Some of the Most Unusual Architecture From All Over the World. 13 Bizarre Buildings You Must See!
7:11 PM EDT, August 26, 2023, updated: 4:53 PM EDT, August 27, 2023
Architecture is a peculiar kind of art, especially when it gets a little bit... extreme. We have searched high and low to present you with some of the weirdest structures ever designed.
#1 Something's upside down here...
Although it is not inhabited, it still surprises. It is a part of an artistic project displayed in front of the British Museum of Illusion. As a matter of fact, reverse architecture is a pretty common architecture idea.
#2 A dancing tower
This building is called a “Dancing House' and it was built the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague. Its shapes are really wavy and that is why it stands out from other buildings around. It was erected in 1996 and currently is used as an office building. At the top there is a restaurant with a spectacular view of the city.
#3 How to build a hotel? Build a house on... a house!
This weird structure that's the Inntel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam and as the name suggests, it was built in one of the largest cities in the Netherlands. The designer was inspired by traditional wooden houses still quite common in the area. The new thing is the vision of all houses piled one on another. The hotel was opened in 2010 and is still very popular with visitors.
#4 A cottage stuck between two rocks
Many wrongly believe Casa do Ponedo, built between 1972 and 1974 at the initiative of an architect from the town of Guimarães, to be yet another fake image. In fact this is a real house which, to make it even more interesting, has got no access to electricity. It was so popular with tourists that living there offered very little tranquility. Moreover, the landscape was affected by a wind farm and the building was vandalized several times. Consequently, all windows and doors were replaced and now the place looks like top-security prison. Currently Casa do Penedo is used as a museum
#5 A cabinet with documents
Manchester Civil Justice Centre is a building belonging to the government. It comes as no surprise then that it looks like a huge cabinet to store files. The design was created by Denton Corker Marshall, an Australian architect and the Mott MacDonald company. It was open in 2008 and the ceremony was attended by Queen Elisabeth II.
#6 A library made of books
This extraordinary bookshelf can be admired in Kansas City. This is a part of the public library. The idea was to give the building some unusual style and to encourage the citizens to more frequent visits to the library.
#7 It was so cute that it melted
Melting House is in the northern part of Paris. It was a sculpture by Leandro Erlich, an Argentinean artist, who has used the structure to show a pun. It is all about the phrase “Maison Fond'' (a melting house) and 'Mes enfants” (my children). It symbolizes how ephemeral is the heritage we leave for our children.
#8 A tumbled building
Keep Memory Alive Event Center is an initiative by Larry Ruvo, a philanthropist who wanted to create a unique hospital. Frank Gehry, an architect, helped him by designing an extraordinary structure. The hospital was opened in 2007 and now it helps people from Nevada by treating neurocognitive disorders.
#9 Bending geometry
TelAviv (Israel) can boast about quite a few interesting architecture designs. Apart from classical buildings, we can find something like the one in the picture. It was designed by professor Tzvi Harel, who came up with a sketch of the building in 1980's. Avraham Pilts, a local businessman, liked it so much that he decided to implement the project. Unfortunately, he died before the project was completed. The structure is used as a residential building now.
#10 A robot-house
The robot-house was built in Badumi, Siria. It is a typical example of unusually exceptional architecture the whole city is famous for.
Local architects, apart from classical buildings also design some more eye-catching structures.
#11 Water music
This exceptional building can be found in Dresden (Germany). When it rains, the pipes generate a variety of sounds. The house is on Kunsthofpassage, which is a really popular tourist attraction. In fact, every single building in this district is special in its own way.
#12 When robots collapse on buildings
This weird design of the Aoyama University of Technology is the response of Makoto Sei Watanabe to the urban architecture chaos in the Shibuy district in the 1990's. Together with his students he created this design in 1990 and it was approved by the authorities of the university. The legend says that when Godzilla or another Kaiji attacks Japan, the university will rise to protect it!
#13 Cubic houses in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
In the Overblaak street there are 40 houses designed by Piet Blom. They were built in 1970's. All the windows are set at 45 degree angle.
Would you like your house to have such unusual shape as those above?