Unusual buildings of modern architecture. The most unusual buildings on Earth
World architecture is not only about majestic temples, museums and palaces built in the traditions of a certain style. Let's take a look at the other side of the art of architecture: this rating contains buildings from all over the world, when you look at them you will involuntarily be amazed and amazed at the imagination of the authors. The most unusual, creative and out-of-the-ordinary architectural ideas are for your attention!
1. National Library of Belarus
Located in the capital of the republic, it is one of the main local attractions. It is made in the form of a huge glass diamond, looking fantastic both at night and in daylight. The gorgeous project was hatched in the minds of the authors back in 1989, but was only brought into reality in 2006. Now “Shurik’s Ball,” as the library is lovingly called by the people, is one of the unspoken symbols of Minsk.
2. Upside down house in Poland
In fact, such an idea is not new for world architecture, and there are many such “changers” that can be counted. We chose the attraction of the small Polish village of Szymbark for several reasons. Firstly, this design even has a foundation. Secondly, this house is a changeover not only on the outside, but also on the inside. Thirdly, the Upside Down House in this case is not just an attraction, it was conceived as a symbol of the era of communism, which turned upside down the lives and consciousness of many compatriots of Daniel Czapiewski, the author of this masterpiece.
3. Teapot building in Jiangsu Province, China
This is actually a luxury exhibition center. This shape was chosen in honor of the traditional products produced in this place since the 15th century - clay teapots. It is noteworthy that the building had not yet opened before it entered the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest teapot on the planet. The center has only three floors, but each of them can rotate around its own axis - also a rather unusual solution.
4. Solar oven in France
This original building is located in the southwestern part of the country, near the town of Odelio. Moreover, its main purpose is exactly what is reflected in the name: the mirrored concave side of the structure, facing the sun, reflects its rays, focusing them and converting them into powerful solar energy. The industrial building is also an interesting attraction for tourists in these places.
5. Kunsthaus Gallery of Contemporary Art
Residents of Graz, Austria, refer to the building as a “friendly alien.” Indeed, the design of this architectural structure is somewhat unearthly, biomorphic, which especially clearly characterizes the direction of the building. The computerized lighting system, which makes the museum glow brightly at night, adds life and “alien” to the building.
6. Wat Rong Khun
Another architectural landmark that captivates at first sight is located in Thailand. The White Temple is not a temple in the traditional sense, rather it is an art object that provides an understanding of the Buddhist religion for an outsider. All installations here are symbolic. Particular emotions are evoked by the “Hell Pit”, from which hundreds of human hands reach out - these are our vices and passions, having defeated which, a person will gain enlightenment and happiness. After passing through objects depicting worldly vices, the visitor finds himself at the “temple” itself - snow-white, shining with a mirror shine, it symbolizes the purity of the spiritual world and a reflection of the kindness of the one who follows religion. It is interesting that the luxurious cultural monument was erected with the efforts and resources of one Thai rich man, without any help from the state.
7. Giant basket
In the American state of Ohio, there is also an interesting architectural structure - a local factory for the production of wicker baskets and an office erected a corresponding one in the form of their own products. The giant basket is made on a scale of 1:160, it has a characteristic shape that expands upward and even handles - just like a real basket. Largely thanks to this creative solution, today Longaberger is a leader in its field of production.
8. Piano House
One of the most famous buildings in the world. The exhibition complex in Huainan (China) bears the name of the “Music House”, but has nothing to do with this area of art. The building's unusual design draws attention to a new, developing area of the city, where the structure quickly became a striking landmark. It consists of two parts: a white violin and a black piano. The facade consists entirely of transparent and frosted glass panels, arranged in such a way that in the darkness the building itself is not visible - only the outlines of giant musical instruments glow with blue neon.
9. Stone house
In Portugal, near the town of Fafe, there is also an interesting structure - a stone house. It is built between two giant boulders. The roof is covered with old tiles, moss on the stones - it seems as if the house has literally “grown” into the stones. It was built almost 35 years ago, but today it is empty, only attracting the attention of tourists, because of which the owners of the unusual house were forced to leave it.
10. Cube houses
Our next stop is Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Here the architect Piet Blom became famous thanks to his famous design of cubic houses. This residential complex consists of 38 houses - cubes standing at an angle of 45 degrees on hexagonal “legs”. The interior of such houses is also very unusual and creative. The complex also has a hostel for those who want to spend the night in a “cube” house.
