The World's Weirdest Buildings You Might Find Awe-Inspiring

Updated on August 08, 2022 20:19 PM by Anna P

There are so many types of buildings – classic, colonial, modern, and even gothic. However, some buildings are best described as nothing but bizarre. Yes, buildings are given various forms and shapes and designed in an effort to reach a level of uniqueness that is not seen anywhere else in the world. Continuously pushing the boundaries of design, a building is limited only by imagination. A unique building has the potential to mark any location, no matter how big or small it is on the map, making it a hub for tourists and photographers – needless to mention giving inspiration to numerous tourist trinkets and postcards. The below-given list will make you realize that imagination has no limits.

Lloyd’s Building – London – England

Lloyd's building is situated in the heart of England in London's financial district. This is the home and headquarters of the London insurance company. Sometimes, this building is also called an 'inside-out building' due to its unique design as the building services, such as elevators, ducts, etc., are made outside the building so that there is maximum space on the inside.

The building was constructed in the 1980s after the earlier Lloyd's building was demolished (on the same site) to build a new mega-story designer building. It was designed by British architect Richard Rogers, who gave it an industrial look. This glass and steel structure seems that it could have been made for a futuristic sci-fi film.

Fuji Television Building – Tokyo – japan

Located in Tokyo, Fuji Television Building is a sight to behold. This metallic grid-like structure is ultra-futuristic and has a massive silver ball that looks suspended in the building. Quit possibly; this is the most striking building in entire Japan (that's saying so much).

The 25-story building started operating in 1997, and since then, it has acted as the home to the television station. People often visit this building to attend events and tours behind the scenes. The visitors or tourists can take a trip to the ball, which serves as an observation deck with views throughout Tokyo Bay. Japenese architect Kenzo Tenge is behind this forward-thinking design. He also made this building fully earthquake-proof, a task that took him three years to complete this masterpiece. The USP of the building is obviously silver which has a diameter of 32 meters and weighs around 1200 tons.

Ripley’s Believe it or Not Building – Nigeria Falls – Canada

This most unusual building is situated in Clifton Hill, which is a densely populated tourist area in Nigeria Falls. It is the house of one of three Ripley's museums in the country; the building almost appears as if it was built sideways.

Ripley's Entertainment has done most strange oddities and events from all over the world. They are notorious for designing their museums that reflect strange things which you'll find in the museums. The Nigeria Falls building is designed like a mini version of the landmark of New York City, i.e., the famous Empire State Building with a King Kong scaled version standing on top of it. This eye-catching structure is the second oldest out of all the 32 Ripley's Odditoriums across the globe.

Kansas City Public Library – Missouri – USA

One of the most significant landmarks of Downtown Kansas City, this Kansas City Public Library is worth an immediate investigation.

Popularly called The Community Bookshelf, runs from the Central Library between Wyandotte Street to Baltimore Avenue. This most interesting mural was fully done in 2004, and it has 22 outward-facing book spines measuring around 25 by 9 feet representing titles from plenty of different interests. Library readers suggested the titles, and the board made the final list of 22 titles of trustees of the library. Some of the titles featured on the building are classics like Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, To kill a Mockingbird, and Catch 22. The library is a regular in many lists featuring unique buildings.

Crazy House – Da Lat – Vietnam

Its formal name is Hang Nga guesthouse, but it's popularly called Crazy House. This oddity in Vietnam attracts so much attention because of its unconventional design. The inspiration for the building was taken from the natural environment surrounding Da Lat.

The guesthouse was a special project by architect Dang Viet Nga. In 1990, it was opened to the public. The overall design looks like a giant tree, taking inspiration from Antoni Gaudi's Catalan style. There is only a handful of right angles in the design that closely resemble natural forms and nature as Nga drew paintings instead of blueprints while conceptualizing this compelling interest that local artisans gave life to.

Wonderworks - Tennessee – USA

The topsy-turvy building, which is home to one of the most famous attractions in Pigeon Forge and Smokey Mountains, will surely make you look twice at it. This is one of the six Wonderworks museums situated throughout the USA. It is proven that this learning center and indoor amusement park definitely know how to draw the crowd's attention.

Children usually get attracted to how the building is constructed from the outside. That was deliberately built upside-down to look like a traditional museum that was picked up and thrown by a tornado. The design was copied after it was a success in other popular tourist spots such as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Orlando, Florida, where you don't have an option but to stand out from your competitors. Wonderworks is so good at it, and it's not just outside, which is upside-down; even its lobby is tossed as if the tornado hit it.

Sanzhi UFO Houses – Taipei City – Taiwan

The Sanzhi UFO Houses are also called Sanzhi Pod City. They were a bunch of pod-shaped buildings with extraordinary designs. Alas, the building doesn't exist anymore, but its design is worth giving this building a place on this list.

It was built in Taipei City in Taiwan in the year 1978. These houses were supposed to be a vacation spot, especially for US Military officers who were coming from the East Asia postings. But, the project was deserted in 1980 because of some controversial and unfortunate situations, including several suicides and deaths in car accidents during the construction phase. Various theories were given for the incidents like it was a curse because the building was built on the land where Dutch soldiers were buried, and these incidents happened because the Chinese sculptor near the gates was severed to broaden the road. The deserted buildings were demolished in 2010, yet its lore still remains.

