The most unusual office buildings in the world. Unusual buildings from all over the world. Nabta Observatory, Nubia, Sahara

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 building of an unusual shape was built in Poland in 2004 and since then has 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

A number of residential buildings in Rotterdam were 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 of the 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

Modern architecture, over time, undergoes significant transformations. Of great importance here are professionals in their field who are not lacking in talent - architects and decorators who are not afraid to present something new and extraordinary in their work, despite criticism from the outside. Any architectural building that was a landmark was condemned by society, but after some time everything changed.

Now these buildings delight not only visitors, but also the residents of this area themselves. We present a selection of 10 original buildings that will make you look at the creations of architecture differently.

1. House-Basket

House-Basket is an office of a painting manufacturing company in Ohio, USA. The structure resembles an ordinary basket, the construction of which took more than two years. The basket is a genuine example of copycat architecture, where buildings are constructed in the specific form of the goods being promoted. The interior of the building is decorated with a glass ceiling, and the walls are filled with paintings by the founders of the company. Thanks to the glass design, company employees and guests can admire the daylight that penetrates all rooms.

2. Hallgrímur Church

Hallgrimur Church is the tallest and most unusual church in Iceland, located in the capital of Reykjavik. Scandinavian design was used as a basis for the construction of the church, which became the most exciting work of the architect Gudjoun Samuelsson. It took over 38 years to complete this sacred building, begun in 1945. The structure was named after the famous Icelandic poet Hallgrímur Petersson, who wrote many Lutheran prayer songs. The 80-meter concrete church has become one of the most recognizable landmarks in Iceland.

The main decoration of the church's interior is the 20-meter organ, and the bell tower offers views of the whole of Reykjavik. In front of the building is a statue of Leif Erikson (the Happy), the first European to visit North America. This is definitely one of the most unusual churches in the world.

3. Guggenheim Museum

The Guggenheim Museum is located in the Spanish city of Bilbao. Its building was designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry and opened to the public in 1997. In fact, the Guggenheim Museum is a complex of several interconnected buildings. The entire building is covered in titanium, limestone and glass. This museum is located along the banks of the Nervion River, highlighting the beauty of the building. It houses some of the greatest works by many contemporary artists.

The collection of European and American paintings makes this museum one of the most beautiful places to visit in Spain.

4. Kansas City Library

The Kansas City Library is one of them, located in Kansas City and founded in 1873. A stunning array of large bookshelves are the main attraction of one of the most beautiful libraries in the United States. The facade of the building is decorated with marble and mahogany, used in 20th century architecture.

The interior of the unusual building is decorated in concrete, with a massive 35-ton steel door. Each section of the library is designed for a specific type of reader, with a special collection of books from every possible field.

5. Atomium, Brussels

The extremely unusual Atomium building is located in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The 102-meter-tall atomium was designed by architect Andre Waterkein and is a many times enlarged model of a simple iron atom. The entire building was constructed from stainless steel, including 7 prefabricated columns with round spheres. The diameter of each sphere is 28 meters, and the total length of the pipes is 2298 meters. There are special escalators in hollow pipes for tourists. At the top of the Atomium there is a restaurant and an observation deck with beautiful views.

6. La Pedrera

The La Pedrera building is located in the city of Barcelona, ​​which is famous for its unusual architecture. It took 6 years to complete this strange project, which started in 1906. The Catalan architect was the main designer of La Pedrera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The quaint limestone façade and unusual balconies immediately attract attention, while La Pedrera's rooftop is decorated with photographs and postcards of Barcelona. The interior of the building is designed to maximize daylight penetration, and the roof offers magnificent views of Barcelona.

7. Lotus Temple

The flower-shaped Lotus Temple is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. This attraction is open to people of all religions. Inspired by the lotus flower, architect Fariborz Sahba designed this beautiful building, which opened to visitors in 1986. The entire temple was made of marble, dolomite and cement, and its main pride is the petals. The central hall of the Lotus Temple with 9 huge entrances can accommodate 2,500 people, and the surrounding ponds give the impression that the structure is floating in water, like a lotus flower.