11. Crooked House
The next representative of creative architecture, “Crooked House,” is also very famous worldwide. It is located in the Polish city of Sopot, the center of a prestigious music festival among socialist countries. The Crooked House is a striking example of surrealism; it seems to have stepped out of the pages of a fairy tale book. By the way, it was the artist Szantzer’s illustrations for children’s fairy tales that inspired the authors of this masterpiece to create it. The building, as if reflected in a distorting mirror, includes shops, gaming rooms, restaurants, cafes and office space.
12. Robert Ripley House Museum
And our list ends with the most unusual building located in Canada. This Robert Ripley House Museum is located in Orlando. Its unusual design, associated with a science-fiction film, actually has a very deep connotation: it is dedicated to a strong earthquake that once destroyed the homes of Canadians and took the lives of some. The building is literally falling apart before our eyes, its façade is riddled with giant cracks (imitations). A large number of museums are dedicated to the famous traveler and caricaturist, differing, to put it mildly, in an unusual design, but the Canadian Believe it or not House Museum is the most striking, memorable and famous precisely because of its reference to a natural disaster with a tragic ending. The exhibits of this museum are also quite unusual and may frighten many visitors, but this is precisely the mysterious charm of the Ripley Museum.
The world is filled with strange buildings, the result of unconventional architects trying to express themselves with brick and mortar. Skyscrapers reaching for the clouds and giant metal structures are common sights in almost every corner of the world. We offer an overview of the most amazing and strange buildings in the world.
The National Center for the Performing Arts (National Opera House) is located in Beijing. Constructed of glass and titanium, the building is surrounded by an artificial lake. It was created by the French architect Paul Andreu. Construction began in 2001 and lasted six years. The first production was the Russian historical opera “Prince Igor” by A.P. Borodin, performed by the orchestra, choir and soloists of the Mariinsky Theater under the direction of Valery Gergiev. The architectural complex includes a building, underground and underwater corridors, an underground parking lot, an artificial lake and green spaces. The construction of the main dome required 18,000 titanium plates and over 1,200 sheets of glass; its length is 212 meters, its width is 144 meters, and its height is 46 meters. Underground part the building goes to a depth of approximately 32.5 meters. The area of the entire complex is 118,900 square meters. Three halls of the theater with an area of 12,000 square meters are designed for 5,452 spectators.
In Rotterdam and Helmond Cube Houses you can find unusual, not to say strange, cube houses. They were created by Piet Blom, based on the desire to create a forest in the middle of the city, houses would grow as trees. In 1984, a complex of 38 buildings appeared on Overblaak Street, striking in their appearance.
Each house consists of four floors. On the first floors of the houses there are mainly offices, hairdressers, shops, etc. The area of the three-story apartments is approximately 100 square meters, but the living space is much smaller, because the walls and floor are inclined at an angle of 54.7 degrees. The layout of the apartment is as follows: first floor - kitchen and living room, second floor - two bedrooms and a bathroom, on the third floor there are guest rooms, offices, winter gardens.
The Biosphere is a museum dedicated to environmental protection issues. It is located in Jean-Drapeau Park on St. Helena Island right in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. It was once the US exhibition pavilion at Expo 67. The design, reminiscent of a huge soap bubble, was so striking and original that they decided to keep it. The outer “shell” of the Biosphere is a dome 62 meters high and 76 meters in diameter. The author of the project, which brought its creator worldwide fame, is Richard Buckminster Fuller.
Forest Spiral is a twelve-story residential complex built in the 1990s. The author of the idea was the Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, and the architect Heinz M. Springmann brought it to life together with the Bauverein Darmstadt company. Construction of the building lasted from 1998 to 2000. The "Forest Spiral" complex with multi-colored frames and a curved facade resembles a huge snail. 1048 windows of unique sizes and shapes help create the image of a fairytale house. Trees grow from some of the windows, and tenants are required by the lease to care for them. The building has 105 apartments and a cozy courtyard with playgrounds, artificial lakes, shaped paths and bridges, shops, parking and a pharmacy.
Habitat 67 is a residential complex created by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie. This was his graduation project. It is located near the St. Lawrence River on Avenue Pierre-Dupuy. The house is recognized as a landmark of the city, and the country as a whole.
The building resembles a structure made from children's blocks, however, it is absolutely reliable and comfortable for living. For a house of 146 apartments, 354 cubes were needed, built on top of each other. Each apartment has several such cubes, up to five pieces. The windows of all apartments offer views of three cardinal directions and you can admire the Montreal harbour. Moreover, the house has many open terraces and glazed passages.
