10 Strangest Houses of All Time

We have seen a lot of different colored houses and architectures that made us say “What the hell were they thinking?” Most of these architectures are  funny or are poorly painted or perhaps just odd. But when you look at the collection of houses we have gathered for you from around the world, you will be truly amazed. We bring to you houses with some of the strangest structures possible on the planet.

10. THE KLEIN BOTTLE HOUSE

This house is in Mornington, Peninsula, Australia and was built by McBride Charles Ryan and it was named as the ‘World’s Best House in 2009‘. The house is based on the concept of Klein Bottle which basically means to invert a cylinder into itself which thus creates an unusual spiral form. This means the interior of the house is the exterior and the exterior is the interior. A courtyard is present right in the middle of the house so that wind can pass through it with ease. Genius work I must say!

9. CHAMELEON HOUSE

Located in North Port, Michigan this particular house with a mysterious name was created by the Anderson Architecture Company in 2006 on top of a hill that over looked Michigan Lake. The house uses pre-fabricated material which is the reason why it took less than 8 weeks to build it. The whole frame of the house which is made of steel in actual is covered in slats of acrylic. What happens is that these slats capture all the changing colors of the landscape just like the color changing reptile blends into its environments or for that matter a chameleon. When you walk into the house you either go down to the bedrooms or go upstairs to the living area. Being situated on a hill its landing is on the third floor.

8. FREE SPIRIT SPHERE

Tom and Rosy chudleigh are known all over the world for building round living space representing spheres catering to customers all around the world. The hanging room like structure depicted in the picture above is one of their master pieces. Located near the Qualicum Beach in British Columbia, this free spirit sphere (known as so because it rocks slightly in the wind) can be used as a temporary hideout (hah) or an exciting idea of a tree house. It weighs around 1100 pounds and it takes three people to install it.

7. 222 HOUSE

Located in Pembrokeshire Wales, it is in the National part of the Southwest Coast. And because it is architecturally sunk into the ground instead of standing tall, it does not affect the landscape at all. The firm known as Future Systems completed this in 1994. It is a sustainable design and thus has a turf covering on the sides as well as the roof. This house has a geo-thermal insulation which reduces energy consumption. More interestingly, its bathrooms and kitchens were ready-made and were lifted straight into the building.

6. THE LEAF HOUSE

Located in Angra Dos Reis, Brazil, this house looks like a giant flower from aerial view where each of the flower petals represent a different section of the house. The unique thing about this house is the fact that a stream runs through it and ends into a pond in the backyard and the fact that this house has no hallways also makes it peculiar. The construction company (also the architects behind this piece of art) care Mareines + Platalano ensured that the house is different from the house building that we have now come to adopt as standards. Peter from the same company believes that great spaces are created this way.

5. EVERINGHAM ROTATING HOUSE

This house is located in Taree Australia, and as is very evident from the name of the house, this residential octagonal structure can rotate at an angle of 360 degrees. The amazing thing is that although this structure looks as if it might have cost the builders so much of extra money considering the fact that two motors of nearly 500 watts capacity each are used to rotate the house at will and also the electricity and plumbing needed to be assembled in a way so as to keep it consistent while the house rotates, the expense of building it was exactly the same as an ordinary non-rotating house. Kudos to the architects we say!

4. THE NAUTILUS

This house that is formed in the shape of a seashell was made in 2006. There are stone steps in front of the house along the shrubbery that lead to the front door, a door that is submerged into the mosaic front as if it were actually a part of it. One look at the house and a person is mesmerized, such is the beauty. The architect for this house was Javiaer Sensonian and he is the one who has been known to practice a concept called Bioarchitecture. Based on this concept he has created many homes in the forms of snakes, whales, and other creatures obviously being inspired by nature. According to him, everybody can learn from something like this.

3. THE STEEL HOUSE

The Steel house in Lubbock, Texas is completely made of steel. As far as the looks are concerned, the architect wanted something that looks like a machine as well as an animal and thus this. The two notable things about this structure are the facts that for one, it stands on all four and does not disrupt the earth like a normal seated structure of a house would have done. Secondly this house was made on the go and not on a skeleton frame.

2. THE SLIDING HOUSE

Located in Suffolk, England this house has the amazing mechanical capability of shifting its entire outer body away from the inner second body which is made entirely of glass. Four batteries of 12-volts each are required to run a motor which moves the outer body away in 6 minutes. Therefore the house can be adjusted according to the temperature. That would mean a total of 5 dollars mights be required to heat up the whole house on a slightly sunny day!

1. THE BUBBLE CASTLE

Created by Antti Lovag, this place is the exact depiction of what Lovag believes to be true. That we should move away from traditional structures. The house incorporates a lot of elements from its surroundings to its interior for example the rockeries and palm trees. There are no straight lines and neither are there any sharp angles in the entire structure. This has been deemed as a historical monument by the Department of Culture in France although it still has not seen 50 years of existence.

