Architecture isn’t known for really reaching outside of the box much anymore. Houses tend to look about the same no matter what neighborhood you happen to find yourself in. Office buildings and hospitals don’t tend to vary, either. But occasionally, you’ll find yourself in the presence of something truly unique.
These buildings found around the world highlight the creativity architects can achieve (for better or worse) if they really flex their brains.
1. The Living Bridges of Cherrapunji
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Found in the eastern village of Cherrapunji, India, the living bridges come in handy with the region’s over 400 inches of rain on an annual basis. The War-Khasis tribe discovered this arboreal solution when they created root-guiding systems for the multi-root Ficus elastica found around the country.
2. Nitt Witt Ridge
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Located in Cambria, California, this home proves the adage “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” to be undeniably true. After buying the land for $100, Arthur (“Art”) Beal spent 50 years using only hand tools to create his mishmashed home. He worked as a garbage collector for 30 years before getting laid off for being more focused on finding items to add to his home than the standard procedure for refuse collection.
3. Waldspirale
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Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser really hated symmetry. He referred to straight lines as “the tool of the devil.” During the 1970s, he took an interest in architecture after criticizing the study’s inability to allow amateurs much opportunity for practice in the field. He used his fortune to create what are basically giant versions of his art, including this whimsical residential building found in Darmstadt, Germany. No two apartments are exactly alike.
4. Nakagin Capsule Tower
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Built in 1972 during the post-World War II “Metabolism” movement in architecture, each capsule is an apartment. Intended to be used by bachelors living in Tokyo, the design turned out to be mostly impractical and have since fallen into disrepair.
5. Le Palais Ideal
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Found in Hauterives, France, this “ideal palace” seems like it was made by a master craftsman. But each of these intricate details were actually produced by an ordinary postman. Starting in 1879, it took Ferdinand Cheval the next 34 years to complete his impressive project.
6. Gate Tower Building
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When landowners attempting to erect an office building on an area previously designated by the government for highway development, they were all able to come to a compromise with this ingenious design. The building installed noise-proof walls and its elevators skip the four floors that make up the tunnel.
7. The Smallest House in Great Britain
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At not-quite-6-feet wide and just-a-tad-over-10-feed tall, this tiny abode was occupied from the 16th century until 1900 when its last resident, a fisherman, vacated. Found in Conwy Quay, North Wales, it is now kept up as a tourist attraction. Its design dates back to the middle ages when they regularly used the small gaps between rows of houses to create low cost dwelling just big enough for one person.
8. World’s Littlest Skyscraper
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Legend has it, this humble four story building was the result of some overeager oil barrons. When the boom came to Wichita Falls, TX, investors were anxious to open up shop and were sold on the idea of a skyscraper… But soon realized they had been looking at the blueprint and assuming the scale was in feet, when was in actuality inches. By the time it was completed, the man who sold them the design, J.D. McMahon, was nowhere to be found.
(via Listverse.)
See, there’s way more to a building’s foundation than cement. Even if the design’s a dud, if the story is good enough it can live on forever.
