Weird Architecture: Who Approved These 10 Structures?

Some people find normal to be, well, boring. Being eccentric and having unique ideas can sometime turn out to be creative but also weird. When it comes to art, being unique is generally considered as one of the positives of a designer. Though architecture has been historically classified as a discipline of fine art, sometimes the concept is better left on paper, as the execution can be rather, weird, to say the least.

The structures below were designed to stand out in a sea of drab, and that they did. Whether that’s a good or bad thing, I’ll leave that up for you to decide. So let’s check out 10 examples of some noteworthy weird architecture around the world.

10. Forest Spiral

Image: http://designanddiymagazine.com

Also called the Waldspirale, this building was designed by Austrian architect, Friedensreich Hundertwasser. It is located in Darmstadt, Germany. The Bauverian Darmstadt company commissioned Hundertwasser in building a complex that has 12 floors, 105 apartments, a parking garage, a kiosk, a cafe and a bar. The idea was to build it in a spiral rising form, characterized by out of order windows and an irregular design of tree and shrub plantations making the entire structure look weird. He no doubt suceeded.

9. The Basket Building

Image: http://ohiowins.com

Yeah. You’re probably thinking, “What were they thinking?”. The Basket Building is a standout among a list of standouts. It is located in Ohio, U.S.A.  It was originally an idea of Dave Longaberger, Founder of The Longaberger Company. It was built for housing the entire corporate offices under the Longaberger company.

Surprisingly enough, it was given the build Ohio award for its synthetic plaster material used. It is made of stucco covering the steel inner structure so as to make it look like a basket. Apart from the exterior, the interior infrastructure comprises of a grand staircase for the seven story building, a piano, and flourished marble floors.

8. The Church of Hallgrimur

Image: https://myarchitectureworld.files.wordpress.com

At first glance, the The Church of Hallgrimur gives the feel of a rocket about to take off. At second glance, it looks more like a vampire building from one of those vampire movies. In actuality, it is a real and magnificent church in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, standing at 73m tall. Why a church needs to be that big I’ll never know.  It is the largest church in the country and it’s capable of holding 1200 people. It was built using the motifs and materials from the Icelandic countryside, with basalt formations playing a primary part in its construction. People generally use an elevator to get to the church. It also houses a large pipe organ, consisting of 50 foot case and 5275 pipes.

7. Cube Houses

Image: http://all-that-is-interesting.com

Also known as kubuswoningen, these cube houses are located in the Netherlands, and are designed to give an optical illusion from a particular angle.

The idea for the cube houses came came when architect Piet Blom was given the task of solving the dilemma of building houses on top of a pedestrian bridge. Blom, being the eccentric that he is, then got the crazy idea to build houses that are in a state of dilemma. These houses were built tilted upon a hexagonal pole. 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 bedroom and bathrooms, and the highest level is a spare area used either as a second bedroom or another living area.

6. House Attack

Image: http://www.colorcoat-online.com

The previous one would look much less confusing after seeing this one. The House Attack gives the illusion that a house is literally going to attack from the sky when seen in the dark. Located in Vienna, Austria, this was an idea of artist Erwin Wurm. This was primarily done to attract more visitors to the museum. The house is constructed in a way that makes it looks like it’s hurling itself onto the museum. Unaware visitors tend to be startled when they look up and see a freaking house on top of the museum. I mean, who wouldn’t be?

5. Rotating Tower

Image: http://www.emirates247.com

OK. For a first timer, you might be thinking just how exactly can a building rotate. Well here it is. The rotating tower is located in Dubai, alongside the Burj Khalifa and other fancy buildings. And the answer is YES. It can rotate 360 degrees for every 90 minutes. The trick behind this rotation is powered by the nearly 79 giant wind turbines which produce electricity to rotate all its floors. It cannot rotate all the floors at the same time to the same degree, since every floor will have a different degree of rotation from one another. Initially, the rotating tower will have a straight form. Then in few minutes, it will show different shape, and that goes on for 90 minutes until it finally ends up looking like a Rubik’s Cube.

4. Kansas City Library

Image: http://www.atlasobscura.com

I admire the Kansas City Library’s dedication to advertising the fact that they are indeed, an actual library. Well, the giant decorating books are actually for the parking lot for the library and not the library itself, but still. The books stand 25 feet tall and 9 feet wide. It comprises of 22 books from various fields of interests.

3. La Pedrera

Image: http://www.barcelonaconnect.com/

La Pedrera is essentially a stone quarry, built to showcase the architecture of Barcelona. It was designed by Antoni Gaudi. A visit to La Pedrera by day covers different museum areas – the Espai Gaudí and the Pedrera Apartment – which, together with the Provença and Passeig de Gràcia Courtyard, the Exhibition Room and the Roof-Terrace, make up the tour of the building. The Espai Gaudí, in the attic, offers a broad view of Gaudi’s work, demonstrating the most basic traits of his clearly visual and empirical way of understanding architecture through models, audiovisuals and objects. The routes around the building is divided into seven areas, one of which is devoted entirely to La Pedrera.

2. Crooked House

Why the long face? Image: https://planetsurprises.files.wordpress.com

The Crooked House looks more sad and depressed than it looks crooked. This 4,000 square meter house was designed by the Polish architect Szotynscy Zaleski, who got the inspiration from the fairy tale illustrations of Jan Marcin Szancer and the artwork of Per Dahlberg. Makes you wonder just how depressing those fairy tales were.

The special impression is given by colorful stained glass entrances, stone elevation decors and windows framed with sandstone. One more peculiarity of the extraordinary building is a roof of blue-green enameled shingles designed to give the impression of a dragon. This house went from sad to hardcore.

1. Stone House

Image: http://inspired-architecture.blogspot.com

So the number one spot for weird architecture around the world goes to a The Stone House. A literal house made of literal stone. Not concrete, just some big ass boulders.

The stone house is located far off from the inland in a rural place. It’s built by just carving out a huge rock and comprises of a fireplace and a swimming pool. Initially it was used as a family retreat, but soon more visitors came by and it eventually became a tourist spot. For security purposes, the windows are bullet proof and the door is made of steel.

If you liked this piece, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest. You may also subscribe to our newsletter.

Now what are you waiting for? Share away!