The world has its share of beautiful and ugly buildings. In the middle, there are ordinary and dull ones. And then, in a category entirely of their own, are the truly bizarre ones—the kind you need to see to believe.

When architects have complete freedom in their designs, things can get weird. Just like how we used to create crazy buildings with LEGO bricks as kids, the r/bizarrebuildings subreddit features architects bringing their wildest dreams to life. We’ve chosen some of our new favorite posts from the Reddit community to show you these unique designs and to bring about either light-hearted amusement or strong opinions.

#1 Furniture Shop In Colombia

Image credits: HibbityBibbityBop

The Reddit group has 158k members who share unique, bizarre, and stunning buildings. Ever thought of living in a crooked house or taking your children to a kindergarten shaped like a cat? Though it might be fascinating until monotony sets in or the discomfort becomes overwhelming.

#2 Beckham Creek Cave Lodge, Arkansas

Image credits: cesarth15

#3 East Meets West In A Hybrid Building In An Unfinished Theme Park In Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China

Image credits: biwook

Architecture is about designing buildings of all sizes and shapes, from small sheds to tall skyscrapers. It’s important to blend form and function, making sure buildings are both attractive and fit their purpose while being safe.

#4 Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center For Brain Health, Las Vegas, Nevada USA

Image credits: ValleyAquarius27

#5 House On A Leg, Hamburg, Germany

Image credits: Smith-Oliver1999

#6 Happy House By Dan Witz In Brooklyn

Image credits: tanmaypendse63

A building’s appearance is shaped by its purpose, architectural style, and available materials and technology. Different types of buildings, like homes, offices, and religious structures, vary in size, shape, and design to fulfill their unique functions.

#7 Brick Expressionism In Frankfurt, Germany

Image credits: Boluddha_Photography

#8 Residential Neighborhood Near Zurich, Switzerland

Image credits: sopadebombillas

#9 Supertree Grove, Singapore

Image credits: lupinaster

Recent times have seen the creation of a diverse range of buildings, spanning from the merely odd to the truly unique. This shift in architectural style is largely attributed to architects’ creative visions, backed by technological advancements. The once-restricting factors of precise measurements have been transformed with innovations like Virtual Reality (VR), which not only visualize complex designs but also streamline construction processes.

#10 Brick Facade For A Bookstore In Korea

Image credits: Housedecoration

#11 Police Station In Brakel, Belgium, Designed By Org In 2009

Image credits: archineering

#12 Colin’s Barn, Chedglow, England

Image credits: biwook

Technology in architecture comes in different forms, and smartphones are a prime example of this evolution. Architects now rely on apps throughout the project, from start to finish, which helps them better serve their clients.

#13 This Building In The Philippines That Looks Like A Ship And Has A Korean Restaurant And A Cafe “Onboard”

Image credits: anton-bg

#14 Building Shaped Like A Bulldozer; Turlock, Ca

Image credits: EMike93309

#15 Forcing This Road To Surround Their House

Image credits: JOSE_DONALD

In the United Arab Emirates and China, companies are showing the potential of robotics, collaborative robotics, and large-scale 3D printing in architecture. Autodesk, a software company, is also working on making design-to-fabrication more accessible and enabling the creation of complex structures with less energy.

#16 The Round House Wilton – 1968

Image credits: tiptoeintotown

#17 Casa Torta, Brazil

Image credits: logatwork

#18 Beer Museum, Qingdao, China

Image credits: tanmaypendse63

Urban design is more than just looks. Studies suggest that growing up in a city doubles the chances of developing schizophrenia and increases the risk of other mental disorders like depression and chronic anxiety. According to the BBC, “The main trigger appears to be what researchers call ‘social stress’ – the lack of social bonding and cohesion in neighborhoods. Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg at the University of Heidelberg has shown that urban living can change brain biology in some people, resulting in reduced gray matter in the right dosolateral prefrontal cortex and the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex, two areas where changes have previously been linked to early-life stressful experiences.”

