When A House Isn’t A House
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We all like to have a house that feels like a home - and this is usually achieved by adding a bit of personal clutter and/or a cat. But some people take it that much further, by constructing homes which don’t even vaguely resemble your average house! Whether unusually shaped or built from unusual materials, it’s hard not to wonder how quickly you’d grow sick of the novelty and find yourself wishing for a good ole cosy four walls. Until then - here’s 5 spectacularly creative and peculiar homes to satisfy that curiosity.
Porcelain House, Tianjin
Originally a French colonial building, owner Zhang Lianzhi has refurbished the house with countless amounts of delicate porcelain dating right back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 907) and opened the home as a private museum in 2007. Many pieces are broken or damaged and have been reclaimed in unusual ways throughout the home’s interior and exterior facade - it has been estimated that the house contains about 400 million pieces of antique porcelain, as well as showcasing a little crystal and marble. Talk about delicate decoration!
Waldspirale, Darmstadt
You may recognise this design as the quirky signature style of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser - but the “forest spiral” wasn’t actually completed until 2000. Like the world-famous Hundertwasser Haus in Vienna, the building is essentially a residential apartment block, complete with a parking garage, cafe and bar! With over 1000 windows - no two of which are alike - the Waldspirale is an extraordinary sight nestled in central Germany.
House NA, Tokyo
Concerned about privacy? This one’s not for you. Constructed in 2010 for a young Japanese couple, this Sou Fujimoto design is almost entirely transparent - with the only exception being the white steel frame. Inspired by the idea of channeling the area’s ancient tree-inhabiting predecessors, the house is 914 square foot and allows its household to enjoy a more nomadic lifestyle in an otherwise sprawling urban landscape.
Mushroom House, New York State
Recently sold off in 2012, the Mushroom House was built in 1972 by architect James Johnson and features pod rooms resting on stems, like some kind of martian army. Johnson claims the inspiration came from imagining some Queen Anne’s lace suspended in a coke bottle (this was the 70s, after all). The original owners, Robert and Marguerite Antell, were heavily involved in designing the property and various additions have been made over the years, with the home even being designated a town landmark in 1989.
Haewoojae, Suwon
Okay, so this one’s not technically a private residence anymore - but with a name like Mr. Toilet House, how could we resist? This private museum was set up to commemorate the work of former town mayor, “Mr Toilet” Sim Jae-deok, who was a passionate advocate for bathroom hygiene and founded the World Toilet Association General Assembly. Since 2009, the museum has featured a range of displays about the history and engineering behind the modern toilet and extensive information about worldwide sanitation projects. In the very centre of the building sits the grandest room in the house - the very own toilet of this so-called “toilet temple”.
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