More than 4 billion people live in urban areas globally. It’s now projected that by 2050, more than two-thirds of the world population will live in urban areas. So no wonder we pay more importance to the buildings and structures around us.
And among countless poorly executed, dysfunctional, and aesthetically nauseating architecture examples (just take a look at our previous post with architecture so bad it got shamed by people), there are some gems that landed in this list.
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From vertical gardens to incredible brickwork, and anything that combines function, creativity, skill and complements the surrounding area in a beautiful way, there’s a real feast for your eyes. Scroll down through the examples of architects outdoing themselves, and upvote your favorite ones! Psst! Part 1 of this post awaits right here.
#1 This Vertical Garden Located In Madrid, Spain
Image credits: tanmaypendse63
#2 Entrance Gate Of The St. Petersburg Mosque, Russia. Designed By Architect Nikolai Vasilyev
Image credits: HeeMew
#3 Fort Bourtange, Netherlands
Image credits: subwoofer12
When you think of architectural wonders, you think of the beautiful Sydney Opera House, the Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris (partially destroyed by a huge fire accident in 2019), The Guggenheim, New York City or La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona. These architectural icons deservedly land on t-shirts and coffee mugs that tourists bring home along with their great memories.
In many cases, however, such iconic examples that shaped modern architecture and gave new meanings to how generations of the past century saw the spaces they live and spend time in are rather rare. In reality, mass urbanization is exploding around the world, meaning that around 50% of the 7 plus billion people on this planet have moved to cities. And this number will almost certainly increase to around 80% by 2050.
#4 Matsumoto Castle, Matsumoto, Japan, Late 16th Century
Image credits: 5462652
#5 Apartment Building In Turin Holds 150 Trees
Image credits: karmagheden
#6 Ryazan, Russia
Image credits: Ideal_Jerk
And there are many threats that come with urbanization, from pollution and uncollected waste to social inequality and greater poverty, with local governments unable to provide services for all people. Since there are so many more people living in urban areas, the housing problem is another key problem in big cities where the prices of real estate are affordable for the very small fraction of society with higher than average income.
No wonder, these days, cities are packed with utilitarian apartment slabs with unrelieved gridded façades, infill condo housing that looks as if it’s been trucked in from the suburbs, and a grim precast concrete retirement home that takes up a whole block. You wish nobody had built them. Dystopian architecture has been captivating people’s imagination, making them fear a scenario where modernism went wrong. What if it already has?
#7 The 17th Century Shah Jahan Mosque In Pakistan, Notable For Its Geometric Brick Work
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Image credits: F*ckoff555
#8 Eltz Castle Is Located In Wierschem, Germany And Has Been Owned And Occupied By The Same Family For Over 850 Years…
Image credits: juanralucard
#9 Front Of House, Back Of House. Dubbed “The Mullet House”
Image credits: LBWolf2021
Bored Panda spoke with Lisa Yaszek, a Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech, who said that dystopian and brutal architecture we often see in megacities captivates our imagination because it reminds us of the images of dystopian science fiction cities that we’ve seen on the big screen for a century.
“The cities featured in movies such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927), George Lucas’s THX-II38 (1971), Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982), and Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One (2018) all have a very distinctive look,” Lisa said.
The professor explained that such architectural dystopias have a very distinctive look. They are vertical dystopias rendered in dull, industrial-colored palettes (the colors of concrete, steel, rust, and smoke, with an occasional shot of neon); they are marked by either the total absence or total contamination of nature; and they are completely out of scale to the humans who live in them.”
#10 Mont Saint Michel In France
Image credits: j3ffr33d0m
#11 Sumela Monastery, A Greek Orthodox Monastery Originally Established Around Ad 386 Nestled In A Steep Cliff At An Altitude Of 1200 Meters, Trabzon Province, Turkey
Image credits: ManiaforBeatles
#12 Buildings By Freddy Mamani In El Alto, Bolivia
Image credits: Grillos
Moreover, Lisa added that “the scale of science fiction dystopias reminds us of the gap between rich and poor, with the rich literally at the top of skyscrapers while the poor huddle underground or at street level, trying not to be crushed under the weight of the dystopian city and its crumbling infrastructure,” she explained. It makes you wonder whether we already live a science fictional dream?
