A new photography book titled "Weird Buildings" is taking readers on a global tour of the world's most unconventional architecture, featuring everything from duck-shaped roadside stores to spaceship-like homes. Published by Hoxton Mini Press with text by Imogen Fortes, the collection showcases structures that challenge traditional design principles and push the boundaries of what buildings can be.
The book presents a diverse array of architectural oddities from around the world, including homes, hotels, museums, and roadside landmarks that prioritize creativity and experimentation over conventional function. These structures demonstrate how architects and builders have stretched beyond traditional design to create visually surprising and imaginative spaces that provoke thought and spark curiosity.
Among the featured buildings is Portugal's Casa do Penedo in Fafe, built in 1974 by a local family as a rural retreat. This unique home is literally squeezed between four enormous boulders, with its name translating to "of stone" in Portuguese. The house was specifically designed to blend seamlessly with its natural surroundings, creating a sculptural appearance that immerses its occupants in nature. While the family now uses it only for holidays, Casa do Penedo has become a popular tourist attraction, drawing streams of curious visitors for guided tours throughout the year.
The Netherlands contributes the striking Inntel Hotel in Zaandam, completed in 2010 by WAM Architecten. This 12-story structure consists of stacked interpretations of traditional wooden houses from the region, including workers' cottages and a notary's dwelling. The hotel's distinctive blue house section pays homage to a painting created by French impressionist Claude Monet during his visit to Zaandam, connecting contemporary architecture with artistic history.
In Lebanon, architect Michael Suleiman created the remarkable Airplane House in Miziara in 1975. This two-story residential building is constructed in the exact form of an Airbus A380, complete with 30 portholes on each side, balconies positioned on both wings, and a distinctive short nose cone. The house demonstrates how residential architecture can take inspiration from completely different industries and forms of transportation.
The United States offers several notable examples, including New York's famous Big Duck, built in 1931 by architects Martin Maurer, George Reeve, William and Samuel Collins. Originally commissioned as a duck-shaped roadside store for selling poultry, this structure has since become a recognized Long Island landmark and is considered an early example of "duck architecture" – buildings shaped like the products they sell or represent.
Texas is home to the enigmatic Steel House at Lake Ransom Canyon, an unfinished Corten steel structure created by Robert Bruno that resembles a rusted spaceship. Bruno dedicated three decades of his life to working on this experimental building before his death, leaving behind a striking example of how architecture can push material boundaries and challenge conventional residential design.
According to the book, these unusual buildings are united not by any particular architectural style, but by their shared willingness to push boundaries and defy expectations. Many of these structures deliberately challenge conventional shapes, scales, and design principles, encouraging viewers to reconsider how humans inhabit and interact with built spaces. Some were conceived specifically to attract attention and serve as landmarks, while others represent deeply personal expressions of their creators' visions, and still others function as experiments in form, material, and construction techniques.
"Weird Buildings" places these contemporary examples within a broader architectural context, acknowledging the influence of pioneering designers who have long explored unconventional forms. The book references the legacy of architects such as Antoni Gaudí, Frank Gehry, and Zaha Hadid, as well as contemporary architectural practices like BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), all of whom have consistently explored inventive approaches to building design and challenged traditional architectural norms.
Ultimately, the book serves as a visual celebration of architecture that refuses to conform to standardization and mass production. Whether the featured buildings are monumental or modest in scale, internationally famous or relatively obscure, they all highlight the creativity, eccentricity, and imagination that drive designers to continuously rethink the possibilities of the built environment. In a world increasingly shaped by uniformity and efficiency-driven design, these remarkable structures stand as important reminders of the enduring value of curiosity, playfulness, and bold experimentation in architecture.