#19 This Church In Reykjavik

Image credits: coolaja

#20 The Whale Car Wash, Formerly Located At Nw 50th St. & Meridian Ave. In Oklahoma City (Photo By John Margolies, 1979)

Image credits: TheBitterSeason

#21 The Steel House, Lubbock, Texas

Image credits: Wide_Lifeguard9192

Nowadays, psychology studies help us understand the urban places that people enjoy and find exciting. Studies found that the way buildings look and having access to green areas can affect how we feel emotionally. As Winston Churchill once said, “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.”

#22 This Church In Rowayton, Ct

Image credits: justdoo08

#23 Hole House Or Villa Vals, Switzerland

Image credits: positive_molecule

#24 Kring Kumho Culture Complex

Image credits: LimpBrother21

Talking and spending time with others is really important for keeping your mind healthy. Same goes for urban design: “Social interaction is often achieved by concentrating groups of people in a single node or landmark so that it is suggested they interact with each other. Strategies for urban design to accommodate this can include higher density development, so that more people are concentrated in an area,” shares Jonathan Monfries in his research paper ‘The Psychological Effects of Urban Design.’

#25 An Artist’s House In Chicago

Image credits: ThanHowWhy

#26 Building Loading… 89%

Image credits: nomaddd79

#27 L’ile Fllottante (Abidjan, Ivory Coast)

Image credits: earthmoonsun

Making sure someone is physically healthy often helps their mental health too. Having enough public spaces in cities makes it easy for people to find places to be active. A study by Roe (2016) backs this up by showing that having green spaces in cities is good for people with mental health issues like stress, anxiety, and depression. Adding more trees, small parks, and even outdoor exercise equipment, especially in the city center, can really help improve how people feel and act, and make their overall mental wellbeing better.

#28 The Juilliard School For Music In New York City

Image credits: abaganoush

#29 Parasitic Architecture By Artist Mark Reigelman And Architect Jenny Chapman, In San Francisco

Image credits: gabrielle_garland

#30 Holocaust Memorial In Kaunas

Image credits: B0xer4

The way we feel and act each day can be really affected by how we travel around the city. It can shape our mood and how we behave when we go to work and when we come back home. The things around us always have an impact on our thoughts. Making sure a city has good transportation and ways to connect is helpful. This can make traveling to work, especially on public transit, less stressful and make it easier to reach places and services. When transportation works well, it can lower stress and anxiety, which makes living in the city much smoother.

#31 Alpine Refuge From World War I Located At 2760 Meters, Monte Cristallo, Italy

Image credits: TX908

#32 Mid-Century House Built Over A River In New Canaan, Connecticut

Image credits: archineering

#33 This Is The Grasshopper Cafe In South Korea Made Out Of Train Cars

Image credits: froqmouth

We hope this gave you some food for thought and showed how buildings can connect with human psychology. To see more interesting pictures of unusual buildings, just keep scrolling. And if you’re curious for more, take a look at our earlier post on the topic here.

#34 “Penthouse” – Nairobi, Kenya

Image credits: dyce123

#35 Modern Cabin For Rent In Norway

Image credits: coolaja

#36 Hotel Lisboa, Macao

Image credits: nongoloza

#37 Tencent Building, Shenzhen, China

Image credits: tanmaypendse63

#38 Dancing House, When I Was In Prague A Few Years Back

Image credits: truck-stop-stranger

#39 Taipei Performing Arts Center

Image credits: tanmaypendse63

#40 Do Bizarre Bridges Count? Linjiang Bridge In Wuhu City, China

Image credits: tanmaypendse63

#41 Robert Downey Jr.’s Inflatable Malibu Bungalow

Image credits: abaganoush

#42 This House With At Least 5 Different Styles In Kassel, Germany

Image credits: Team-O36

#43 Accidental House, By Eric Perriard

Image credits: biwook

#44 It’s All One House!