8. Stone House

Stone house located in the mountains of Portugal. It was built in 1974, inspired by the Flintstones cartoon. The unusual house was built from two huge rocks connected with a concrete mixture. This gives it the feel of a prehistoric structure and makes it one of the most beautiful attractions in Portugal.

9. Crooked House

The Crooked House is actually a strange-looking part of a shopping complex in the Polish city of Sopot. The project was developed by Szotynscy and Zalesky in 2004 and is inspired by children's fairy tales. Over time, the curved house became one of the most photographed places in Poland. Visitors get the impression that the house is about to collapse, but in fact it is firmly supported by special beams. The crooked house has glass doors and blue-green rim lighting, making the structure especially attractive at night.

10. Surreal house

The surreal house is located on El Carmel hill in Barcelona. It took 14 years to complete this strange building, founded in 1900. The building is listed as a UNESCO historical heritage site. The complex actually contains 60 different buildings, a chapel, a park and a beautiful fountain in the center. Numerous statues also make this place more attractive. The house has become one of the main attractions in Spain, most popular among travelers.

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Modern architecture amazes our imagination. Looking at some buildings and structures that can hardly be called buildings, you just wonder how people can live and work in them? But most of them are residential buildings or shopping and office centers, and some are exhibition complexes and concert halls. They were designed by designers and architects with truly wild imagination, and then it’s worth looking at them and learning more about them. We offer you the ten most unusual architectural structures on our planet.

1. Ark Nova, Japan

The name of this building translates as “New Ark”; it is nothing more than a concert hall. However, this is not just a hall, but the world's first inflatable and mobile performance hall. It was designed in the form of a huge purple-pink drop, which in its design resembles an air cushion. The authors of the project are British sculptor Anish Kapoor and Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. The first performance at Ark Nova took place in October last year, and it was built on the east coast of Japan - specifically to support the spirit of people affected by the tsunami. Even the seats and benches here are made from pieces of trees damaged during the disaster. This should become a symbol of the fact that after any trouble you need to be reborn and move on. According to the architects, the Ark Nova Hall will become the largest inflatable concert hall in the world. The height of Ark Nova is 18 meters, width is 35 meters, it can accommodate about 500 spectators. The main advantage of the unusual hall is its ease of transportation - just deflate the air and transport the hall to another place.

2. Sundome, Michigan, USA

An unusual structure resembling a honeycomb at a Michigan exhibition pavilion consists of many circles. They, in turn, are made of a special material - archila - very light and bendable, which contains fiberglass and carbon. The so-called “Sun Dome” illuminates the entire pavilion with its ghostly multi-colored light, which comes from elements at the base of the structure. These elements store solar energy throughout the day and then project light onto the dome. The installation was created by the art studio “Loop.pH” and, according to the creative director of the studio, it represents a fundamentally new method of construction based on the technique of textile weaving. The size of the “Solar Dome” is 8 by 4 meters and its weight is about 40 kilograms. This portable structure looks surprisingly harmonious in any environment.

3. House of Mirrors, Flint, USA

Would you like to live in a house of mirrors, and one that floats above the ground? Hardly. That is why no one lives here, and the house of mirrors in the city of Flint is a kind of monument to home comfort. It was built by London architects from the Two Islands firm, who dedicated their creation to the thousands of demolished houses in the city of Flint, residents who were forced to leave this city. It was in Flint that the once legendary automobile company General Motors was born; later it began to move production to other regions and countries, and the city began to slowly fade without it. The English name of the building “Mark's House” (“Mark’s House”) arose from the story of an imaginary resident of Flint, Mark Hamilton, whose family lost their home during the aforementioned economic crisis. The brilliant house, rising on a pedestal, weighs almost two tons. its half - 882 lightboxes, which present hundreds of photographs of faces, in particular, portraits of those who supported the initiative to create the “House of Mirrors” financially - and, unfortunately, no more than 90 of these people gathered around the world.