Also known as Casa Mila, the building is located in the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona. It was built by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi in 1906–1912 for a married couple. The house is amazing and notable for the fact that there is not a single straight line in it. It was a controversial design for the time, with bold forms of undulating stone façade and wrought iron decorations on the balconies and windows, created mainly by José Maria Jujol, who also designed some of the plaster ceilings. The house is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors can climb to the top floor, attic and roof and take a close look at this masterpiece.
The Museum of Contemporary Art is located in the Brazilian city of Niteroi and is one of the main local attractions. The building looks like an unidentified space object arriving from unknown worlds. It was built in 1996 according to the design of Oscar Nimeiro and Bruno Contarini. The height of the building is 16 meters, the diameter of the dome is 50 meters, and the supports are 9 meters. Area 817 square meters.
Stone house, Fafi (Portugal)
A stone house in the north of Portugal in the Fafi Mountains resembles the home of the Flintstones from the American cartoon. The basis of the house was taken from two huge boulders, which were connected to each other using concrete mortar. As a result, in 1974 there appeared two-storey house in a prehistoric style with a fireplace, a swimming pool, attracting thousands of tourists.
The shopping center in Sopot attracts not only shoppers, but also thousands of tourists. And all thanks to its unusual appearance - no straight lines or angles. The crooked house was built in 2004 by architects Szotyńscy & Zaleski, inspired by the fabulous drawings and illustrations of Jan Marcin Szancer and Per Dahlberg. Area approximately 4000 square meters. There are small shops, cafes and restaurants here. The shopping center occupies the first floor, and the offices of two radio companies are located on the second.
Modern architects are building original houses not only on land, they have begun to conquer reservoirs of all sizes, offering projects
Whether you work as an illustrator or just love to draw, you probably need inspiration from time to time. There's nothing better than relaxing and feeling inspired by going somewhere you've never been before. When traveling, you definitely want to see the most famous buildings. Unusual buildings live their own lives, becoming part of the existence of countless people for hundreds of years after construction. Here are the most amazing buildings from around the world to inspire you.
Lotus Temple, New Delhi
This is the main temple of the Bahai religion, located in New Delhi. It consists of 27 structures resembling lotus petals, which flow into a central room with a ceiling of forty meters high. The building has nine sides and nine doors; it can accommodate two and a half thousand people. The surface is covered with white Greek marble, the same from which the Parthenon was built. The construction of the building was completed in 1986, and since then it has become one of the most visited in the world - one hundred million people come here every year.
Cologne Cathedral, Cologne
Cologne Cathedral is a Gothic basilica whose construction began in 1248 and stopped in 1473, but the building was never completed. Work was not resumed until the nineteenth century; the building was completed only in 1880. The builders followed the medieval plan in detail. This is a true Gothic masterpiece, containing many works of art and the tombs of twelve archbishops.
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
This masterpiece of Islamic architecture was built in the seventh century in Jerusalem. The octagonal building with a wooden dome references Byzantine design. Persian tiles on the outside and marble slabs on the inside were added by Suleiman the First in 1561. It is one of the oldest Islamic structures and has served as a model of architecture for thousands of years.
Casa Mila, Barcelona
On the streets of Barcelona there are unusual, beautiful buildings created by the famous architect Gaudi. His unique approach has resulted in the creation of some of the most creative buildings, and this house, nicknamed "La Pedrera" or "The Quarry" by locals, is no exception. It is more of a sculpture than a building. The facade is a pile of stone with wrought iron balconies.
World Trade Center, New York
The latest addition to New York's landscape is the World Trade Center, which is the tallest in the Western Hemisphere. Construction began in April 2006, and the last component was installed in 2013. The symbolic height of 1,776 feet, or five hundred and forty-one meters, is a reference to the year of the Declaration of Independence. This tall glass tower rises from a cubic platform before transforming into an elegant trihedron.
St Paul's Cathedral, London
One of the most legendary buildings in London is St. Paul's Cathedral. Its dome is one of the largest and rises 112 meters in height. Construction here began as early as 604 AD, but the modern church was begun in the seventeenth century, after a fire. Since then, the cathedral has been a vital part of London life, dominating the landscape and attracting tourists and pilgrims alike.
Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur
Rising 170 meters, the towers were the tallest in the world from 1998 to 2004. They are a recognizable landmark and were created by architects Cesar Pelli and Ahmad Murdijat.
White House, Washington
Irish architect James Hoban is the man behind the creation of the White House. In 1792, he proposed a plan for the presidential house and received permission to build it. Construction began in 1793 and was completed in 1801.
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most amazing buildings in Europe. It is known for its tilt, which was caused by soft soil that was unable to support the weight of the structure. Construction began in 1173 and ended only three hundred years later.