Image credits: cartoonassasin

#45 Apartments In Amsterdam

Image credits: Janes_Rochester

#46 $ 200 Million Ghost Town Of Castles In Mudurnu, Turkey

Image credits: Resident-Age5306

#47 Stunning Abandoned House In Isère, France

Image credits: stevejollifee

#48 Enough Solar Panels To Power The Town

Image credits: PradoFox

#49 Yick Fat Building, Hong Kong, Shot By Me On 35mm Film

Image credits: dredogue

#50 Winning Design For Shenzhen’s Natural History Museum

Image credits: Common-Alfalfa-8588

#51 12 Ugly Ducks By Victor Enrich

Image credits: reddit.com

#52 Changjiang Media Building, Wuhan, China

Image credits: tanmaypendse63

#53 Lyon Airport Train Station, Lyon, France

Image credits: reddit.com

#54 Science And Technology Museum, Wuhan

Image credits: tanmaypendse63

#55 Wencheng Hotel In Yantai City

Image credits: Blvckshi63

#56 Netherlands Beauty

Image credits: carmensax

#57 This Looks Like Candy

Image credits: filthyMrClean

#58 Still Standing In Canterbury, UK

Image credits: S1lentA0

#59 What If All Buildings Had Heads Outside Of Them?

Image credits: rddime

#60 Traffic Police Station, Vasylivka, Ukraine. Built In The 1960s

Image credits: archineering

#61 A Monument In Armenia

Image credits: luvvangel90

#62 Inntel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam

Image credits: hrsportonlinestore

#63 This Building In Atrani, Italy Has Some Of The Weirdest Architecture I’ve Ever Seen

Image credits: loulan

#64 Seocho Garak Tower East (130 M, 24 Stories), Seoul, South Korea, Completed In 2011

Image credits: NiceLapis

#65 Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Brazil, Designed By Oscar Niemeyer In 1991

Image credits: archineering

#66 Japan

Image credits: reddit.com

#67 Twisted Chimney – Bute Town, Wales

Image credits: OptimistRuby

#68 Thyssenkrupp Elevators Test Tower In Zhongshan, China

Image credits: Equine_With_No_Name

#69 Transcendence, Keith Jellum (1998). Public Art Installation In Portland, Oregon

Image credits: robertdikosta

#70 Torres De Colón, In Madrid, Was Built From Top To Bottom

Image credits: theredgiant

#71 Telemax Broadcasting Tower, Germany

Image credits: borntoclimbtowers

#72 We Call It “The Cheese Grater”. It’s A Medical Research Lab

Image credits: Acceptable_Cow788

#73 A Smart Passive House With Green Roof In Moscow, Russia By Snegiri Architects

Image credits: Amazing_Architecture

#74 Canadian Museum For Human Rights – Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Image credits: ResurrectedToast

#75 A 1909 Apartment Building Designed And Built By A Local Brick Mason. Chicago

Image credits: ThanHowWhy

#76 Chrysler Pavilion At The New York World’s Fair, 1964

Image credits: earthmoonsun

#77 Conservatory, Montreuil, France

Image credits: tanmaypendse63

#78 Grand Lisboa Hotel, China

Image credits: hrsportonlinestore

#79 Building In Germany, This Is Just A Painting, The Walls Are Straight. Perfect Illusion

Image credits: Housedecoration

#80 Sanaa, Yemen

Image credits: IamSmithh

#81 Studio City, Macau

Image credits: tanmaypendse63

#82 Kindergarten “Die Katze” In Karlsruhe, Germany, By Artist Tomi Ungerer And Architect Ayla-Suzan Yndel, 2011

Image credits: biwook

#83 Rotterdam Is Both Beautiful And Bizarre

Image credits: filthyMrClean

#84 Montreal Decorated The Little House That Sits Atop An Abandoned Factory For The Holidays