Ten Strange Forests of the World

I have always been very attracted by forests; all the greenery and the curiosity for the creatures that might dwell in them. Forests cover around 9.4% of the Earth’s surface. It’s fast shrinking of course because of all the deforestation. There were times when the forests covered around 50% of the surface so it’s a shame really. Most of the people around the world haven’t had the unique experience to be able to go inside a forest and see what it is like, I mean sure we have seen lengthy documentaries on television but that isn’t that same now is it. This article covers some of the strangest forests around the world.

10. NORTH SENTINEL ISLAND FOREST

This particular forest can be found in the Bay of Bengal. Almost the entire Island is covered with trees. The total area covered by the trees is around 72 square kilometers. The trees are very old. Interestingly, a tribe called Sentinelese lives here with around 50 to 400 individuals and considering the fact that the island is completely isolated, that is saying something. It will be an interesting experience to visit the forest/island, although reaching there might still be a problem.

9. CROOKED FOREST

This looks like a very beautiful forest with the oddly shaped trees. They can be found just outside the village of Nowe Czarnowo in the Western Poland. The forest has about 400 pine trees. These trees have a 90 degree bend at the base of their trunks which is why the name ‘crooked’. These pine trees were planted around 1930 while the area was still inside the German province, Pomerania.

8. RED FOREST

This forest is also known as the Worm Wood forest. It is located within a 10 kilometer area that surrounds the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. After the Chernobyl incident the forest turned ginger-ish in color and died. The forest was then bulldozed and buried. The land was planted with new pine saplings. Today, most of the trees in this region are still contaminated. Radioactivity concentration in the soil is 90%.

7. CHESTNUT HILLS

Chestnut hills spread across 60 acres of land and boast around 2,500 hundred chestnut trees. These trees are the descendants of a dozen chestnut trees planted by Martin Hicks in the late 19^th Century. Most of the trees have died in this forest because of terrible disease that hit around 1900. Before the disease these trees grew around 200 feet in height with the trunks reaching 44 feet in diameter. Many different scientists have been working together for a while now to get rid of this disease and protect the trees. Yes, the disease still exists.

6. SEA OF TREES

This forest is also known as Aokigahara and is located at the North-Western base of Mount Fuji in Japan. With a large number of very huge trees, the forests are thick and very green. There is a very obvious absence of wildlife in this forest so it’s pretty safe. The forest gained its reputation because of the suicides that are associated with it and the beautiful view if offers of the Mount Fuji. The number of bodies found in this forest in the year 2004 is 108. This is in reference to the suicides. I would still love to enter the forest since I have no intention of killing myself anytime soon. I guess I’ll be safe.

5. TRILLEMARKA – ROLLAGSFJELL FOREST

This forest covers an area of 147 square kilometers and is located in Buskerud, Norway. There are many different animals housed by this forest. There are many different endangered species that live in the forest for example the Siberian Jay, the Stock Dove and Golden Eagle. Around 75% of the forest is protected by the government which in my opinion is a very good initiative. The forest also features valleys, rivers, lakes and ancient trees.

4. DARK ENTRY FOREST

Dark entry forest is very much associated with strange sightings, weird disappearances and many unexplained deaths. Locals have talked about hallucinations even, where demons appear and command them to commit suicides. Many locals even committed suicides. So if you want to freak yourself out completely, the dark entry forest is the place for you. People still think that it is cursed. Anyone who trespasses into this land is prosecuted by the Dark Entry Forest Group.

3. ARDENNES

Ardennes is a huge forest that covers parts of Belgium, France and Luxembourg. The terrain is rugged and the forest is thick. A lot of wild creatures, minerals and rich timber are associated with this forest. Many different battles have been fought on the land where Ardennes stands. In WWI and WWII Germany made a passage through the forest to attack France. The battle of Ardennes in 1914, the battle of France in 1940 and the battle of Bulge in 1944 were all fought on this land. Nevertheless, it is a sight to behold.

2. HOIA-BACIU FOREST

This forest is located near Cluj-Napoca in Romania. It is referred as the Bermuda Triangle of Romania by the locals. The forest is named after a local shepherd who disappeared upon entering it along with his 200 sheep. People are practically afraid to even go near the forest and they believe that the ones who enter will never return. People have even reported UFO sightings around the forest and it is very popular in relation with paranormal activities. Many scientists from around the world were able to capture bizarre things on film, some apparent to naked eye and others only visible on film.

1. ANCIENT WUDA FOREST

This particular forest was buried under a thick layer of volcanic ash a long time ago. The forest was near the Mongolian district of Wuda and covered an area of 20 square kilometers. This particular forest was covered under the ash some 298 million years ago preserving the forest as it was. Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania, Shenyang Normal University and Yunnan University were able to reconstruct a 10,000 square feet area of this forest. They were able to identify many different plant specifies that were extinct for centuries. Nature never lets you down does it?