The Basket Building (United States)
What started out as a dream by Dave Longaberger, Founder of The Longaberger Company, has been built Home Office into a giant basket to house the entire corporate offices of the company. Dave believed the idea was one of his best and would draw attention to the company, while simultaneously helping to build our brand.The dream was achieved on December 17, 1997 when the Home Office that is designed to resemble a basket finally opened for business.
The building’s 80-foot high handles took 18 months to design and build, project manager Ken Parks said. The handles, which weigh 75 tons apiece, came in 13 pieces that were welded together at the construction site. Each has a special heating unit that prevents ice from forming and falling into a 4,500-square-foot glass ceiling below.
the windows as large as possible 16 feet wide by 6 feet high. Inside, the big basket is decorated with blue and green tiles that match the colors used in Longaberger’s decorative-pottery products
Today, the company’s 3,600 employees make about 7 million of the hardwood maple baskets a year at a factory in nearby Dresden. The baskets come in more than 80 different styles in sizes ranging from the small tea basket to the large hamper.
The Dancing House (Czech Republic)
The Dancing House is the nickname given to an office building in downtown Prague, Czech Republic. It was designed by Croatian-born Czech architect Vlado Milunic in co-operation with Canadian architect Frank Gehry on a vacant riverfront plot (where the previous building had been destroyed during the Bombing of Prague in 1945). The construction started in 1994 and was finished in 1996.
The very non-traditional design was controversial at the time. Czech president Vaclav Havel, who lived for decades next to the site, had supported it, hoping that the building would become a center of cultural activity. Originally named Fred and Ginger (after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers – the house vaguely resembles a pair of dancers) the house stands out among the Neo-Baroque, Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings for which Prague is famous.
The Piano House (China)
It is a house that looks like a piano. You can probably see that from the picture. It also has a glass violin that houses an escalator. And it is way off the beaten tourist path. However, since its creation its hometown, Huainan, has presumably drawn a horde of classical music enthusiasts The only thing. The to-scale piano is missing is a giant Schroeder pounding away at the keys.
Kansas City Library (United States)
Kansas City Library has one seriously cool façade. Local residents were asked to nominate influential books that represent kansas city, humungous versions of the winning nominations were then used as the exterior of the library car-park.
The Robot Building-The Bank of Asia (Thailand)
The Robot Building, located in the Sathorn business district of Bangkok, Thailand, houses United Overseas Bank’s Bangkok headquarters. It was designed for the Bank of Asia by Sumet Jumsai to reflect the computerization of banking; its architecture is a reaction against neoclassical and high-tech postmodern architecture.The building’s features, such as progressively receding walls, antennae, and eyes, contribute to its robotic appearance and to its practical function. Completed in 1986, the building is one of the last examples of modern architecture in Bangkok and has garnered international critical acclaim.
The Blue Building (Netherlands)
The borough of Delfshaven, Rotterdam, asked Schildersbedrijf N&F Hijnen to come up with a plan for a block of derelict buildings, which will eventually be demolished. The agreement with the neighbourhood is that the block will remain blue as long as there isn’t a new plan for the area.
The Astra Haus (Germany)
The strange building is actually a brewery in Hamburg, Germany. The floors can move up or down on it’s skinny column core. As of now, the unique building has been destroyed. One of it’s more famous beer brands was recently bought by a big refreshment corporation. And that beer brand was called Astra.
The Crooked House (Poland)
Polish architect of the Crooked House, Szotynscy Zaleski, was inspired by the fairytale illustrations of Jan Marcin Szancer and the drawings of the Swedish artist and Sopot resident Per Dahlberg. The most photographed building in Poland, the 4,000 square meter house is located in Rezydent shopping center in Sopot, Poland.
The sam key building (canada)
The Sam Kee building is situated at 8 West Pender Street. It runs from the corner of Pender and Carral to the lane at the halfway point of the block. It is two storeys tall and 1.5 meters (six feet) deep. The story behind the building is as exotic as the structure with several intriguing twists and turns included in its telling. The City of Vancouver provided the original owner, Chang Toy, with a challenge when it expropriated all but two meters of his property as part of an expansion of Pender Street. No compensation was provided to its owner who was left with what most believed to be a useless property. In a creative turn of events fuelled by spite and some say a bet an architect was hired to design a building to fit the remaining property. The rest is history in more ways than one.