4. Lotus Dome, Jerusalem, Israel

There are many mysterious places in Jerusalem. One of them is Zedekiah's Cave - the largest and most mysterious cave in the northern part of the Old City wall. It is named after the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, and during the time of King Solomon, limestone was mined here. In the very center of the cave there is a very unusual dome lamp “Lotus Dome”, made of several hundred aluminum flowers that open their petals, turning towards people. The huge flower remains motionless until the first visitors appear in the hall. As soon as people enter the room, the petals begin to bloom one after another, illuminating the entire surrounding space with light streaming from the center of the dome. The closer visitors get to the installation, the more noticeable the movements of the metal petals become - and now the entire “organism” of this huge silver ball becomes mobile. The author of the project is Dutch designer Dan Rosegaarde, his installation attracts tourists to the cave.

5. Smart eco-house, Sweden

But you definitely wouldn’t refuse to live in such a house, although the area it occupies is only 10 square meters! The author of this project was the Swedish architectural company Tengboom Architects. According to the developers, this house will be an excellent alternative to student dormitories, and also very environmentally friendly. The house is designed for one person; the developers managed to place in it a kitchen, a bathroom, a place to study and sleep, i.e., everything necessary for a student’s full-fledged life. A light color scheme with bright spots of color helps create a comfortable living atmosphere. The successful layout, the presence of two levels, and the use of natural laminated wood made it possible to reduce not only the rent, but also the harmful impact on the environment.

6. Bamboo House, Vietnam

Vietnam has very treacherous natural conditions. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that it was here that the creation of the world’s strongest bamboo house, which can withstand a flood with a water level of 1.5 meters, was conceived and brought to life. The authors of the project, the Vietnamese architectural studio H&P Architects, do not intend to stop there and are checking whether the house can withstand a water height of three meters. The building is multifunctional and can be not only a residential building, but also a public one - a school, a hospital, etc. The building materials used for the house are bamboo, fiberboard, and coconut leaves. The roof can be opened and closed, depending on weather conditions. Downstairs there is a bedroom and living room, and upstairs you can arrange an office. The building is modular, costs about $2,500, and the buyer can assemble it themselves in just 25 days.

7. House with a Slipping Facade, Margate, UK

Walking through the British city of Margate, you may be incredibly surprised to come across a three-story house with... a facade that has slid down. The first floor with the front door seems to lie directly on the ground, and the upper floor is open. Don’t be surprised, the reason for this façade “slipping” out of its place is not a natural disaster or construction flaws, but just the wild imagination of designer Alex Chinnack. By the way, it took him almost a year to create the installation. The house had been abandoned for a long time. The building was once purchased by the municipality and was intended to be converted into social housing. But time passed, and the building became more and more unusable and collapsed. The designer removed the facade from the old three-story building and replaced it with a new wall. The new facade reveals the crumbling upper floor of the house, wraps around the ground and sits comfortably on the ground in front of the building.

8. House-banknote, Kaunas, Lithuania

A very unusual and very realistic structure in the form of a folded banknote issued by Lithuania during the years of independence, in fact it is a large business center called “Office Center 1000”. It is quite natural that it housed the two largest Lithuanian banks. The project was completely developed and implemented by RA Studija and the young Lithuanian architect Rimas Adomaitis. One day, a famous specialist says that this building should never symbolize the power of money over people and universal admiration for it, which is why not a modern, but a historical banknote was taken. The facade is decorated with glass tiles of various shapes and sizes, made in Holland. The house has no windows in the usual sense of the word, because the entire facade of the building is glass. On the outside, the glass has a special coating that protects the design from adverse weather conditions. It was assembled by hand by a large number of builders; it was a large and painstaking job.

