the real accident is also attached).
129. Seattle Public Library (Seattle, WA, USA)
(Image credits: mastermaq)
130. Peter B Lewis building at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH, USA)
(Image credits: bryan.norwood)
131. Oscar Niemeyer Museum. (Curitiba, Brazil)
(Image credits: Gestalteando)
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filhois a Brazilian architect who is considered one of the most important names in international modern architecture. He was a pioneer in the exploration of the constructive possibilities of reinforced concrete. His buildings have forms so dynamic and curves so sensual that many admirers say that, more than an architect, he is a sculptor of monuments, a trait some critics consider to be a defect.
132. The Sage Gateshead (Gateshead, England)
(Image credits: wikipedia)
133. Turtle building (Niagra Falls, USA)
134. Ysios wine cellar in Laguardia, Álava, Spain
135. Oakley headquarters, Foothill Ranch, California, USA
(Image credits: MentallyRetired.com)
136. Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
(Image credits: `◄ccdoh1►)
The largest religious building in the world, Angkor Wat, was built by Suryavarman II (r 1112 – 52) to honour Vishnu, his patron deity. The central tower is 55m above the ground, which is surrounded by 800m worth of carved galleries or bas-relief friezes which depict religious scenes. The most celebrated of these scenes is the ‘Churning of the Sea of Milk’ in which asuras and devas are shown using the serpent, Vasuki, to churn the sea under Vishnu to extract the elixir of immortality.
137. Little Man Ice Cream Shop (Denver, CO, USA)
138. Church with an A (Madrid, Spain)
(Image credits: R.Duran)
A Parish Church at the beginning of Alcalde Sainz de Baranda St. (Madrid, Spain).
139. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, (Milwaukee, WI, USA)
(image credits: Ricky Irvine)
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1956, and completed in 1961. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church is one of Wright’s last works. Its shallow scalloped dome echoes his Marin County Civic Center.
140. Sport’s Mansion (Vilnius, Lithuania)
141. The Big Pineapple (Nambour, Queensland)
(Image credits: reuvenim)
142. Piano shaped building (Huainan, China)
(Image credits: Dyl86)
143. Elephant building
(Image credits: Film Colourist)
144. House on the Rock (Wisconsin, USA)
Image sent by email
145. La Sagrada Familia (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain)
(Image credits: cuellar)
146. Theater in Ibirapuera Park (São Paulo, Brazil)
(Image credits: Elder Tanaka)
147. Reversible Destiny Lofts (Mitaka, Japan)
(Image credits: ssp4eva)
148. Bunker (Chicago, IL, USA)
(Image credits: paul goyette)
149. Office Building (St. Petersburg, Russia)
(Image credits: | unton |)
150. Shark Bar (Perm, Russia)
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