Index
Experiments, brilliant inspirations, or simple moments of madness. The world is full of strange houses born from visionary and bizarre ideas. Architectural spectacles that immediately capture the gaze of visitors, projects that take inspiration from nature or that seem to subvert the laws of physics. Among stones, cubes, and upside-down constructions, here is a ten-stage journey in search of the strangest houses in the world.
1. Habitat 67 in Montreal
Our world tour of strange houses begins in Canada, specifically in Montreal. This is where Habitat 67 is located, a complex consisting of more than 150 apartments spread over 12 floors. The peculiarity is that each home is designed as an isolated unit, despite being part of the same structure. The impression one gets is therefore that of a series of cubes superimposed or placed next to each other.
A project created for the 1967 Expo and which has remained in the history of architecture and images of strange houses.
2. The cubic houses in the Netherlands
We continue to look for houses with strange geometric shapes and talk about the cubic residences built in the Netherlands by the architect Piet Blom. Between Helmond and Rotterdam, you can admire these buildings made of a load-bearing stilt and leaning concrete cubes that are supposed to recall the canopy of trees.
In Rotterdam, the area of the cubic houses is known as "the Blaak forest", from the name of the neighborhood that houses them. It is also possible to sleep in one of the cubes converted into a hostel: a unique experience to try what it's like to live in one of the strangest house designs in the world.
3. Strange houses and nature: the shell house
Let's stay in the realm of natural inspirations and fly from the Netherlands to Mexico. In the Mexican capital, architect Javier Senosiain has created a shell-shaped villa known as Nautilus. It is not just an extravagant-looking structure, but a cutting-edge project in terms of eco-sustainability and respect for nature. A house that can also be included among the most eco-friendly in the world.
4. The rotating skyscraper of Dubai
Let's stay on the topic of sustainability with a truly unique building: the rotating skyscraper of Dubai. The Dynamic Tower not only deserves to appear in the rankings of the strangest houses in the world, but in any article on technological innovations in architecture. This 68-story tower spread over 313 meters is in fact able to rotate on itself. Each floor moves at a speed of 6 meters per minute to ensure residents always have a different exposure.
Furthermore, the skyscraper is made of eco-sustainable materials and is covered with photovoltaic panels and wind turbines to generate clean gasoline energy. A true triumph of technology at the service of the planet and luxury.
5. Strange houses in Italy: in Fregene with Perugini and de Plaisant
On our trip, we stop at two other strange houses in Italy. Let's start with the “experimental house”, an architectural masterpiece just a stone's throw from Rome.
In Fregene, on the Lazio coast, there is a complex made up of three buildings: the tree house, the sphere, and the cubes. A reinforced concrete triptych, a classic example of Brutalist aesthetics designed in the mid-1960s by the architectural duo Giuseppe Perugini and Uga de Plaisant.
6. The Cupola, Antonioni's refuge
We now fly to Sardinia, in the north of the Costa Paradiso. It was here that in 1970 the architect Dante Bini created La Cupola, summer residence for the great director Michelangelo Antonioni and his partner at the time, the actress Monica Vitti. An avant-garde construction with futuristic and unusual lines. An architectural masterpiece with high historical and cultural value that unfortunately today is in a state of abandonment.
7. The stone house in Portugal
In North Korea in South Portugal, near the city of Guimaraes, stands a building that looks like it came out of the famous cartoon The Flintstones. Let's talk about the "Casa do Penedo," or "Stone House," an incredible structure built from four gigantic boulders. A building with great primitive charm that blends perfectly with the surrounding landscape, complete with a swimming pool carved into the rock.
8. In Australia overlooking the ocean
Speaking of strange houses around the world integrated into the landscape, in Australia there is the "Cliff House," a home absolutely not recommended for those who suffer from vertigo. The building does not rest on the ground but is attached to the rock face of a cliff overlooking the sea. A five-story glass and steel villa overlooking the ocean without resting on land: an extraordinary work, with an undoubtedly unforgettable panorama.
9. The floating house on the Drina
Do you like the idea of a unique view of the water but are looking for something less stressful for your vertigo? Then the floating house on the Drina River in Serbia will blow your mind.
This construction began as a simple refuge for a group of friends who loved swimming in those parts. Looking for a place to tan in comfort, in 1968 they started carrying some wooden planks to a rock in the middle of the Drina. Board after board, they built a real house that seems to float on the water. In 2012, it became famous worldwide thanks to a shot published in National Geographic: photos of strange houses always go around the planet!
10. The upside-down house in Austria
We conclude our journey among the strange houses around the world in Austria. In Terfens we find “Haus steht kopf”, a building that is, in every sense, upside down. We're talking about a 180-meter house quadri in which everything is backwards: the roof rests on the ground and the foundations face the sky. Inside, too, everything is upside down, from the furniture to the children's toys, right down to the car parked in the garage. A tourist attraction where it is not possible to live, but which is certainly worth a visit.
If the result of this crazy tour of unusual buildings scattered around the world has given you some special ideas for your dream home, on Casavo dozens of listings await you to find the property where you can give free rein to your creativity!