
Most of the buildings that we see around us are very functional. They are designed to serve a purpose. But it is not often that you get to see a truly unique building! There are some buildings around the world that are unlike any other you can usually see.

This strange-looking building can be found in Sopot, Poland. It is part of a shopping centre, but it looks like it came out of a classic fairy tale! The designers, SzotyĆscy & Zaleski, were inspired by old fairy tale illustrations and drawings by other Polish artists. The building was finished in 2004 and many tourists come from all over the world to see Krzywy Domek, or The Crooked House.

This building can be found in the An Hui Province in China. Inside the violin, there are escalators to take you up into the building. Surprisingly, the musical theme of the building has no relevance to the building's purpose. The building contains city plans and other documents to demonstrate to the public what the city's future plans might look like. The city is hoping that this amazing building can bring tourists who will want to visit the An Hui province. Would you want to go see?

From one side, the Kansas City Library looks like just an average library. But if you go to the other side, you will see something that no other library in the world has: 22 giant books! These books are as tall as the whole building, and cover an entire wall.

All the books that are on display are real, existing books. The library surveyed hundreds of people in the local community to find the most popular books. The local residents voted for the ones they wanted on the wall. Now, they can go find their favourite book and read it next to a giant copy of its cover!

This next bizarre house looks just like a normal house except for one small difference. What could the difference be? Oh, right. It's upside down! This house was built by a Polish architect who wanted to show how absurd life can be.
Strangely, it's not the only upside down house in the world! Check out this house, located in Austria. In both these houses, not only is the house upside down, but so are all the contents! Many visitors have claimed that being in the house is a disorienting and dizzying experience. Not surprising, it's dizzying just watching the video!

These are just a few of the strange and wonderful unique buildings of the world. Take a look and you're sure to find some of the most interesting buildings architects have ever imagined!
Exercise
Please open the exercise to continue.