Kaaba, Mecca
The Kaaba is a cubic building in Saudi Arabia, the most sacred thing for Muslims. The building is decorated with silk and cotton. Pilgrims go here every year. The modest structure rises only 13 meters in height.
The Shard, London
This building is called "shard of glass". The 87-storey skyscraper is located in central London. Construction began in 2009 and was completed in 2012. The outside of the building is completely covered in glass.
St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow
This cathedral is the most visited attraction in Moscow. The famous building is shaped like a flame rising to the sky, it is located near the Kremlin and marks the center of the city. The cathedral was built from 1554 to 1560, little is known about its architect.
Empire State Building, New York
This skyscraper is one of the tallest in the world. Construction began in 1930 and lasted only 410 days. The building was designed by William Lamb and became one of the most famous in New York.
Lloyds Building, London
This futuristic building looks like something out of a science fiction movie. It is one of the most recognizable in London. Richard Rogers is the architect who created this unique design.
Colosseum, Rome
This amphitheater is considered one of the greatest architectural creations of the ancient Romans. The stadium could accommodate 50 thousand spectators and gladiator games were held here. Constructed of concrete and stone, the building was completed in 80 AD and continues to attract thousands of people to this day.
Taj Mahal, India
This building is often considered a palace, but in fact it is a tomb for the imperial wife. The building combines Persian, Turkish and Indian styles; construction was completed in 1648.
Chrysler Building, New York
At the beginning of the twentieth century, people constantly tried to build buildings as tall as possible - this is one example. This skyscraper was commissioned by car manufacturer Chrysler, which explains the name.
Opera House, Sydney
It is one of the greatest buildings of the twentieth century, built by Jörn Utzon. The building is a combination of three groups of shells housing performance spaces and a restaurant.
Space Needle, Seattle
The futuristic building was built for the World's Fair in 1962. The famous landmark rises 184 meters and is 42 meters wide at its widest point.
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
This building was formerly a church and is now a museum. This is a wonderful example of Byzantine architecture, considered one of the most interesting places in the world.
Buckingham Palace, London
Numerous architects worked on this building to give it the look we know today. It is one of the few royal palaces still in use.
Fallingwater, USA
This building was created by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1934. The unique design allows the house to appear to float above a waterfall.
Pantheon, Rome
Rome has many amazing buildings, and the Pantheon is no exception. The Pantheon was destroyed and rebuilt twice. He has been inspiring architects for two thousand years.
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
This is one of the most bright examples modern architecture, built in the twentieth century.
Flatiron Building, New York
This building was built in 1902. The distinctive triangular shape allows the building to occupy the narrow gap between Fifth Avenue and Broadway.
Villa Savoy, France
The building created by Le Corbusier is an ideal example of the style of the early twentieth century - in 1965 it received the status of a historical monument.
Burj Khalifa, Dubai
The tallest building in the world is located in Dubai and rises 828 meters in height. The building was started in 2004 and completed in 2010.
“This is a crazy, crazy world,” you will say when you see these strange and even shocking houses. The unusual buildings from all over the world collected in this publication are surprising because they are also buildings! Houses, hotels, museums, libraries, offices, apartments - all this takes place inside these unusual structures. The thing is that these buildings were designed by talented architects with limitless and sometimes crazy imagination, whose goal was to create, among millions of houses, one that would stand out not only across the country, but throughout the world.
House-grand piano with violin.Piano shaped building.Huainan city,China.
This "musical" house is located in the Chinese city of Huainan. A huge violin serves as the entrance to the building and there is an escalator in it to ascend to the “grand piano”. The structure is made of transparent and black glass. The building was built primarily as a landmark to distinguish the city from many other inconspicuous Chinese cities. In the building itself there is an exhibition complex, which displays plans for streets and districts of the city.
Basket house. Longaberger Basket Building. Newark, USA
This is perhaps the strangest administrative building in the world. Basket and wickerwork company Longaberger built its headquarters in a replica of its actual product, a wicker basket. The building took 180 thousand square meters, two years of construction, and cost 30 million dollars. Experts have repeatedly dissuaded company owner Dave Longberger from changing the layout of the building, but apparently he did right choice, - thanks to this idea, his company became known throughout the world.
Upside Down House. Wonder works. Pigen Forge, USA
This is the main attraction in the provincial town of Pigeon Forge. The legend of its creation is interesting. On one of the distant islands in the Bermuda Triangle, in a top-secret laboratory, under the leadership of Professor Wonder, a process was being developed for creating artificial tornadoes and using the resulting energy. During this experiment, something went wrong and the force of a tornado hit the laboratory itself. This created a swirling vortex that was strong enough to tear down the laboratory along with its foundation. She was carried thousands of miles and landed upside down in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Kansas Central Library. Kansas City Public Library. State of Missouri, USA.
