Carolyn Roberts’ House of Straw warms my heart. She built it herself out of natural matierals, with the help of a consultant and many kind friends.

It began with a tract of land outside of Tuscon, AZ…

And ended with a beautiful, charming and surprisingly cost effective little home:

Everything is explained, photographed and documented here.

Antti Lovag re-evaluated his viewpoint on architecture after his health began to suffer and he experienced a heart attack.

Lovag’s mortality instilled a feeling of (and desire for) complete freedom. Rebelling against the structures of traditional architecture, he “began experimenting with frameworks that could be bent and changed and with techniques of concrete surfacing. That way, forms could move again.”

This is not simply a “bubble house,” but an incorporation of form, function and nature. He utilizes mineral, vegetable, water, image, sound, light and view (which he describes) for a habitat that feels truly organic.

Yes, this is architecture with a complex and detailed philosophy.

And I love how, from certain angles, it looks like the hillside is afflicted with blistering pox (or perhaps some sort of giant alien tentacle).

Although I am not a churchgoer, I’m a big fan of interesting church architecture (and there is a lot of it out there).

For example, The Hallgrímskirkja Church in Iceland:

At first I couldn’t quite remember what it reminded me of…then I realized it was the Ivory Tower in The Neverending Story:

The Ružica Church is a small chapel in Serbia decorated with spent bullet casing, swords, and cannon parts:

The church occupies space used by the Turks as gunpowder storage for over 100 years and it had to be largely rebuilt in 1920 after WWI. While fighting alongside England and the US, Serbian soldiers on the Thessaloniki front took the time to put together these amazing chandeliers.

I’ll follow that with St. Joseph the Betrothed Greek-Catholic church, which to me resembles giant bullets:

Built in 1956, it is most known for its ultra-modern thirteen gold domed roof symbolizing the twelve apostles and Jesus Christ as the largest center dome.

The Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida in the capital of Brazil is an expression of the architect Oscar Niemeyer.

I’d love to sit in this church, if for no other reason than the feeling that I might…at any given moment…be sucked through the ceiling into some kind of heavenly vortex.

Yes, yes, we’ve all seen Russia’s St. Basil’s Cathedral, but let’s give credit where credit is due. It’s really a stunning structure:

I couldn’t possibly cover a decent sample of the interesting churches out there, but if one stands out in your mind I’d love to see a link to it.

Thanks so much to Odee for these wonderful examples (find more over there).

This post is dedicated to buildings designed to look like everyday objects.

Teapot Gas Station, Zilla Washington:

The teapot was built as a reminder of the Teapot Dome Scandal, which rocked the presidency of Warren G. Harding and sent Interior Secretary Albert Fall to prison for his role in leasing government oil reserves.

Kansas City Library, Missouri:

If there’s one thing I like better than books, it’s thousands of books encased in giant books.

The Basket Building, Ohio:

I adore the thought of humans running around in this building like hordes of invasive picnic basket ants.

The Atomium, Brussels, Belgium:

Built as a monument to the atomic age for the 1958 Brussels World Fair, the nine steel spheres connect in the shape of an iron crystal unit cell magnified 165 billion times.

Explore the building and exhibits on the flickr site.
Wiki entry

Mammy’s Cupboard, Natchez, Mississippi:

Mammy’s Cupboard opened in 1940 Mississippi, and has endured cycles of decay and reconstruction. Each restoration became increasingly politically correct (mid-20th century Mississippi was not exactly known for racial tolerance and diversity).

And of course, I must include the Big Duck in Flanders, Long Island (right in my county), which will soon undergo its annual holiday “lighting:”

In 1931, Riverhead duck farmer Martin Maurer built this 20-ft. tall, 30-ft long structure. He used tail lights from a Model T Ford for the eyes, which glowed red at night (which I imagine must have had a sinister air). Maurer sold ducks and eggs from the shop in its belly. Now it serves as a souvenir shop.

Lucy the Elephant, Magrate City, New Jersey:

You’d look as stunned and uncomfortable as Lucy here if millions of people had toured your innards since 1881. This poor girl has been used as a real estate office, as a summer home, even briefly as a tavern, until unruly drunks nearly burned her down.

That title is perhaps an understatement when referring to this Russian home, one of the most elaborately decorated buildings I’ve come across.

The details are astounding.

If anyone has seen this before, or can tell me more about the origins, I’d love to know!

Source

The line between madman and genius can be quite thin. On which side of that line Reversible Destiny Lofts fall, well…I’ll let you be the judge. There is an entire (extensively complicated) architectural philosophy from which these designs sprung forth.

The website is filled with dizzying quotes, such as:

The dispersing and juxtaposing and culling of landing sites in respect to an architectural surround; a super-convening of many convenings; messenger-like — in rapport with all there is; that which revs as momentum — revved and revving; an amassing of the provisional; a ubiquitous piecing together. All that emanates from a person as she projects and reads an architectural surround forms an architectural body that moves with her, changing form depending on the position she assumes.

Perhaps there is a translation issue.

The lofts are based on the principle of Biotopology. Essentially, the theory advocates an environment that continually stimulates and challenges the senses, and implies that forcing occupants to be slightly off balance and bombarded with sensory overload keeps them “sharp.”

Personally, I have to disagree with this philosophy based on the well-documented phenomenon of neuroplasticity. Unless the environment itself continues to change, the human brain will inevitably “re-wire” itself so the surroundings are no longer challenging and overstimulating. In short: we get used to it. The brain is miraculously adaptable.

I admire the design work and effort that went into this project, though I could never live in one of the units without feeling as if I were trapped in a McDonald’s Play Place.

More pictures and text at the website.

Poland is home to some wonderful architectural anomalies. Among them:

The Upside Down House (Syzmbark)

Daniel Czapiewski, Polish businessman and philanthropist, built this house as an artistic statement about the Communist era and current state of the world. Many tourists who visit complain of mild seasickness and dizziness after just a few minutes of being in the structure.

Quite a work of art, indeed. Not many designers are able to disturb one’s perceptual field enough to induce sickness. In this case, it’s brilliantly intentional.

The Crooked House (Sobot)

Despite its hallucinatory appearance, the building functions as part of a regular shopping center.