Academy of Sciences (California)
Late period architecture has broadly fallen into two distinct categories: buildings that slide seamlessly into the already existing landscape and those that stand out entirely from it. Renzo Piano’s California Academy of Sciences redesign falls into the latter. With a verdant roof, replete with its own foliage, the Golden Gate Park building hides out like a ninja, though skylights and copious large windows on the exposed façade give it light.
Upside Down House, Szymbark(Poland)
Tom Tucker’s son has an upside down face. It is both funny and tragic at the same time. Conversely, Daniel Czapiewski’s Upside Down House in Szymbark is not the least bit tragic. Though many a tornado-belt travesty sufferer or Wizard of Oz-a-phobe may cringe at images of the flipped over building, most people, including many tourists, have flocked to the strange attraction.
Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto(Canada)
Royal Ontario Museum redesign and Frank Gehry’s absolutely stunning (stunning!) Art Gallery of Ontario redux. Before all that came an addition to the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD). Will Alsop’s towering structure turned OCAD into one of the most unique buldings in the world. A cow-evoking black and white box sits four-stories above the ground, set on a number of different colour pillars. At night, the box is a similarly colourful and bright. Given the building’s use, it is a fittingly strange and creative look.
Lotus Temple, New Delhi(India)
It was created in 1986, the building has 27 different pedals, all rising to mirror the flower in curvature and scale. With its proximity to water and white façade, it looks vaguely like the Sydney Opera House, though it has a markedly more symmetrical bent. While reality mirroring buildings are usually relegated to roadside attractions, this one has become a design standard bearer.
Guggenheim, Bilbao(Spain)
Frank Gehry’s world-renowned museum along the Nervion River is a deconstructionist marvel that employs a random collection of lines and metal to create a shockingly cohesive yet no-less sumptuous feast. It toys with perception relentlessly. Viewable from infinite angles and in countless lights, it never, ever looks the same. Strange and malleable it holds a unique place as one of the world’s most original, recognizable, and bizarre buildings.
Kunsthaus Graz (Austria)
Kunsthaus Graz, is unlike any other buildin. It houses an art gallery, though the building itself is one its most intriguing aspects. Outfitted with a range of lights and employing a variety of lines, it is as dynamic as it is original. Globular and massive, it redefined its area by adding an apropos contemporary lilt.There is a 19th century building resting under the huge structure, which makes it even weirder.
Hundertwasser Building(Germany)
This residential complex can be found in Darmstadt, Germany. The U-shaped building is quite unique as it rises like a ramp and has grass, shrubs, flowers and trees planted on its roof. Of the 1,000 windows, no two are the same and trees grow out many of them. At the highest point, there are 12 floors. It was completed in 2000 and designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
Bubble House(France)
This bubble house is located in France. Architect, Antti Lovag is committed to the concept of organic architecture and thus inspired to create buildings resembling shapes and forms found in nature. A few of these bubble houses can be found along the coast of France.
Hang Nga Guesthouse: Crazy House(Vietnam)
Like a Disney animation of a Grimm’s Brothers fairy tale, a bizarre southern Vietnam hotel built by the daughter of Ho Chi Minh’s right hand man. It’s as if it was sculpted by Salvador Dali on the grounds of a classic French colonial villa. It has little bridges and oddly shaped corridors all linking together like a mini maze.
Wonderworks
Location: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Architect: Bullock Smith & Partners
Completion Date: 2006
WonderWorks began as a Top Secret facility on a remote island, in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle.
As legend has it one experiment went awry, in an attempt to harness the power of a man-made tornado, the entire laboratory was hurtled skyward, hundreds of miles away, it landed upside down in the heart of Pigeon Forge TN.
When you enter the building, everything will be upside down, so in order to participate in the fun, you must be inverted. Once you’re properly aligned for your adventure, Family Fun awaits with more than 120 interactive, hands-on exhibits. As the Building hurtled skyward it encountered what can only be described as a time portal.