Do you think the library is a boring place? Check out the Kansas Central Library! Probably, if all libraries were built in such a design, then they would not have a shortage of readers. By building the Central Library in the form of a shelf of books, the city authorities of Kansas City in the USA not only beautified the business center of the city, but also supported the reading spirit of the citizens. The building's façade is designed to resemble the spines of Kansas's most influential and popular books.
The Crooked House. Sopot, Poland.
The translation from Polish sounds differently: “Crooked”, “Humpbacked” or even “Dancing”. It was built by Polish architect Szotynscy Zaleski in 2004 in Sopot. The architect was inspired by illustrations to fairy tales by artist Jan Marcin Szancer. There is an unusual house on the main street of the city of Sopot, Monte Cassino. There is a shopping center in the house.
Upside down house. Szymbark, Poland
An unusual work by artist and architect Daniel Czapiewski was built in the village of Szymbark, Poland. The main unusual thing about the design is that it completely imitates an inverted house, right down to the “grass” and “ground” under (that is, above) the stone foundation. At the same time, the house is quite stable and fully adapted for living. Construction of the upside down house took 114 days. Local builders were very surprised by the strange project, but they completed it without errors. Now the house has become one of the most popular attractions in Poland; not only ordinary tourists, but also architects come here to learn from a talented colleague.
Dancing House.Prague Dancing House. Prague, Czech Republic.
This amazing building is located in the very center of Prague on the embankment of the Vltava River. The house that previously stood on the site of the Dancing House was destroyed in January 1945 during an American air raid. For half a century the place was vacant until Czech President Vaclav Havel intervened. Construction of the “drunken house” took place from 1994 to 1996. The main architectural idea of the building was an analogy with the famous dance duet of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, known as “Ginger and Fred”. One of the two cylindrical parts, the one that expands upward, symbolizes the male figure (Fred), and the second part of the building visually resembles female figure with a thin waist and a fluttering skirt (Ginger).
Mobile home of Sheikh Hamad. Abu Dhabi. UAE
A member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Hamad designed the house to move around the desert. Sheikh is famous for his passion for motorhomes. There is a huge 21-foot Willys Jeep in the rich man's garage. Built a mobile home for traveling through the desert in the form globe and fits four floors of living space, 6 bathrooms and 4 bedrooms. Height – 12m. The size of the ball is one millionth the size of the Earth. This got him into the Guinness Book of Records.
Attacked house. House Attack. Vienna, Austria.
And this house, which “unsuccessfully fell” on the Vienna Museum of Modern Art, is uninhabited. This is a work of art by Austria's most important sculptor of the present time, Erwin Wurm. This work is Erwin’s protest against the dominance in modern architecture of “standard houses, faceless like shoeboxes!”
Montreal Biosphere.Montreal Biosphère. Canada
The Biosphere Museum of the Environment in Montreal, dedicated to the environment and water resources. Located in Parc Jean-Drapeau on St. Helena Island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. The museum is housed in the former American pavilion at the World's Fair, Expo 67, which was created by American engineer and architect Richard Buckminster Fuller and features one of the most famous geodesic domes that brought Fuller worldwide fame.
House-banknote. Kaunas, Lithuania
The project itself, according to which the banknote house was built in Lithuania, belongs to the young architect Rimas Adomaitis. In an instant, the famous specialist explains that this building should in no way symbolize the almighty power of money and universal admiration for it. Initially, the banknote house in Lithuania was conceived in this form in order to make this office center very respectable and prestigious. The facade of the building consists of 450 thousand pieces of glass of various colors. The builders had to manually assemble all these pieces so that in the end the house-banknote in Lithuania would receive such an unusual appearance. Due to the fact that the façade of the building is completely glass, there is no need to create windows in itself. The glass itself, produced in Europe, is coated with a special compound that does not allow it to deteriorate due to adverse weather conditions. On the facade of the building there is a 1000 lita banknote from 1926.
Forest Spiral. Darmstadt, Germany
An unusual house with the intriguing name “Forest Spiral” was built between 1998 and 2000. This building with 105 apartments, as if “wrapped” around the courtyard, among other things, has a comfortable restaurant with a cozy cocktail bar.
