‘Architecture is a visual art, and the buildings speak for themselves.’–––Julia Morgan. We are fortunate enough to see architectural marvels such as the Colosseum, Leaning Tower of Pisa that redefine our perspective. But modern architecture is a bit different. They are fun, creative, and go beyond the ordinary. In fact, there are some buildings that don’t even look like one. Don’t believe us? Here…
1. Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea
The Ryugyong Hotel, aka the Hotel of Doom, is the most iconic building in North Korea. This is a 105 story, 330 meters tall building, making an important feature of Pyongyang’s skyline and the tallest building in the entire Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The building has stood abandoned for decades, and for most of its history, incomplete.
2. Indira Gandhi Planetarium, India
No, don’t worry, this building isn’t out of the world. Its located in India. This bright building looks like Saturn consisting of a large sphere of diameter 70 ft. (21 m) and a series of rings in different shades of brown, orange, and yellow.
3. Aldar Properties Headquarters, Abu Dhabi
This is the world’s first circular skyscraper, located in Abu Dhabi. Aldar is a real estate development and investment company. This futuristic headquarter resembles a giant coin. The HQ has 23 floors that include office spaces, two cafés, prayer rooms, and male and female gyms.
4. Tianzi Hotel, China
This is one of the strange buildings in China. This “Hotel of the Gods” is designed to look like the gods of prosperity, fortune, and longevity–––Shou, Fu, and Lu.
The entrance of the hotel is from one of the god’s feet and its windows follow the patterns on the Gods’ robes. The Tianzi hotel offers one of the world’s most unique hotel suite experiences. This hotel is located about an hour east of Beijing in Hebei province.
5. Longaberger Basket Company, USA
Dave Longaberger, founder of the basket company wanted the headquarters to look like the company’s product–– basket. This 7-story basket building was opened in 1997 in Newark, Ohio and is now all set to become a luxury hotel after Longaberger went out of business in 2018.
6. National Library of Belarus, Russia
This is the biggest library in the Republic of Belarus, resembles a diamond. This 24-sided building is covered in glass panels so that it sparkles like a giant engagement ring. To keep it simmering all night, the technicians installed 4,646 color-changing LED fixtures on the exterior of the building.
7. Fang Yuan Building, China
Fang Yuan is a 24-storey office building built in 2001, is designed to resemble an old Chinese coin. This building was designed by the Taiwanese architect C.Y. Lee.
Due to the unusual shape of the building along with the concrete lower level, this building was voted as one of the ugliest buildings in the world in 2010 and in 2012.
8. Guggenheim Museum, Spain
Guggenheim is a museum of modern and contemporary art, designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. This praise-worthy building has been compared to a ship, a meteorite, a spaceship from Alpha Centauri, a large soufflé, and a metallic piece of cauliflower.
This building has been hailed as a “signal moment in the architectural culture“
9. Lotus Temple, India
The lotus temple or the ‘Bahai House of Worship’ or ‘Bahai Mashriqul-Adhka’r temple is one of the best architectural marvels in India in modern time. This temple was designed by an Iranian architect Fariborz Sahba. The temple’s designed in a shape of a lotus as a metaphor for man’s potential: the flower springs up from muddy water, blooming into something of undeniable beauty. It is located in Delhi, India.
According to Guinness World Records, the Lotus temple is the most visited religious building in the world, attracting more visitors than the Taj Mahal.
10. Chang Building, Thailand
The name says it all, you don’t have to speak Thai to know that chang means elephant. This high-rise 32 story elephant resembling building lies in the north Bangkok business district and Chatuchak District. This building is one of the famous buildings in Bangkok.
Offices fill two of its towers, while apartments and luxury penthouses rest in its other tower and top floor.
The building honors elephants as Thais respect the animal for helping defend the kingdom early in history.
11. Temppeliaukio Church, Finland
Also known as the church of the rock, the project of the Temppeliaukio church comes from an architectural competition won by the architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen in 1961.
The interior of the church was shoveled and built into the rock. The sanctuary floor was elevated to the highest street that ended at the square, Fredrikinkatu. Visitors can directly enter inside the church without the stairs. The 24 m of diameter roof is made up of a copper plate-covered dome which is connected to the natural rock wall by 180 window panes to let the natural light in.
12. Basque Health Department Headquarters, Spain
The headquarter of the Basque health department is a brilliant piece of architecture. Designed by the architect Juan Coll- Barreu, this building stands at the intersection between two of Bilbao’s most important streets.
The most notable feature of the building is its polyhedral-shaped glass façade that allows light into the interior, making it a transparent, luminous space. The folded elements of glass in the façade create multiple views of the city and change their appearance depending on the viewing angle, the time of day, and the season, showing the vibrant spirit of the city.
What do you think of these strange buildings? Let us know in the comments.
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