Sunday, December 18, 2011

10 Strange Upside Down Buildings

Humans our rooted to the ground. For obvious reasons, our houses and other structures follow our upright orientation as well. But then you have the following upside down structures proving that perhaps humans have become too bored of the usual houses and buildings. Let’s hope that these are not the houses of the future.

1. Daniel Czapiewski’s Upside Down House


This is located in Symbark, Poland and is purely a tourist spot. The architect, Daniel Czapiewski, is a businessman and philanthropist. He has a company involved in construction and his men helped in erecting this upside down architectural wonder. Typically, his employees take only several weeks to build a house. Building this particular structure, however, took much longer. According to reports, the workers’ disorientation contributed to the delay in the construction. If you plan on visiting this house, you must be prepared for a bit of dizziness yourself.

2. Wonderworks Amusement Park


You can’t help but agree with the tagline of this place: an amusement park for the mind. Right now, this park has three locations. These are Orlando, Florida, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Panama City Beach, Florida. And yes, all of their buildings are upside down. There is another park that will open soon in South Carolina (Myrtle Beach) and it will be upside down as well, of course. Some fun things that you can do in these parks are take in wonderful exhibits, pilot a fighter jet, and ride a roller coaster. Sadly, there is no course on how to design strange buildings.

3. The World Stands on its Head


Not only is this structure upside down, the interior of this house defies gravity as well. This is located in Trassenheide Germany. This was constructed for an exhibition but this is still open for public viewing today. The artists responsible for this upside down wonder are Klaudiusz Golos and Sebastion Mikuciuk. They wanted to do something out of the ordinary so they built this house. When you visit, you will stand in awe (and perhaps with an aching head) as you watch the proper position of the furniture and trappings of the house when you look up.

4. The House of Katmandu


This is another amusement park but this one is located in Mallorca, Spain. Perhaps this upside down structure is slowly becoming a trend in amusement parks? In all honesty, one look at an upside down structure is enough to amuse most people. With the added architectural details and brilliant lighting of the House of Katmandu, you have an amusement park winner. Fun things to do here include a 4D cinema, lounging at the Timbuktu Bar and Grill, and the mini golf. The latter has a fire and ice theme for that added out of this world experience.

5. Upside Down House in South Korea


There is not much information available about this house except that it can be found in South Korea. Of course, this had to be part of this bizarre list.  Not only is the house beautiful (if it were standing upright), it also looks to be quite functional. With those front steps, one can assume that this is a home to a family with strange but fun tastes. One part of this house that you cannot possibly ignore is that upside down vehicle by the front door. It makes for a perfect front porch roof, doesn’t it? This would have made the ultimate upside down house if the plants were growing TO the ground, too.

6. House Attack


This is not exactly an upside down structure but more like an upside down house on top of an upright building. The building is a museum and the upside down “attacking” house is a piece of art. The artist was Erwin Wurm and this piece of installation was done several years ago. Viewed from different angles, the whole setup gave an impression of a small house flung to the imposing museum. If you were one of those people who were able to enjoy this installation right after it was made, you are very lucky. It’s not everyday a piece of artwork like this is approved by a museum.

7. Upside Down House in Antalya


Antalya is in Turkey and this upside down house is one of its biggest tourist attractions. The purpose of this house was to make the real estate industry in the region much stronger. It makes sense, in a way. This house attracts tourist and these tourists get to check out what it’s like living in Antalya. Hopefully, the houses that are for sale are not upside down as well. Only the most talented real estate agent can pull off a sale with an upside down house such as this. But with its upside down garden and interiors, only a crazy person would want to live here.

8. Device to Root Out Evil


Yes, that is a church. Not an actual church, of course. This is a sculpture by artist Dennis Oppenheim. An upright church has a steeple pointing to the sky or the heavens. This strange structure, however, has the steeple digging to the ground. The assumption is that the top part of the church is trying to “root out” evil and that evil is buried deep in the ground. Owing to the position of the church, this piece of art was quite controversial. This was understandable, of course, since at first glance, one would think that the artist is conveying something about turning the church upside down. The title of the artwork helps explains everything, though.

9. Sakasa Restaurant


Located in Japan, this restaurant is where you bring your first date if you want to be seen as quirky. Not only is it an eye-catching pink, this upside down restaurant also has upside down signs. Yes, that bike rack isn’t upright either. The clever part about this restaurant is that the door has a covered area courtesy of the chimney. That’s nicely done, isn’t it? What’s a bit confusing is that open “window” on what should be the roof. What happens when it rains? Whose job is it to climb up and close that window?

10. Dells Top Secret


Well what do you know, another tourist spot that is upside down! For those who are not familiar with this structure, this is the White House that is, well…upside down. The things inside are upside down as well. For those who are visiting Dells, Wisconsin very soon, you may want to take one of the guided tours. Take note, however, that those who have seen the place claim that the outside is more interesting that the tours themselves.

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