12 of the Strangest Homes You’re Ever Likely to See

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We like to embrace all kinds of architecture here on Sobify, but none come more fun than this unusual selection. With this series of buildings you are witnessing scenarios where the designing architects have thrown the rule book out of the window. The result? Well the creation of homes that are clearly very strange indeed.

1. World’s Slimmest House, Poland

Polish architect Jakub Szczesny has laid claim to having built the world’s narrowest house, (92 centimetres (3.02 ft) at its narrowest point.)

Even at its widest point, (152 centimetres), the Keret House makes for some strange style living. The property is squeezed into a crevice between two buildings in the centre of Warsaw, and was designed quite specifically for travel writers in mind.

Szczesny, who is one of the co-founders of arts group Centrala, approached Israeli writer Etgar Keret to become involved in the project. The concept being that the home would only be suitable to someone relatively transient, as no sane person could put up with it for too long.

Photography is by Bartek Warzecha, © Polish Modern Art Foundation, The National Centre for Culture.

2. Giant Seashell House, Mexico

Want to know what it would be like to live in a shell? The owner of the Nautilus House in Mexico City, clearly wanted to find out. The end result was this amazing shell-shaped house designed by architect Javier Senosiain of Arquitectura Organica.

Inspired by the work of Gaudí and Frank Lloyd Wright, the house interior is full of smooth surfaces, spiral stairs and natural plantings, all adding to the effect that you’re living inside a snail shell. Strange indeed.

Website: arquitecturaorganica.com

3. Skateboard House, USA

The PAS House, built in Malibu, California is the ultimate house for skateboard fans. The client and visionary of the project is Pierre Andre Senizergues (PAS), a former World champion and Pro Skater and the founder of Etnies. The effect is an unusual home where nearly every surface can be traversed on four wheels.

4. Converted Church, Holland

Okay, so there are plenty of converted churches out there. Especially if you live in Europe. However, this example is done particularly well.

Zecc Architecten repurposed and converted this abandoned churche located in Utrecht, Netherlands into a beautiful modern family residence.

5. Transparent House, Japan

A house not for the faint hearted, or for anyone that values their privacy. At least living in this transparent house located in Tokyo, Japan would offer plenty of sunlight.

Known as “House NA”, the 914 square-foot transparent house was built by Sou Fujimoto Architects and is associated with the concept of living within a tree.

Architect: Sou Fujimoto Architects | Photographer: Iwan Baan

6. Stone House,Portugal

Located in the Fafe mountains of northern Portugal, A Casa do Penedo, or “the House of Stone,” was built between four large boulders found on the site.

The house was built in 1974 as a family’s rural retreat. However, as time has passed the home has attracted the attention much attention from tourists and architecture enthusiasts. So much so, you can now find images of the Stone House all over the web. Being so perfectly integrated into its natural surroundings, it is both beautiful and very, very strange.

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7. Converted Water Tower, Belgium

Architect Mauro Brigham of Bham Design Studio has repurposed an old water tower in Belgium, simply known as Chateau d’eau, into a livable home.

This 30-meter-high tower was first constructed sometime between 1938 and 1941. It is now a high-tech, modern residence offering all the amenities you could ever want from a home.

8. World’s Smallest 1sq Meter House, Germany

Once a Laotian refugee and now a German architect, Van Bo Le-Mentzel applied his knowledge of what it is like to be homeless, with the emotional and financial importance of owning your own space.

While it not be for everyone, his experiment with the worlds first 1sq meter home is a worthy contender for the strangest house in this list.

[Plans for the one-square-meter (or 1SQM) house are available for free, along with its bare-banes list of essential building components. Plans can be found here.]

9. Dick Clark’s Flintstones Inspired Home, USA

Another home in this list with a Flinstones inspired theme. This one is owned by American television and radio star, Dick Clark. Th house sits on a 23 acres lot in Malibu giving one a 360 degree view of mountains, seas and cityscapes.

The house was the brain child of Architect Phillip Jon Brown who suggested to create a house that looked like a rock formation in order to blend in with its surroundings. (The home is situated right next to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreational Area.)

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10. Slide House, Japan

Now this has to be the dream home for any child, (and adult with child like sensibilities. Japanese studio Level Architecs based in Tokyo, Japan, are behind this property and the ingenious yet strange aspect to this is the fact all 3 floors are connected with a slide.

A staircase wraps around one side of the rectangular house and the slide encircles the other. Absolutely brilliant.

Slide House Photographs by Shinichi Tanaka

11. The Steel House, Texas, USA

To say that the Steel House is a labour of love would be an under-statement and then some. Artist and architect Robert Bruno has been battling away with a welder on this one since 1974.

The concept is some where between animal and machine, according to Bruno – the organic curves do hold a particularly haunting beauty.

The artist has approached the building like a sculpture, with the constant modifications a big reason for the ongoing 40 year time scale it has taken to complete.

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12. Bubble Castle, Theoule, France

Designer Antti Lovag long rebelled against traditional structures. And they do not come much more untraditional than Bubble Castle. The bulbous compound sits on the southwest coast of France, where it attracts tourist sightseers and architect fans from across the globe.

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