The Chinese central government recently released an urban blueprint demanding an end to the construction of oversized, ‘xeonocentric’ (the preference for foreign styles) and downright weird buildings.
In recent years China’s rapid growth has made it a playground for western architects. Unencumbered by Western-style planning regulations they have been free to let their imaginations run wild.
But it seems that president Xi Jinping has had enough of the phallic towers, novelty-teapot buildings and intergalactic eggs spawned from the construction boom.
So what’s on his new agenda? Architecture that is “suitable, economic, green and pleasing to the eye,” he says.
In light of this, Propertysales.com has taken a look at some of the world’s weirdest commercial buildings (we’ve already covered London’s five weirdest office spaces)
Galaxy Soho, Beijing, China
Part of a wave of alien-esque space eggs that have descended on Chinese cities in recent years, the Galaxy Soho building in Beijing has become a world-famous commercial landmark.
Designed by Zaha Hadid architects, the 15 floor, 370,000 square metre mega mall is home to shops, offices and restaurants.
The 60 metre domes, which are devoid of corners and sharp edges, are connected by flowing loops and twists, a design which saw it crowned the winner of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International prize in 2013.
However, this decision was met with controversy in China when the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Centre accused it of “destroying the city’s built heritage” and violating preservation laws and regulations.
Capital Gate, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Owned by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) and designed by architectural firm RMJM, the Capital Gate’s construction started in 2007 and was completed in 2011.
The skyscraper houses 15,000 square metres of office space as well as the five-star Hyatt Capital Gate hotel.
This iconic 160-metre development has become world-famous due to its distinctive slanted design, which tilts 18 degrees to the west (it’s even been dubbed the ‘Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi’).
In order to accommodate the gravitational and seismic forces that could prove troublesome for its distinctive lean, 490 piles were drilled 30 metres underground.
In June 2010, Capital Gate was recognised as the "world’s furthest leaning man-made tower" by the Guinness World Records.
With its futuristic aesthetic of steel and glass (like London’s very own Gherkin), the building has a diagrid (a framework of diagonally intersecting metal, concrete or wooden beams) especially designed to absorb and channel the forces created by wind and seismic loading.
The Kunsthaus Graz, Graz, Austria
The €40 million Kunsthaus Graz, or Graz Art Museum, was originally built as part of Graz’s European Capital of Culture celebrations, but since opening its doors in 2003 it’s become an architectural landmark.
Know to locals as ‘the friendly alien’, the 27,000-square-foot, ultra-modern build was designed by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier in collaboration with Berlin-based design firm realities:united.
Its bizarre shape has led it to be categorised as ‘blob architecture’ – a stylistic idiom used by architects to describe buildings that resemble an organic, amoeba-shaped form.
Bridging the gap between the historic town that surrounds it and architectural modernity, the building has a very low environmental impact and generates its own solar power.
Its outer ‘skin’ consists of 1,288 semi-transparent, acrylic glass, photovoltaic panels – something the designers dub a ‘BIX façade’ (a combination of the words ‘big’ and ‘pixels’).
Hằng Nga guesthouse, Dalat, Vietnam
Shaped like a tree this freewheeling, five-storey guest house is unconventional to say the least. Hằng Nga guesthouse (also known as Crazy House) is run by Mrs Dang Viet Nga and has been a work in progress since 1990.
As an exploration of surrealism and expressionism it is both outrageous and artistic (think fairytale meets Gaudi or Dali). It boasts 10 animal-themed guest rooms, sculptures of natural forms throughout and corridors that resemble tunnels and caves.
As for the design, there was no traditional design blueprint – just paintings – and the owner commissioned local craftsmen for the construction.
The Atomium, Brussels, Belgium
The Atomium was designed by engineer Andre Waterkeyn and architects Andre and Jean Polak for Expo 58 (also known as the World Fair) and was not expected to survive beyond 1958.
However, its popularity soon made it an iconic landmark and Brussel’s most popular tourist attraction. It is now a museum, home to a permanent exhibition about its history and exhibitions centred around architecture, design and society.
The unique construction, which consists of nine stainless steel spheres connected with three-metre-wide tubes containing escalators, is supposed to resemble the elementary cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times – if you could imagine such a thing.
Not all of the spheres are open to the public due to structural limitations but one, 102-metre, high panoramic sphere houses a restaurant and offers diners a 360-degree view of the city.