House with a glass in Moscow
A merchant Filatov lived in Moscow and he began to drink so much that he almost went bankrupt. Then he came to his senses, stopped drinking, and his affairs improved. And with the funds that appeared, in 1907-1909 he built an apartment building on Ostozhenka. The Art Nouveau house for the merchant Filatov is decorated with a corner turret with a roof in the shape of an inverted glass. So the merchant decided to show all of Moscow that he was done, and finally knocked over the glass. This glass is more than 3 meters in height.
Crazy House. Crazy House. Da Lat, Vietnam
This incredible building is a hotel in Dalat, the signature hotel of Mrs. Dang Nga, the daughter of the ex-president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. At one time, this Vietnamese lady studied architecture in Moscow. The building does not comply with any of the generally accepted concepts of house building and looks like a fairy-tale castle, with a huge belly of a giraffe or a spider. The house is open to tourists.
Cybertexture Egg. Mumbai, India.
This is highly intelligent business center established in Mumbai in 2010. Designers from James Law Cybertecture International under the leadership of James Law are accustomed to surprising with their masterpieces. But the egg-shaped house amazes not only the inexperienced viewer, but also specialists. The scientific bureau is engaged in projects of architecture of the 22nd century and works not so much on the form as on the internal content of buildings. As a result, the new home is a cyberarchitecture where everything is included latest developments, filling a person’s life with the highest comfort. Sensors built throughout monitor the state of human health and can measure blood pressure and body temperature at any time. The very shape of the building, shaped like an egg, protects employees from direct sun rays and also saves space. At the top of the egg, where the roof should be, there is a garden, which, in addition to the traditional one, has another task - to remove excess heat from the surface of the glass walls.
Stone house or Troll house.Stone house. Guimaraes, Portugal
A very colorful structure that looks entirely carved from stone. However, in fact, the Portuguese “Troll House” is simply “inscribed” between two huge boulders, and the outer walls are made of small stone of the same composition and color, so the structure fully justifies its name - Stone House. Even the roof of the building is monolithic stone slab, covered with tiles. The Stone House was built by Victor Rodriguez in 1973. The pool is carved directly into one boulder.
Lotus Temple. New Delhi, India
The Temple is a Baha'i House of Worship and is open to everyone, regardless of religion. There is not a single fresco or image inside the temple; visitors are greeted only by snow-white walls and only the inscription on the ceiling Arabic- “God is above all,” so that every believer can turn to his own deity. Construction of the Lotus Temple took place from 1978 to December 1986. The project was led by an architect of Iranian origin from Canada, Fariborza Sahba.
Burj Al Arab Hotel. "Arab Tower". Dubai, UAE
The tallest hotel in the world - 56 floors, 321 m, built in the sea, 280 m from the shore on an artificial island with which a bridge connects it. The building has an unusual architecture, in the form of a mast with a sail, lined with double glass coated with Teflon. The Burj Al Arab is visible from almost anywhere in the city and is rightfully considered the symbol of Dubai.
Cube houses. Kubuswoning. Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Cube Houses or Cube Houses are a series of houses built in Rotterdam and Helmond according to the innovative design of the architect Piet Blom in 1984. Blom's radical solution was that he turned the parallelepiped of the house by 45 degrees and placed it at an angle on a hexagonal pylon. Some residents offer tours of their extraordinary homes. The walls and windows are inclined at an angle of 54.7 degrees in relation to the floor. The total area of the apartment is about 100 square meters, but about a quarter of the space is unusable due to the walls, which are at an angle.
Walt Disney Concert Hall. Walt Disney Concert Hall. Los Angeles, California, USA.
This grand hall is the fruit of the efforts of the famous Frank Henry. It took 16 years to build - 1987-2003.
Upside down house. Matsumoto, Japan
In the Japanese city of Matsumoto, a house was built at an angle of 135 degrees. The roof of this upside-down house is bright pink, and the interior also has upside-down interiors. For example, in the interior the signs are upside down. There is a coffee shop inside the building, but the coffee is served in cups and is not spilled on guests.
Atomium. Brussels, Belgium
Built for the 1958 World's Fair, the iron molecule, enlarged 165 billion times, is one of Brussels' landmarks. If you take the elevator to a height of 122 meters, you will have a panoramic view of Brussels.
Project "Eden". Eden project. Great Britain
This is a botanical garden located in Cornwall, Great Britain. It includes a greenhouse consisting of several unusual geodesic domes, with a total area of 22 thousand square meters. Under the “bumpy” domes of the greenhouse there is a unique collection of plants from all over the planet. Geodesic domes are assembled from several hundred hexagons, very similar to honeycombs, and several pentagons that connect the structure into a complete structure. The architect of the project was Nicholas Grimshaw, the idea belonged to Tim Smith, construction lasted three years, and the opening of the project took place in 2001.
