Architecture is usually about thinking outside the box and coming up with something unique. However, lately it seems like it has become limited to, more like fallen victim to, the same old designs over and over again. Still, there is hope – there is always hope – as we bring to you these 6 amazing buildings that are not only unique but also come with their own peculiar background stories.
6. The Living Bridges of Cherrapunji
They are located in the eastern village of Cherrapunji, India and are the best creation when you look at the amount of rainfall this region receives per year: 400 inches. The War-Khasis tribe discovered this solution when they came up with the root-guiding systems for the multi-root Ficus elastic that was found all over the country.
5. Nitt Witt Ridge
This home is the literal translation of “One man’s trash in another man’s treasure” and is located in Cambria, California. Arthur Beal bought the land for $100 and spent the next 50 years making use of hand tools to create his house while working as a garbage collector for 30 years. The reason behind Arthur’s interesting feat was that he was more interested and focused on gathering stuff that he could add to his house instead of making use of the standard practice for garbage collection.
4. Waldspirale
Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian artist, was not a fan of symmetry. In fact, he used to refer to straight lines as ‘tools of devil’. Back in the 1970s, he studied architecture after which he concluded that the study was not capable of allowing newbies much of an opportunity for practicing in the field. He then used his wealth to create huge versions of his art including the whimsical residential building located in Darmstadt, Germany where no two apartments look exactly alike.
3. Le Palais Ideal
The “Ideal Palace” seems to be built by a master craftsman and is located in Hauterives, France. Want to know something interesting? The extremely fine details were created by a postman who started the project in 1879 and completed it in the next 34 years. Ferdinand Cheval – we salute you!
2. The Smallest House in Great Britain
The house measures almost 6 ft. wide and about a bit over 10 ft. tall. It had resident(s) from 16th century till 1900. The last resident was a fisherman. It is located in Conwy Quay, North Wales and is now a tourist attraction. The design is from Middle ages when people used to create dwellings like these between rows of housings to accommodate one person.
1. World’s Smallest Skyscraper
Do you believe in legends? The legend of this skyscraper goes like this; some enthusiastic oil barons were behind the construction of this 4-story building in Wichita Falls, TX. They wanted to open up a shop and were given the idea of a skyscraper. However, the realization hit them later when they realized that they had been looking at blueprint and assuming the scale to be in feet instead of inches. Upon completion, the man who had sold the design, J.D. McMahon was nowhere to be found.
Got anything to add to these stories? Let us know in the comments section below!