9. Atomium, Brussels, Belgium

Not only the most modern sculptures, buildings and structures can capture our imagination. What can you say about the sculpture, built back in 1958? This is one of the main attractions of Brussels and a real symbol of the city called Atomium. It was designed for the opening of the 1958 World's Fair by architect André Waterkein as a symbol of the atomic age and the peaceful use of atomic energy, and was built under the direction of architects André and Michel Polack. The majestic sculpture is a huge model of an iron crystal. Initially, the structure was covered with aluminum, and after a major renovation in 2006, it was covered with a strong and durable steel shell that sparkles in the sun. The Atomium is 102 meters high, weighs about 2,400 tons, and the diameter of each of the nine spheres is 18 meters. The spheres are connected by 23 m long pipes containing escalators and corridors. There are a total of 20 connecting pipes between the balls. In the middle of them there is an elevator capable of lifting visitors to the restaurant and observation platform, located in the highest ball of the Atomium, in 25 seconds.

10. Art Museum building, Graz, Austria

At first glance at this unusual building, it is difficult to believe that it houses an art museum. However, this is so, and local residents affectionately and humorously call the Kunsthaus “the pregnant cow.” The gallery of contemporary art was opened as part of the European Capital of Culture program in 2003, the title of which was awarded to Graz. The building concept was developed by London architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier. The architectural style of the building defies any classification and contrasts sharply with the surrounding buildings. But what is unique about the building is that it can “communicate” with the outside world. The façade of the museum is designed as a media installation with an area of ​​900 square meters, consisting of luminous elements that can be programmed using a computer. Despite its relatively short existence, the museum building has won a lot of sympathy from local residents and tourists and is recognized as a symbol of the city and its modern life.

What does the house look like? Several floors, a roof, windows, a standard rectangular silhouette... Not everyone thinks the same way, and houses of the most unusual shapes are springing up all over the world.

Shell House, Mexico City

The Nautilus house was built in 2006 and has become a family nest. It is completely earthquake resistant and environmentally friendly. True, you can never understand whether you are still inside or have already come out.

Dancing House, Prague

The building, symbolizing a dancing couple, is an office building and one of the landmarks of the Czech capital. It is often called "Ginger and Fred" after the most famous choreographic duo.

Dancing House, photo Pedro Szekely

Hang Nga Hotel, Da Lat

The hotel, which does not have a single straight wall or a single window of the correct shape, is often called a “madhouse”, and it looks like a set for a movie. Despite this, there are always people who want to stay here, ready to pay a lot for the strange appearance of the building.

Hang Nga Hotel

The architect who erected this 12-story residential building in Germany considered straight lines to be a tool of the devil. Perhaps that is why his creation is twisted in a spiral around the courtyard, and a real forest grows on its roof.

Forest spiral, photo by Scott Maurer

The residential building, built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries by one man who was a postman and had no idea about architecture, is the pride of the French town. There are Hindu deities, biblical characters, towers, and fountains on the building, so you can look at it for hours.

It is no coincidence that the Dali Museum is considered one of the strangest buildings in the world, because it was designed by the great artist himself. Bright walls, eggs on the roof, a glass dome and incredible interiors distinguish the building from all museums in the world.

Dali Museum, photo Shezre

In Kansas City, the number of people wanting to go to the library is much greater than in all other cities. This is no coincidence, because it looks like a collection of giant books stretched along the street.

Basket House, Newark

The office of the construction company Longaberger is located in a very unusual building that looks like a seven-story basket. The construction took thirty million dollars and a huge amount of nerves, since almost the entire city tried to dissuade the company owner from this project.

The world's largest building-sculpture, listed in the Guinness Book of Records, is located in China and depicts three star elders. They symbolize the basics of Feng Shui: happiness, longevity and prosperity.

Hotel Tianzi, photo moco-choco

Cube houses, Rotterdam

A whole complex of cubic houses in Rotterdam invariably attracts tourists. Each building consists of three levels and although it looks strange from the outside, inside people live comfortably.

Cube houses, photo Luc B

Of course, people’s imagination is not limited to this, and in the world there are tree houses, snail houses, houses built underground and even under water according to unique designs. So, when going to an unfamiliar city, look around carefully, maybe you will come across an equally unique building.