People laughed at his house until they went inside. Although most architects design homes that fit properly into the urban centers, all around the world, there are a few who like to stand out. If you’ve ever had the urge to create your own hobbit hole or build a lifesize Lego house, you’ll find and inspiration in these unusual homes. These strange and unusual structures are memorable, each in its own unique way. We’ve included only actual built homes, not photoshop creations, of which there are many fine examples sprinkled around on the web.
Here’s a look at some of the strangest and bizarre houses from around the world. Number 15 world’s Smallest 1 House in Germany not sure how this works, but if you dislike humans, it’s the ideal home to own. Berlin based architect Van Bole Mansell created one Square M House, probably the smallest house in the world. It’s a DIY wooden structure which uses only 1 space and can be used as a dwelling place, mobile kiosk, or even an extra room inside your apartment. Because of the flipping mechanism, it can be used both vertically and horizontally. The house consists of a wooden frame, slide window and a lockable door.
Since it weighs only 40 kilos and has wheels, it can be moved around rather easily. This was inspired by his life as a refugee, where he had no alternative but to live in social housing. Lamentsel decided to build a place only for himself. According to him, it’s the only square meter in the world where he can decide what direction the window looks in, what direction the door opens in and what neighbors he has. Number 14 rock House, Portugal although in the photos this house looks like a massive rock, this house in Portugal actually has a door, a chimney and a window, and has become a huge tourist attraction.
There are many other heavy and gigantic granite boulders in the village of Monsanto, which is why the residents chose to build houses around, between and under them long ago. The boulders form the walls, floors and roofs of the stone cottages. In some instances, there are doors fitted into the boulders. Despite hundreds of years of evolution, monsanto hasn’t changed and was given a heritage status by the Portuguese government, preserving a village sized living museum of these prehistoric style houses, which are still in use today.
Number 13. Crocodile house, abaijan, Ivory Coast. Well, if getting swallowed by a humongous crocodile is the fear of yours, then let me wow you by showing you this daring home in Abajan, Ivory Coast. Puri Ada, who was an apprentice of the artist Musa Kalo, who designed and built the house, was gifted the home after the artist’s death. Number twelve. The Carrett house. Poland. How skinny is skinny? Well, there’s a house that boasts the title of the Skinniest House, since it measures only 152, its widest point. All this is for a good reason, though.
The architect and I’m about to butcher this Jacob Sesame wanted to make sure that no urban spaces go unused, and so he squeezed his house in between two other buildings. The project started with an idea that architect Wackoff Sesame first presented at the Wallow Art Festival in 2009. Three years later, that idea was materialized into this installation, which will serve indefinitely as a temporary home for traveling writers. The house has no windows, but is semitransparent and has a white interior which allows it to feel a lot less tiny than you’d think. Number Eleven the Hobbit House, Wales getting inspiration for a house from a popular movie is nothing new.
However, a photographer who was a huge fan of Lord of the Rings took his imagination a notch higher by building a house straight out of Hobbiton. The most remarkable thing about it is that it was built using only natural materials and cost only $5,200.
Number Ten the Flintstone’s House, Malibu, California since we’re imagining how it would be like to live in all sorts of crazy homes, it would be a shame to fail to mention this extraordinary retreat from Malibu, California, another home inspired by pop culture, it’s almost a replica of the house owned by the Flintstone’s family from the popular cartoon show from the 60s. This rocking house can be yours for $3.5 million. This is how The Flintstone’s House would look if they were our contemporaries. Everything about this house looks like it’s made of stone and has uneven surfaces with a very organic feel, just like the original cartoon. Number Nine egg House, Beijing, China chinese architect Dai Jaffe was troubled by the rising real estate prices in China’s capital. So what did he do? He built himself an egg shaped house on a sidewalk located near his office in Beijing. It serves as basic requirements and is totally powered by solar energy.
