This Week’s Crazy Building: Robarts Library

Robarts Library by Sascha Noyes is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
This week’s crazy building is Robarts Library at the University of Toronto. This fortress-like structure is one of the most prominent examples of Brutalist architecture: raw concrete with strong lines and a plain, stark feel. It’s appropriately nicknamed “Fort Book.” Opened in 1973 and created by Mathers & Haldenby Architects, it features over 4.5 million
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Hundertwasser House

This week’s crazy building is the Hundertwasser House in Vienna, Austria. This strange apartment building is the brainchild of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser (a name that truly rolls off the tongue!). He convinced city planners to go along with his idea of a building with undulating floors, bright contrasting colors and even a forested roof
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This Week’s Crazy Buildings: The Chopsticks

The Summit and The Highcliff by Shing Boning licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 3.0
This week’s crazy buildings are The Chopsticks in Hong Kong. Individually, they’re the Summit and Highcliff. Together, they’re known as the Hong Kong Chopsticks. Built in 2001 and 2003, respectively, these residential skyscrapers aren’t affiliated, but both have incredible views both natural and man-made. Due to their proximity, thinness and incredible height, they resemble a
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Tower of Winds

Tower of Winds by Forgemind ArchiMedia licensed under the terms of CC BY 2.0
This week’s crazy building is the Tower of Winds in Yokohama, Japan. A picture doesn’t truly do this structure justice. While the tower merely reflects the rest of the city during the daytime, by night it’s a different story. Computers within the building sense the ambient wind and noise levels, then adjust its 1300 lamps,
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Steel Pig House

Steel Pig House by Billy Hathorn licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 3.0
This week’s crazy building is the Steel Pig House in Lubbock, Texas. Created by architect and sculptor Robert Bruno, this home is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Bruno began building it in 1973 and worked solo for 23 years to bring his creation to fruition. The result is a 110-ton steel behemoth that looks something
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Hanoi Museum

Hanoi Museum by Grenouille Vert licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 3.0
This week’s crazy building is the Hanoi Museum near Hanoi, Vietnam. This remarkable building has a cantilevered design that makes it resemble an upside-down pyramid. The overall effect is that the museum almost appears to be floating above the ground. A massive central atrium with a spiral ramp in the center allows visitors to easily
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Mushroom House

Mushroom House by Dave Menninger licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 3.0
This week’s crazy building is the Mushroom House in Cincinnati, OH. The owner of this wacky house is Terry Brown, a professor of Architecture and Interior Design at the University of Cincinnati. When he bought it back in 1989, it was a perfectly normal-looking residence. Over the next several years, he and over 35 of
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Bosco Verticale

Bosco Verticale, Milano by Thomas Ledl licensed under the terms of CC-by-sa 4.0
This week’s crazy building is Bosco Verticale in Milan, Italy. Actually two separate residential towers, they host a total of over 700 trees—hence the name, which is Italian for “vertical forest.” They are also home to 5,000 shrubs and 11,000 perennials. Horticulturalists and botanists had to be involved to ensure the plants could survive in this urban
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Bombay Sapphire Glasshouses

Bombay Sapphire Glasshouses by Andrewrabbott licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 4.0
This week’s crazy building is the Botanical Glasshouses at Bombay Sapphire Distillery in Laverstoke, England. This English gin-maker commissioned these bizarrely-shaped glass structures to put their ingredients on display for visitors. They curve elegantly, swooping sideways and inward towards the still house (a former paper mill). The waste heat from the distillation process flows outward to warm the
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Potala Palace

Potala Palace by Coolmanjackey licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 3.0
This week’s crazy building is Potala Palace in Lhasa, China. The Fifth Dalai Lama began construction of this imposing structure back in 1645. The exterior was done in just 3 years, but the interior and its furnishing took 45 years. The Potala Palace served as the chief residence for the Dalai Lama until the 1959
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