#13 Gloucester Cathedral
Image credits: KantKay11
#14 This 325-Year-Old Tree Was Utilized In The Building Design When Authorities In Turkey Would Not Allow For Its Removal
Image credits: rockystl
#15 From The Middle Kingdom
Image credits: Apprehensive-Park453
#16 Spitzhäuschen, A Narrow Half-Timbered House Built In 1416 Located In Bernkastel-Kues, Germany
Image credits: karmagheden
#17 Writer’s Museum, Edinburgh, In The Fog
Image credits: granta50
#18 The Burnt Farm Cottage Built With Red Brick In The 1840s, Borough Of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, Southern England
Image credits: ManiaforBeatles
#19 Arnavutköy, A Neighborhood Away From Istanbul’s Touristic Hustle
Image credits: somewhatcoolnickname
#20 The Ark Of Bukhara Is A Fortress Located In Uzbekistan
Image credits: KantKay11
#21 The Zip Building, Milan
Image credits: Apprehensive-Park453
#22 This Cafe In Czech Republic
Image credits: MetallicMowl
#23 19th Century Victorian Gothic Cottage Framed By The Arch Of The Gatehouse At Holly Village, Highgate, North London, UK
Image credits: ManiaforBeatles
#24 Art Nouveau Architecture Of A House Built In The 1880’s In Brussels, Belgium
Image credits: WideEyes369
#25 Egypt
Image credits: 13point6
#26 Shah-I-Zinda Necropolis In Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Image credits: HellsJuggernaut
#27 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Image credits: the_count_aga
#28 Edinburgh Castle And Its Half Moon Battery Seen From The Vennel Steps In The Old Town, Edinburgh, Scotland
Image credits: ManiaforBeatles
#29 The Interior Of Barcelona’s Sagrada Família, Designed By Antoni Gaudí. Construction Began In 1882- And It’s Still Not Finished. It’s Expected To Be Completed By 2026, Just In Time For The 100th Anniversary Of Gaudí’s Death
Image credits: somnum_osseus
#30 Burg Hochosterwitz, A Castle Built On A Limestone Rock Which Was First Mentioned In A Text In 860 And Continuously Fortified Until The 16th Century. Still Owned By The Noble Khevenhüller Family After The Acquisition In 1571. Carinthia, Austria
Image credits: ManiaforBeatles
#31 Azadi Tower, Tehran, Iran
Image credits: matinrrr
#32 Capt James Taylor House, A 1892 Queen Anne Victorian In Marine City, St. Clair County, Michigan
Image credits: ManiaforBeatles
#33 Oslo Opera House Designed In 1999 By Snøhetta And Finished In 2007
Image credits: CateCrafter
#34 Sun Rays Through The Double Lancet Windows Of Westminster Abbey, City Of Westminster, London, UK
Image credits: ManiaforBeatles
#35 Ribbon Chapel In Onomichi, Japan
Image credits: j3ffr33d0m
#36 Venice, Italy
Image credits: granta50
#37 The Iwan Ceiling Of Fatima Masumeh Shrine In Iran
Image credits: wyazici
#38 Cubic Windows
Image credits: DayangMarikit
#39 15th Century Castle Of Coca In Central Spain
Image credits: Kimpurusha
#40 Dating Back To The 15th Century, Plaza Mayor Is A Major Public Space In The Heart Of Madrid, The Capital Of Spain
Image credits: KantKay11
#41 Children Standing In Front Of One Of The Main Doors Of Casablanca Mosque
Image credits: Primuri
#42 Fisherman’s Bastion, Budapest, Hungary
Image credits: tatrn
#43 A Rooftop Restaurant/Cafe In Chongqing, China
Image credits: tanmaypendse63
#44 Mahkama Du Pacha – Casablanca, Morocco
Image credits: mahrach8
#45 Galtaji Hindu Temple Located In Aravalli Hills In Jaipur Of India. Temple Complex Have Many Natural Freshwater Springs
Image credits: KantKay11
#46 140 Meters High Ruyi Bridge In China
Image credits: KantKay11
#47 Cologne Cathedral. Masterpiece Of Gothic Architecture. Years Build : 1248 – 1880
Image credits: Embarrassed_Ad_2165
#48 Villa Farnese, A 16th Century Pentagonal Renaissance Mansion Built On The Fortress Foundations In The Town Of Caprarola, Viterbo, Northern Lazio, Italy
Image credits: ManiaforBeatles
#49 The Waves, Vejle, Denmark
Image credits: Plaskefar
#50 Habitat 67 In Montreal
Image credits: jiggyns
Source: boredpanda.com