The house itself costs him less than $1,000 to build, since he used minimal material to put it up. It’s made of bamboo strips and a mattress covered by a layer of heat preservation and waterproof material with patches of bags stuffed with processed wood peels and grass seeds that could grow grass when spring comes, covering the house like a quilt. Number Eight la Palais Boules, or the Bubble Palace French Riviera the futuristic mansion, comprised of rounded rooms with rotating floors, was designed by architect Anti Lovak in the 1970s, who sought to include natural flowing elements into the design and were inspired by the flowing shape of ancestral caves and troglodyte habitats.
It sits atop a hillside in the old Sermaire in the French Riviera overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Designer Pierre Cardin bought this 28 bedroom home in 1989, ironically, having designed his iconic bubble dress 30 years earlier, it has often been used as a location for editorial, fashion photography and film festival parties. Antilovag continued to design unusual houses despite his old age. Number Seven dumpster House, California when you hit rock bottom, you start thinking out of the box. Gregory Clohman, a designer from California, had a basement area for the ground bottom.
I mean, who would ever think of turning an old dumpster into a home for themselves? Although the size is small, he’s got everything in there that’s needed to live in the house. He’s got some storage space, a microwave oven, a fridge and even a toilet. Not quite sure how comfortable it is, but no thanks. Number Six Seashell House, Mexico. Inspired by the works of Anthony Gotti and Frank Lloyd Wright, architects at Architectural Organica created this huge, seashell shaped house for a family of four in Mexico City. The house is everything we see on TV about Atlantic City. There’s the use of colored glass on the exterior of the house to give it character and ocean decor to match the theme of the home.
Number Five portable Room Gangji Zhuang, China makeshift wellings are soon to become a thing, considering many are opting for portable, tiny homes. Liu Ling Chow became famous due to his portable room home with bamboo plastic bags and bedsheets. Liu made himself a 1.5 meters wide, two meter high portable room weighing about 60. Carry with him as he walked an average of 20 km every day. Number Four the Toilet House, Suwon, South Korea before you judge the designer and owner of this home, there’s a cute history behind it.
SIM J. Duck, Mayor of Suwan and Chairman of the World Toilet Association, was born in his grandmother’s bathroom and decided to dedicate his life to health, water conservation and improving global access to clean, efficient and working sanitation. In 2007, he rebuilt his house in the shape of a toilet. Duck’s Toilet shaped House is the only toiletthemed house in the world and cost one $1 million to build. It comprises of two stories with three toilets and also features a showcase bathroom in the center and is equipped with rainwater harvesting technology.
Since his death in 2009, his house was donated to the government, who made it into the Toilet theme park. Statues of lavatorial exercises surround the house and tourists can even buy souvenir poo. Yeah, you heard that right. Souvenir poo. Number Three lego House, Dorking, Surrey built with over 3,300,000 Lego bricks, the Lego house is the creation of James May, who always wanted a house made of Lego. Don’t think this work of art is the playhouse. It comes equipped with a working toilet, a hot shower, staircase and bed, all made up with Lego bricks. This two storey Lego house was built by volunteers and attracted a lot of international attention.
Unfortunately, the house was demolished in 2009 as it crowded prime grape real estate in the local area and would have cost 50 €0 to dismantle and transport, which the Lego company refused to pay. James intends to build a life sized Lego ship for his next project. Way to go. And with that, it’s now time for today’s Best pick. Today’s photo was sent to us by a subscriber. So if you come across a photo online and want to know more details about it, send it over to us. We might even feature it in a future video. Number Two secret underground Houses the photo is some sort of secret manhole pathway to an underground house. This photo backs up the works of Milan based artist Bianco Shock, who’s taken a few of the abandoned waterline access points and turned them into functional rooms, all with real artwork and wall tiles. While no one is living in these secret rooms, the focus of the piece was to bring attention to the large quantity of people living underground across the globe. Due to extreme poverty, the installations, titled Border Life, make otherwise forgotten spaces seem like livable areas for even just the general public.
I see the best for last. But first, I have a quick challenge that takes only 5 seconds to complete. If you can leave a like and subscribe within the next 5 seconds, you’ll get ten years of amazing luck. Just try it. It really works.