Skyscraper "Cucumber". Gherkin building. London. England
Tower, 40 floors high. Construction of the building took place during 2001-2004, the project was designed by the famous architect Norman Foster. Construction costs exceeded $400 million. The Gherkin has become a decoration of the financial center of the capital of England; it houses the headquarters of Swiss Re, several restaurants, and the first floors are open to all visitors. The height of the “Cucumber” is 180 meters, “green” technologies were used during construction, thanks to which the building’s energy consumption is 2 times less electricity than ordinary skyscrapers.
An ideal palace. Le Palais Ideal. Hauterives, France
The ideal palace amazes travelers not only with its mixture unusual styles The Middle East, Algeria, China and notable imitation of Antoni Gaudi, but also its history. The building was built by an ordinary French postman who had no special education. Ferdinand Chevale built his Ideal Palace for 33 years - from 1879 to 1912, using individual stones collected by him in the area where he lived. All the walls of the palace are decorated with inscriptions - sayings of Christ, Buddha, all kinds of figures, baskets, limestone carvings, rising into the air various decorations; the building looks especially impressive at night.
Concert hall Tenerife Auditorium. Canary Islands, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
Developer of another unusual project became Santiago Calatrava. Construction of the building began in 1997 and was completed in 2003; the unusual concert hall cost investors 72.3 million euros. The main highlight of the unusual building, which fit perfectly into the coastal landscape, was the “wing” rising above the main building and lined with ceramics. Thanks to this “decoration”, the concert hall looks like a giant sailboat, shell or spaceship. The building has two halls - for 1.6 thousand and 400 seats, it is possible to regulate the acoustics of the rooms for performances of opera singers, shops and cafes are located in the hall, and From the open terraces you can admire the sea.
Music Center. Experience music project. Seattle, USA
The house “you’ve never been to.” The Never Was Haul. Berkeley, California, USA
A house with a crack. Ontario, Canada
Modern Art Museum. Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Nice, France
National Theatre. National Theatre. Beijing, China
Sand and clay Mosque of Djenné. Mali, West Africa
Big pineapple. Hotel-Casino Grand Lisboa. Macau, China
Museum of Art. Graz Art Museum. Graz, Austria
Zucchini on a side. Kyiv, Ukraine
House of fashion and shopping. Fashion Show Mall. Las Vegas, USA
Quarry house. Barcelona, Spain.
Cactus house. Cactus House. Rotterdam, Netherlands
Nautilus. Nautilus house. Mexico City
Panorama house. Edificio mirador. Madrid, Spain
Boot house. Pennsylvania, USA
Houseboat. House Boats. Kerala, India.
UFO house. The Ufo House. Sanzi, Taiwan
Gateway to Europe or Torres KIO office. Torres KIO. Madrid, Spain.
Apartments. Wozoko Apartments. Amsterdam, Holland
Torre Galatea Figueres. The Torre Galatea Figueras. Spain.
Esplanade Theaters Hotel. Singapore
Department for problems of production and supply of natural gas. Gas Natural headquarters. Barcelona, Spain.
Modern Art Museum. Niteroi, Brazil
Slim residential complex. London
Temple of Truth. Pattaya, Thailand
Made entirely of wood.
House-garden in Belgium
Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas
Twisted house in Indianapolis, USA
(39 Votes)
Architectural structures are sometimes real works of art. They amaze with their appearance and become the main attractions of cities. Today we have collected twenty unusual buildings that are worth seeing with your own eyes at least once in your life!
Capital Gate skyscraper, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
The skyscraper, built by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company, was the first mesh-clad structure in the Middle East. Using this construction technology, a building can absorb and redirect the forces of wind and seismic movement. In addition, the slope of Capital Gate is 18 degrees, thanks to which the building was included in the Guinness Book of Records in 2010.
Photo: archinect.com 2 Piano House Exhibition Center, Huainan, China
The building in Huainan County is designed in the shape of a violin and a grand piano, but has nothing to do with music. The violin contains an escalator, and the piano contains an exhibition center. The structure was designed by students of the Faculty of Architecture of Hefei University of Technology together with designers from Huainan Fangkai Decoration Project Co.
Photo: butlercountytimesgazette.com
3
Skyscraper Turning Torso, Malmo, Sweden
The skyscraper, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, became the tallest residential building in Scandinavia at the time of its opening. Also, for a long time, Turning Torso was considered the tallest “twisted” structure in the world. Its height is 190 meters.
