Monday, August 2, 2010

Strange & Creative Buildings Architecture Series - Part 1


You might think this is an artist's rendered image but it's not.  This is a real 
Stone House home located in Guimarães, Portugal.  Isn't it fantastic?


Here's the entrance.


This is the Crooked House in Sopot, Poland.  It's a tourist attraction that has
 restaurants, shops and bars in it.  The architect, Szotynscy Zaleski drew
inspiration from children's illustrations by Jan Szancer.  The Crooked House
has become the most photographed building in the country.


Isn't that trippy?  It's like a real version of the buildings in Toon Town Disneyland.


I got confused when I was trying to figure out where this library is.  This library
is in Kansas City, Missouri.  I was thinking Kansas the state, but nooo...The
shelf on the building showcases 22 titles as voted on by Kansas City readers
and then selected by the Kansas City Public Library Board of Trustees. 
Pretty cool isn't it?


Very cool indeed!


This housing complex is called Habitat 67 and it is located in Montreal, Canada.  
Can you believe that it was built in 1967?  I thought it was built more recently.
It was built for the Expo of 67.  Now that's what I call a condo complex!




And a closer look at the complex.  Cool isn't it?  It's like Jenga for architecture.


Now that's an office building that reflects a company's business!  The
Longaberger Basket Building is in Newark, Ohio.  The company
manufactures hand crafted maple wood baskets and other home and
lifestyle products.  Funky isn't it?


House Attack!  The house is an outdoor sculpture at the 
Museum Moderner Kunst (MuMoK) in Vienna, Austria.


This building is in the amusement park Wonder Works located in Pigeon Forge,
Tennessee.  The park features over 150 interactive exhibits.  It's certainly a
way to make a grand entrance into a park!


Nuts huh!




Last but not least in this post is the Wooden Gagster House that was
located in Archangelsk, Russia.  The house was started in 1992 but
pulled down in 2008 - what a shame.  It was a 13 story home that 
was at one time, Russia's tallest wooden house.  It was constructed
by Nikolai Sutyagin and his family for over 15 years without formal
plans or a building permit.  Nikolai ended up spending a few years in
prison on racketeering charges and in 2008, it was condemned by the
city as a fire hazard and the courts ordered it to be demolished.


I hope everyone enjoyed this post today, more to come on strange
and creative buildings.  In the meantime, for any of you who live
in the bay area The Trove in Berkeley is having a fantastic sale on

What: Sale at Trove (Indian Shopping Soiree)
(Extra 15% off John Robshaw pillows and Bedding, 
10% off entire store, raffle prizes, small bites and cocktails.)
When: August 12 from 5-8PM.
Location: 1310 10th Street, Berkeley
Website:  www.trovehome.com

If any of you are interested, please RSVP to rsvp@rubypr.com 
and let them know that you were referred by Alkemie blog. Trove
has a great selection of items for the home at great prices to begin
with.  I just wanted to pass this opportunity on to my readers.

Photos from BoredPanda.com and StrangestBuildings.com