Ten unusual buildings in the world - and they are real!!!

10 unusual buildings in the world

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"Dancing" building? Twisted-shaped house? Hotels that look like UFOs from afar? As impossible as it may sound, these buildings actually exist!

1. Wozoco Apartments (Amsterdam, Holland)
The Wozoco Apartments was built more than 55 years ago and it consists of 100 homes. It might seem that the extravagant design was pre-planned, but the fact is far from that. The design was actually "accidental". Initially, every unit was promised good natural lighting. However, this was only achievable for 87 units per block. Hence, lies the problem, as the request was for 100 units per block. So how did they add the remaining 13 units? They were protruded from the main structure, as you can see in the picture below.
( Image by Fernando Herrera)

2. The Crooked House (Sopot, Holland)
Crooked House was designed by Polish architect Szotynscy Zaleski. He was inspired by the fairytale illustrations of Jan Marcin Szancer and the drawings of the Swedish artist and Sopot resident Per Dahlberg. The most photographed building in Poland, the 4,000 square meter (approximately 43,000sq ft)  house is located in the Rezydent shopping center in Sopot, Poland. Others call it the "Crazy House".
(Image by Johan Wildenius)

3. Blur Building (Yverdon-les-Bainz, Switzerland)
The Blur Building is an exhibition pavilion built for the Swiss Expo 2002 on Lake Neuchatel in the town of Yverdon-les-Bainz. With an area of 80,000sq ft, the primary building material is water from the lake. Water is pumped from the lake, filtered and shot as fine mist through high-pressure mist nozzles.  
(Image by LucyMay Paro)


4. The Dancing House (Praque, Czech Republic)
The nickname, Dancing House, refers to the Nationale Nederlanden building in Praque. It was designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunić and Canadian architect Frank Gehry. The building was built on a riverfront plot where the previous building was destroyed during the World War II.
The original name of the building was Fred and Ginger, after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, arguably the most famous dancing duo. Others call it the "Drunk House".
(Image by Nathan Bergeron)

5. Device to Root Out Evil (Vancouver, Canada)
It’s a house! It’s a church! It is actually a sculpture designed by American sculptor Dennis Oppenheim. In year 2004, the bizarre statue was originally proposed to be installed at Stanford University, California. However, according to CultureKiosque.com, the proposal was rejected by the university’s president John L. Hennessy who argued that it might stir up a controversy because the sculpture looked like an inverted church.
Finally in year 2006, the sculpture found its home in Vancouver, Canada, when Oppenheim announced that it was bought over by a private foundation, the Benfic Foundation.
(Image by Kira Oujonkova)

6. Reversible Destiny Lofts (Mitaka, Japan)
This nine-unit Reversible Destiny Lofts at Mitaka was built based on an unusual concept. The architectural concept was created by Shusaku Arakawa and Madeline Gins who made a point that home is a place to trigger one’s senses, instead of a place to relax!
The colourful building was created in memory of Helen Keller, the deaf-blind American author, political activist and lecturer.  
(Image by Renna Okubo)

7. UFO Houses (Sanjhih, Taiwan)
If you drive along the north coast of Taipei between Tamsui and Keelung about a year ago, you would be able to see a group of UFO-look-alike structures that were once supposed to be a holiday resort. According to Taipei Times, the UFO Houses were built in year 1978. However, the developer went bankrupt before the project was completed and it was abandoned halfway.
Since then, there had been rumours that the place was haunted. The UFO Houses were demolished in December 2009.
(Image by hey-gem)
8. Wooden Gagster House (Archangelsk, Russia)
The 13-floor wooden house is said to be the highest wooden building in the world. Built by Nikolai Sutyagin's, a one-time gangster in Archangelsk, some people call it "the eighth wonder of the world".
Unfortunately, Sutyagin was imprisoned in year 1998 for racketeering. "When I went to prison, I was a millionaire," he said. "Now I'm penniless." According to Telegraph.co.uk, he is currently living at the bottom of the wooden skyscraper and spends his time taking visitors on tours that involve criss-crossing rotting planking and climbing icy ladders.
(image by slowcatchupkuan)
9. Le Palais Idéal a.k.a. Ideal Palace (Hauterives, France)
The structure was built by postman Ferdinand Cheval in April 1979. He was inspired by a stone he had tripped on and started building the structure, a process that took more than 33 years. Cheval spent the first 20 years building the outer wall of the structure. The palace is a mixture of inspirations from the Bible and Hindu mythology.
Cheval had requested to be buried in the palace, but it was illegal in France, so he built another mausoleum for himself.
(Image by Melisandé)
10. Waldspirale Building (Darmstadt, Germany)
Waldspirale (Forest Spiral) is a 105-unit apartment that comes with a parking garage, a kiosk, a café and a bar (the last two are located at the top of the spiral).
Located at Darmstadt, Germany, the building was designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, a painter and architect from Austria. Hundertwasser was always fascinated by spirals and called straight lines “the devil’s tools.” The strange building consists of 1,000 windows, with none of them are of same shape.
(Image by Scott Maurer)