From incredibly cool to totally weird; a collection of unusual houses and buildings from around the World.
Forest Spiral – Hundertwasser Building
Located in Darmstadt and built by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the famous Austrian architect and painter. The Hundertwasser house “Waldspirale” with 105 apartments, wraps around a landscaped courtyard with a running stream. More Details
The Basket Building
Located in Newark, Ohio the Basket Building is the home office of The Longaberger Basket Company. Founder Dave Longaberger decided he wanted the corporate home office in a giant basket. History of the Basket Building
The Football House
Located in Blantyre, Malawi the Football House was built by Dutch Architect Jan Sonkie as his residence. Full story and photo
The Bubble House
Located in Tourettes-sur-Loup, France, and was designed by the Hungarian architect Antti Lovag. At 35 years old, it has already been listed by the French ministry of culture as an historic monument. More Details
The Crooked House – Poland
Located in Sopot, Poland at Bohaterów Monte Cassino Street the Crooked House was constructed in 2003 based off of drawings from Jan Marcin Szancer and Per Dahlberg. Additional Photos and construction details from maps.pomocnik.com
Crazy House
Located in Dalat, Vietnam the Crazy House, formerly known as Hang Nga Villa, was designed by architect Dr. Dang Viet Nga. Photo by Alasidir. More Details
The Bird House
The bird enthusiast’s dream home. Unknown location, house has over a dozen bird houses built into it’s frame. Found on berbia.com
Dancing House
Office building located in Prague, Czech Republic and designed by architects Vlado Milunić and Frank Gehry. Because the building somewhat resembles a pair of dancers it was orginially named Fred and Ginger, after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Later it was nicknamed the Dancing House.
The Crooked House a.k.a. The Siden House a.k.a. The Glynne Arms
A historical landmark located at Himley in the West Midlands of the UK. The subsidence was caused by the mining of coal underneath and around the foundation. You can see the historical photos of the building, and featured photo curteosy of Sharpo’s World.
Thin House – London
Though there are quite a few thin houses exist around the globe, this particular Thin House is located in London, UK.
The Cookie Jar House
Located in Glendora, New Jersey designed as a cookie jar. The orginal intention was to have a community of these homes however this is the only cookie jar home built. Photo from eCache and more information at Weird NJ
Bart Prince House
Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico this was created by architect Bart Prince. Photo from Flicker
The Cave
Located in Armington, Illinois the home was one of the first underground homes in country. Photo from HGTV click for more photos and details.
McBride’s Dome House – Hawthorn
Located in Hawthorn, Australia by architects McBride Charles Ryan based off of Roy Grounds 1959 Spaceship Design. Full Story
Robot Ranch Dome House
Located in Ferris, Texas and designed by Al Schwarz the Robot Ranch contains 7 interconnected monolithic domes providing 4,144 sq ft of living space. Visit Robot Ranch for photos and information
The Vertical House
Located in Venice Beach, this is the creation of architect Lorcan O’Herlihy. The home sitting on a lot that is 25 ft. wide, has a total of 112 windows. Photos and details from openformarchitecture.com
The Kettle House
Located in Galveston, Texas made of steel in the 1950’s.
The Spaceship House
Located in Urbandale, Iowa, this property belongs to fitness club owner, LaMar.
The Log Mahal
Located in Payson, Arizona, the Log Mahal was the creation of Fred Wagenhals. The log home is over 16,000 sq. ft. and possibly the largest log cabin ever made. Watch Video
Dar Al Hajar
Located in Yemen, the Dar Al Hajar and built by Imam Yahya as a summer residence in the 1930s. More Photos
Cubic Houses of Rotterdam
Located in Rotterdam in The Netherlands, and developed by Piet Blom.
The Pod House
Located in Rochester, New York the Pod House (also know as the Mushroom House) design was inspired by the plant Queen Anne’s Lace. More info
The Mushroom House a.k.a. Tree House
Located in the Hyde Park section of Cincinatti, Ohio, the Mushroom House was designed by architect Terry Brown, a professor at the University of Cincinnatti. More Photos
The Story Book House
Located in Olalla, Washington, the Story Book House was created as a homage to Hansel & Gretel. Photo and more details from unusuallife.com
The Pyramid House – Ohio
Located in Hamilton, Ohio, the Pyramid House is actually a subterranian home, and the pyramid section is a large skylight. More details and additional photos
Gangster’s Wood House
Located in Arkhangelsk, Russia, it is believed to be the world’s tallest wooden house, soaring 13 floors to reach 144ft – about half the size of the tower of Big Ben…. and built by a ganster. Full Story
Palacio de las Artes – Palace of the Arts
Located in Valencia, Spain, the building is the opera house and is one of the buildings within the City of Arts and Sciences.
Airplane House
Located in Abuja, Nijeria this home belongs to Said and Liza Jammal. Liza requested in the early years of their marriage to have a home constructed in the shape of airplane. Almost 20 years later, the construction of the home began. Full Story
Know of other unusual properties? Post a link and I will add them to the list.
While your here, check out these posts:
- The Magic Mushroom House
- Amazing Castles, Palaces, and Chateaux in HDR
- Jello Architecture
- The Toilet House
55 Comments
Sweet list! Thanks for sharing! I think my favorite is “The Crooked House – Poland” reminds me a lot of Walt Disney…
Now that is quite the assortment of homes; I’ll take the crooked house and the story book house.
I found this one a few minutes ago.
I drive by the teacup house in Galveston every time I visit my parents. It appears abandoned and the salt water air is definitely taking it’s toll on the steel.
+1 to Anton’s comment…I live in Houston, and am a regular down in Galveston…Pretty obvious that time and lack of maintenance is really taking a toll on that house..
