If we can't fly to space, at least we can live in buildings that look like rockets. Here are some of the coolest pieces of rocket-inspired architecture in the world.


The Omiya Rocket Building, Omiya-ku, Greater Tokyo Area, Japan

This is the image you see above. It was built in the early 1980s. In the building there are some offices, a kindergarten and lots of small apartments. The topmost story used to have a small rotating observation deck, but now it no longer spins.


Gherkin Building (or 30 St Mary Axe)

Designed by Norman Foster in 2001, opened in 2004. The 180 metres tall glass gherkin is London's first ecofriendly skyscraper, because it has internal sky gardens and the people can use natural light instead of the old-fashioned electricity. The air-conditioning is almost fully provided by wind.

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Photos by Flying Fin/Flickr and Gaston Bastini/Flickr


Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai

By Shanghai Modern Architectural Design Co. Ltd, opened in 1994. The 468 m high TV tower was the tallest Chinese building from 1994 to 2007. The five smaller spheres are a hotel that has 25 rooms. The pearl at the very top contains shops, a rotating restaurant and a sightseeing place. In the tower there is a double-decker elevator, which can run at speed of 7m/s!


Photos via thewampyhri/Flickr , Eric D. Fleury/Flickr, Antonio0106/Flickr and wstay.com/Flickr


Bell tower of First Baptist Church, Huntsville, Alabama

The 229 foot steeple is the largest prefabricated steeple in the world.

Photo by Adam Campbell/Flickr


Rocket-shaped bunkers in Germany

These were constructed by Leo Winkel (Bauart Winkel company). In Germany there were at least 200 of these, built in the late 1930's. Each of them can contain 600 people.


Photos by Bojan U/Flickr, meerkat-messerschmitt/Flickr and -NEIL-/Flickr


Sail Tower or District Government Center, Haifa Israel

Without the antennas, the sails of the Sail Tower are 113 m high, but the architectural height is 137,2 m. It was designed by the Israeli Amar-Koriel Architects. Opened in 2002.


Photos by Roger Russell on Flickr and Halfen.it


Memorial To The Martyrs, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

This uncommon memorial tower is in the capital city of the small African country Burkina Faso.


Photos via Skyscrapercity and Isuru Senevi


Nanohana-Kan Communication And Recreation Plaza, Ibusuki, Japan

Designed by Takasaki Masaharu and opened in 1998. It's for the senior citizens of the small city Ibusuki.


Photos via Kenta Mabuchi/Flickr


Most people say it looks like the Hindenburg, but we know it's a part of a spaceship from another planet.

Photos via Hiroyuki Tateyama/Flickr (first and second)


Scott Monument, Edinburgh, Scotland

The 200 feet 6 inches (61.11m) high Victorian Gothic space rocket is a monument to Sir Walter Scott, who was died in 1832. The memorial was built between 1841 and 1844, and it was designed by George Meikle Kemp, a self-taught architect.


Photos via The Library Of Congress/Flickr and (Nagus)/Flickr


Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang, North Korea

Construction began in 1987, but stopped in 1992 because of the economic crisis caused by the fall of the Soviet Union. It's still not completed, but four years ago an Egyptian company group, the Orascom restarted the building. The 330 metres high Ryugyong has three wings, each of them are 100 metres long and 18m wide.


Photo by Joseph A. Ferris III/Flickr and John Pavelka/Flickr.