These Are the 12 Most Unusual Buildings in the World

If you appreciate the wacky, weird, and wonderful, these buildings are a must-see!

The architectural design of the buildings on this list is anything but ordinary. Countries across the planet contain crooked homes, structures built into hillsides, and buildings shaped like random objects. Check out the 12 most unusual buildings in the world and learn about their unique architecture and history.

Casa Batllo – Spain

Situated in the center of Barcelona, Casa Batllo is a work of art by Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect and designer from Spain. Due to its skeletal-like design, the locals refer to this unusual building as the “House of Bones.” This Catalan art nouveau building features irregular windows, a roof shaped like a dragon’s back, and a colorful mosaic.

Longaberger Basket Building – Ohio, USA

The “Big Basket” is an iconic landmark along State Route 16 in Dresden, Ohio. This piece of novelty architecture resembles the top-selling product at The Longaberger Company, a former manufacturer of maple wood baskets. Opening in 1997, the basket building features seven stories and a glass roof. The building has sat on the market several times, and locals are hopeful it will come back to life as a boutique hotel.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza – South Korea

The Dongdaemun Design Plaza is a neo-futuristic urban development located in Seoul, South Korea. It is a main attraction in the city and one of the reasons for Seoul’s status as the World Design Capital. Its most impressive features include elegant, curving structures, a walkable roof park, and futuristic retail spaces.

Community of Christ Temple – Missouri

“Dedicated to the pursuit of peace,” the Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Missouri, is a towering building with a spiraling stainless steel spire reaching the sky. Inside, the temple displays modern and traditional religious art and the entryway consists of etched glass. The temple is open to the public for guided tours and visitors can also visit the Japanese-style meditation garden.

Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum – Azerbaijan

This museum in Baku displays the most extensive collection of Azerbaijani carpets and rugs. The structure looks like a piece of rolled carpet and took six years to construct. The collection contains 10,000 items, including carpets from the 17th century and ceramics from the 14th century. Established in 1967, the museum now sits on Baku’s seaside park.

Bund Finance Center – China

The Bund Finance Center sits in Shanghai’s Old City district and is one of the most unusual buildings in the world. Its design resembles slowly rotating theatre curtains with overlapping layers of moving stainless steel pipes. The building is 4,000 square feet and has seven floors containing a cafe, an atrium, and a lobby. Several times a day, the steel curtains rotate to music.

Earth House – Switzerland

Centered around an artificial lake, these unusual homes are Earth-covered and energy-saving. While they look like tiny huts, the insides are spacious and feature nine separate homes, each featuring between three and seven bedrooms. Peter Vetch, a Switzerland-based architect, designed these homes for people who want a nature-friendly lifestyle.

Crooked House in Sopot – Poland

Krzywy Domek is Polish for “crooked house,” which is exactly what the locals call the unusual commercial building in Sopot. It’s part of a shopping center and contains 43,000 square feet. This fairytale-inspired structure is popular for visitors to dine, shop, and take pictures!

L’Hemisfèric- Valencia

Encompassing nearly 140,000 square feet and resembling a giant eye, L’Hemisferic is part of the City of Arts and Sciences complex in Valencia, Spain. The building contains an IMAX theater, a laser light show, and a planetarium. It’s famous for its architecture and bizarre acoustic abilities.

Le Paleis Bulles – France

Palais Bulles is known as the “Bubble Palace” for its unique and playful shape. You can find it near Cannes, France, where a Hungarian architect designed the home for a French industrialist. The home features 29 rooms, 11 bathrooms, multiple swimming pools, ten bedrooms, a reception hall, and an open-air theater.

National Fisheries Development Board – India

This funny fish-shaped building is the headquarters of India’s fisheries and aquaculture industry. It’s a great example of novelty architecture, but residents have mixed feelings about the giant fish. Some love it for its recognizable design, while others call it an eyesore. It’s memorable either way.

Dancing House – Prague

Prague’s Dancing House is an artistic building in the Czech Republic. Architects designed the structure in 1992 and named it “Ginger and Fred” after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It was initially a house, but the main attraction of the building is now a restaurant on the seventh floor.

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