Photo: say-hi.me Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku, Azerbaijan
The cultural center, built in the capital of Azerbaijan, includes a museum, exhibition halls and administrative offices. The building was designed by famous British architect Zaha Hadid. In 2014, the Heydar Aliyev Center was recognized as the best building in the world according to the organizers of the Design of the Year award.
Photo: trend.az 5 Lotus Temple, New Delhi, India
The Baha'i Temple in New Delhi is built in the shape of a blooming lotus flower from snow-white marble from Mount Pendelikon. Canadian architect Fariborz Sahba was inspired by the design of the Sydney Opera House when designing the building.
Photo: holiday.by 6 College of Art and Design, Toronto, Canada
It’s not for nothing that the Ontario College of Art and Design is called the “university of imagination”: learning there takes place in a creative environment - there are many art centers, galleries and theaters on campus. The university building itself is also a real art object.
Photo: ajbuildingslibrary.co.uk
7
Crooked House, Sopot, Poland
The unusually shaped building was built in Poland in 2004 and has since been a real landmark of the city. The Crooked House was built according to the design of the architects Shotinsky and Zalevsky.
Photo: etotam.com 8 Longaberger Office, Newark, USA
Longaberger is the largest manufacturer of wicker baskets and other household items in America. The firm is headquartered in Newark, Ohio, and uses its giant basket design to communicate its business.
Photo: mendaily.com 9 Museum of Contemporary Art, Niteroi, Brazil
The Museum of Contemporary Art building is located on the edge of a cliff in the city of Niteroi. The building in the modernist style was designed by the famous Latin American architect Oscar Niemeyer. It is a cylindrical building on a thin leg.
Photo: worldtravelserver.com
10
Casa Mila, Barcelona, Spain
The residential building, built in Barcelona at the beginning of the 20th century, became an innovation for its time. The ventilation system made it possible to avoid air conditioning, and the interior partitions in each of the apartments can be moved at your discretion. Casa Mila became the first structure in the last century to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Photo: thousandwonders.net 11 Cube houses, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Row residential buildings in Rotterdam was built in 1984 according to the design of the architect Piet Blom. The walls and windows in the apartments are inclined at an angle of 54.7 degrees in relation to the floor.
Photo: fritzhaeg.com 12 Cathedral, Brasilia, Brazil
The Catholic Cathedral in the Brazilian capital was built according to the design of Oscar Niemeyer. For it, the architect received the Pulitzer Prize in 1988. The 16 columns of the building symbolize hands raised to the sky, and between them there are stained glass windows.
Photo: churchgoers.com 13 Transport Museum, Glasgow, Scotland
The Glasgow Transport Museum project was Zaha Hadid's first major project in the UK. Thanks to its futuristic design, the museum has become one of the city's main attractions.
Photo: kingspaninsulation.co.uk
14
ArcelorMittal Orbit observation tower, London, UK
The tower, located between the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatic Center in London, was built as a symbol Olympic Games in the British capital in 2012. Its height reaches 115 meters.
Photo: shutterstock 15 National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing, China
The Opera House in Beijing is popularly called simply "the egg". The futuristic building is a dome made of glass and titanium. The three main halls of the arts center can accommodate up to 6.5 thousand spectators.
Photo: exhibitoo.com 16 Mary Ax skyscraper, London, UK
The 40-story skyscraper in the British capital was named “The Gherkin” due to its bizarre appearance. The design is made in the form of a mesh shell and has a greenish tint. In addition, Mary Ax claims to be the first ecological skyscraper.
Photo: londontopia.net 17 Futuroscope amusement park, Chasseneuil-du-Poitou, France
The second most visited amusement park in France after Disneyland amazes not only with its attractions, but also with the design of the main building of the complex. The unusually shaped structure is made of glass and metal and looks like a spacecraft.
Photo: e-sushi.fr 18 US Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel, Colorado, USA
The building, part of the United States Air Force Academy, initially sparked controversy due to its unusual design. The structure has 17 spiers, each of which contains 100 tetrahedrons 23 meters long and weighing 5 tons. Despite criticism, the building was included in the list of national monuments in 2004.
Photo: thousandwonders.net Museum of Music, Seattle, Washington
An unusual structure appeared in Seattle in 2000. It was built by order of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and the famous architect Frank Gehry was involved in the design. The building is an undulating structure made of stainless steel and aluminum in purple, silver and gold colors.
Photo: capacityinteractive.com
20
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, USA
The Walt Disney Concert Hall was designed by Frank Gehry in the deconstructive style. The building is a combination of steel blocks that seem to move in different directions. Despite the fact that the design of the structure caused a lot of controversy, many experts noted its good acoustics.
Photo: pacifymind.net