Grand Lisbon – Macau – China

If we have to define the Grand Lisbon Hotel in Macau, China, then it would be none other than 'flashy.' This 865 feet tall building with 47 floors is the tallest building in Macau.

The restaurants and Casino part of the building was opened in 2007, whereas the hotel part opened in 2008. Two Hong Kong architects named Dennis Lau and Ng Chun Man designed it. The exciting exterior beautifully depicts the interesting treasures inside the building like Robuchon a Galera – 3 Michelin star award-winning restaurant and The Star of Stanley Ho, which is a 218.08-carat diamond that is considered the biggest cushion-cut D-colored diamond throughout the world. So, it makes it clear that everything about this building is fancy.

St. Basil’s Cathedral – Moscow – Russia

The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, which is more commonly called St. Basil's Cathedral, is among the most remarkable landmarks in Russia. This colorful place to offer prayers is situated in Moscow's Red Square and appears to be straight out of a children's fairy tale.

It was constructed in 1561, and in 1990 it got the designation of a heritage. The design comes out from smaller churches being built surrounding the main church that was then called Trinity Church as Ivan the Terrible built a church for every victory next to the original one. Now, there are nine besides the original one; each has its own brightly colored and also patterned church.

The Cleveland Clinic – Nevada – USA

This medical building is located in Las Vegas, Nevada was built in 2010, and it always catches people's eye. This was built as a research facility and an outpatient center for Keep Memory Alive, which is the center's fundraising body. It is also known as the Lou Ruvo Centre for Brain Health. Larry Ruvo is the founder of the KMA Foundation, who lost his father because of Alzheimer's Disease. This organization is regarded as one of the largest charities in Las Vegas.

Frank Gehry, a famous Canadian Architect, built this building, showing his signature style with a shiny metal façade. The building has offices for researchers and practitioners, 13 rooms, an auditorium, and a museum.

Basket Building – Ohio – USA

Some people know it as the Longaberger headquarters, but most people know it simply as a basketball because it just looks like that. Found in Ohio, this amazing piece of architecture is the best example of representing its use.

The Longaberger is a manufacturer of handcrafted maple wood baskets. So, it makes sense that their headquarters is designed on their most selling product, i.e., Medium Market Basket. The company designed this 180,000 sq feet building themselves without any architects.

Haines Shoe House – Pennsylvania – USA

You can find it on Shoe House Road in Hallam, Pennsylvania. In contrast to the nursery rhyme, an old lady doesn't own this one. Haines Shoe House was built by a shoe salesman named Mahlon Haines. He used it as a visual advertisement for the work boots of his company.

Constructed in 1948, Haines gave the architects a handbook and asked them to build a house like that. He lived there for a brief period and then used it for renting purposes. Now, it is open for the public as they can check out the kitchen in the heel, living room in the toe, ice cream parlor in the instep, and bedroom in the ankle. There is a shoe-shaped dog house on the lawn as well.

Crooked House – Sopot – Poland

Krzywy Domek in polish means crooked little house. This is the name given to the Crooked House in Poland. The building can be best described as incredibly irregular. It was built in the year 2004, and architects Szotynscy & Zaleski were behind this. Their inspiration was Jan Marcin Szancer and Per Dahlberg's fairytale drawings.

With a design that almost looked like some bad case of vertigo, this over 43,000 sq feet commercial building is a portion of Resident Shopping Center. This popular tourist attraction also houses many restaurants, shops, and a radio station. This out-of-the-world building design is worth checking out but be ready. You may feel dizzy just looking at it.

The Waldspiral – Darmstadt – Germany

In English, the Waldspiral means Forest Spiral. It is an unusual-looking apartment construction situated in Darmstadt, Germany. The brainchild of Australian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser is why these are sometimes called Hundertwasser House. The building was built in the late 1990s.

The U-shaped, colorful building was completed in the 2000s and had 105 apartments, a bar, a café, and a garage for parking. The café and the bar are both built on top of the spiral of the building. The unique feature of this building is that it has more than 1000 windows, and no two are alike. The door handles of the apartments are reportedly different too. We think it is no exaggeration if we conclude every component of this building goes against the grain.

Dali Museum – Figueres – Spain

We cap our list of the most bizarre buildings with no one else but the Dali Theatre and Museum situated in the artist's hometown, i.e., Figueres in Spain. Just like other works of Salvador Dali, this theatre and museum's design is anything but traditional.

Dali reportedly said he wanted his museum to be a single block, a maze, a great weird object. It would be a completely theatrical museum. People who would visit it would go back with a sensation of a theatrical dream. The building has sculpted eggs lining its roof, with a uniquely textured façade and also a glass geodesic dome roof. We wouldn't be wrong if we say that architects Alexandre Bonaterra and Joaquim de Ros I Remis did full justice to this legendary artist. This museum is the second most visited place in Spain, and no one should ever miss an opportunity to visit this place.