It’s still pretty cool, though.
Great List, kinda suprised to not see anything by the great Peter Eisenman…like his Nunotani Building in Tokyo.
simondale.net/house/
Low (almost no) environmental impact wooden home, looks remarkably similar to the hobbit dwellings featured in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
just over 6000 dollars and 1500 hours to make it.
Lucy the Margate Elephant is the oldest remaining example of zoomorphic architecture left in the United States. Over 126 years old.
Shoe House: you can see this strange building from the highway as you are traveling on Route 30, west of Lancaster, PA.
http://www.jarrettsville.org/family/shoehouse.htm
Hi,
Some of the buildings are not structurally sound. A slight shake will topple them.
This is my humble opinion. I could be wrong.
Steven W
http://duriancapital.blogspot.com
I especially like the Forest Spiral. But they are all fascinating. Creativity is a wonderful thing.
You should add pictures of Antonio Gaudi houses and buildings. They much more unusual.
nicknamed the “Slice of Polenta”, you will think of Alessandro Antonelli, the architect and creator of the Mole, as having been particularly ambitious and very creative. The building takes its name most of all from its colour that resembles that of polenta, but is called a “slice” for another reason: if you walk up Via Giulia di Barolo, the building slowly seems to shrink until it almost becomes invisible.
Awesome collection!! I’ve seen similar lists before but this one is by far the best and most inclusive.
Have you heard of Vic Cook’ Giant in Pendleton, IN
http://www.giantearthship.com/thegiant.htm
I have watched the Robot Ranch grow from nothing but Al’s concept on paper to computer plans, to actual construction plans, and construction progress pictures. I have seen the finished product and it is quite a energy-efficient home. Check out Robot-Ranch.com.
In Somerville, MA there is a “Round House” – check it out…..quite unique and I think it was just restored not too long ago. Victorian Era.
There’s the stone tower in the form of a pineapple. See http://www.gistimages.co.uk/the-pineapple.htm or http://www.digiphotographs.com/
I forgot to post the website on the round house in Somerville, Ma:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_House_Somerville,_Massachusetts
i can 3d max house modeling send me house i can build after send you
janaka kalupahana
from sri lanka
Never thought there are such strange constructions. All are marvelous but i wouldn’t like to live in a Thin house. May be it is not so thin as it looks here but it seems uncomfortable.
Hi, I’m from the UK.
Anyone know whereabouts in London the thin house is? I’m curious now and want to check it out!
There is a house in Georgia, USA shaped like the main castle at disney land, and a few shaped like guitars
What a great collection of unusual homes! Like most people I enjoy looking at the photos. Some people certainly have amazing imaginations!
I blogged about Denver’s Famous Sleeper House, perhaps you might enjoy looking at it.
Denver Sleeper House
We have a few boat inspired theme houses in San Diego.
Great pix! In Tulsa or Bartlesville Oklahoma there is a Pickle House that would go good with these.
o my god these houses are so cool
u really love the crooked house in poland!!! Thats patly what inspired me to want to be an architecht:)although i am only 13 years old… but its still a beautiful building you should go and visit poland when you have any opportunity because it is truly stunning and beautiful!!
Nice one. Great list – there sure is some mad stuff out there!
Very enjoyable read. Thanks for digging these up and sharing.
i lyk the pod house &the crooked house……
the crooked house looks lyk……….
so fake!but in a way the mushroom house is cute….
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whistlingnome/742735917/in/set-72157600692010103/
This photo (though poor quality) is of a private residence, though open to the public, near Boswell, British Columbia, Canada, overlooking Kootenay Lake. The builder/owner was a salesman of embalming fluid, and collected the empty bottles to construct his house (anecdotal evidence of others in existence in the USA) with a clover-leaf patterned floor plan. I’m sure it would creep me out a bit much to live in such a house, but apparently it stayed quite warm; and with a beautiful view of the lake.
i like the house Gangster’s Wood House, i cant remember who made the house but i remember reading an artical about this and that he had to knock the place down
You guys don’t have the Sea Shell House in Isla Mujerus!!!
i like the basket house.
http://www.neeshu.com
Residential Car-House (Salzburg, Austria)
Talk about your mobile homes! This compact (300 square meters) home on wheels in Salzburg, Austria, is the brainchild of German architect Markus Voglreiter, who spent about 1 million euros to build it in 2004. Constructed of wood and inspired by the VW Beetle, the “Residential Car-House” is thermal-insulated, has an open floor plan and comes equipped with technology to make it energy-efficient.
The Mushroom House looks creepy!
This is the best collection of odd homes I have seen. There should be a contest and this post should win. Not only are they all interesting, there are so many of them from all over the world!
Great collection, thanks! I also saw even a bigger collection here: http://villageofjoy.com/50-strange-buildings-of-the-world/. Some buildings are mentioned in this blog, but there are many more
The Airplane house is soooo sick. At school in art class we had to look up the weirdest houses and i got 1st place !! Thanx for the website [: Its great
your pics were really great. it really helped me on my school project i really like the bubble house
hey
i found one interesting gallery with crazy houses and buildings
http://gradiliste.com/crazy-buildings.html
Check out an old familiar friend of mine:
http://www.thewavemag.com/pagegen.php?pagename=article&articleid=24784
Great pics! Thanks for sharing!
I live in the airplane house
Thats my family house in Nigeria! Thanks for posting it up here 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/17/AR2006111701676.html
great work
lol love the houses
photo & blog, from Poland
I live about 10 minutes from the spaceship house in Urbandale, Iowa. Looks like a pretty nice place from the outside.
I live in Trinidad WI. i think tht athese pics are great
God Bless the cameraman and the architects of the homes
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