Image credits: lemartineau

#85 Some Apartments In Inwood, Upper Manhattan, NYC

Image credits: Iambikecurious

#86 “Twisted House” In Indianapolis, In

Image credits: icouldbuildacastle

#87 National Museum Of Qatar

Image credits: netphilia

#88 Tesla Tower Russia

Image credits: PigDogUrbex

#89 Casa Beretta, Val D’aosta, Italy, Designed By Mario Galvagni In 1967

Image credits: archineering

#90 Do You Want Neoclassical Or Modern? – Yes

Image credits: porcupineporridge

#91 Casa Batlló, Barcelona, Spain

Image credits: netphilia

#92 Inhabited Natural Rock Formations In Göreme, Turkey

Image credits: longwaytotokyo

#93 Fallen Star

Image credits: JugglingBear

#94 These Are Real Houses. Located In Encinitas, California

Image credits: 69isMyluckyNumberToo

#95 The Plane Shaped “Coronado Hotel” In Antalya, Turkey

Image credits: tanmaypendse63

#96 L’arbre Blanc (The White Tree) Residential Tower, Montpellier, France

Image credits: ValleyAquarius27

#97 Mogno, Switzerland

Image credits: redhead-18

#98 India’s Research Base In Antarctica

Image credits: utkarsh_aryan

#99 House With Many Windows

Image credits: logatwork

#100 Architecture Of Barcelona

Image credits: hrsportonlinestore

#101 Ps4 Pro Looks Remarkably Like A Toronto Building. 325 Front St W. Built 1982

Image credits: reddit.com

#102 Ow-Energy Organic House Design With Wild Slate Roof In Germany

Image credits: biwook

#103 There’s A Huge Open Market In The Netherlands With Apartments Inside

Image credits: LimpBrother21

#104 This Building Looks Like It Was Designed In Microsoft Word

Image credits: godot-3000

#105 Whale Museum That Looks Like A Whale In Norway

Image credits: perfect_wonders

#106 When Your Neighbor Has An Evil Lair

Image credits: Boluddha_Photography

#107 Cambodian Homestead

Image credits: PhnomPencil

#108 Industry City Building – Sunset Park, Brooklyn

Image credits: ValleyAquarius27

#109 Snake Shaped Temple In India Dedicated To Lord Krishna

Image credits: Petrarch1603

#110 An Apartment Building That Popped Up In Krasnodar, Russia

Image credits: biwook

#111 Aerial Shot Of The City Of Kyoto, Hisa

Image credits: abaganoush

#112 Half Of The National Gallery Of Denmark Is Grafted On To The Original 1889 Building. All Of This Is Indoors

Image credits: AltoorMgM

#113 Built In The 18th Century, This Is One Of The Oldest Buildings In Hattfjelldal Municipality In Norland, Norway

Image credits: crod242

#114 King Alfred’s Tower In England, Built In 1772

Image credits: Jakecohn12

#115 99 Dome Mosque, Makassar

Image credits: Sufficient_Inside351

#116 The Entrance To Frankfurt Subway Station Looks Like A Crash

Image credits: netphilia

#117 Duck House, UK

Image credits: nathanovic

#118 Ex-Overpass, Now An Exchange Office

Image credits: longwaytotokyo

#119 Druzhba Holiday Center, Yalta, Ukraine

Image credits: Impressive_Formal316

#120 1.0 (Somewhere In China)

Image credits: tanmaypendse63

#121 Luxury Hotel Or Collapsed Pile Of Sheet Metal?

Image credits: soaringfreedom

#122 “Colorful Desert House” (Render) Sonora, Mexico

Image credits: ValleyAquarius27

#123 I Mean… Good That They Didn’t Cut The Tree?

Image credits: Pretty_Track_7505

#124 Just Why?

Image credits: porcupineporridge

#125 Azadi (Freedom) Tower, Tehran, Iran

Image credits: getanamepls

#126 Container House In The Desert

Image credits: LimpBrother21

#127 Im Intimidated

Image credits: onewaytojupiter

#128 “Flintstone House,” Declared “Public Nuisance,” Now Allowed To Keep Colorful

Image credits: anteater1415

Source: boredpanda.com