Architectural Oddities

A 300-year-old cottage decorated with tens of thousands of seashells arranged in intricate patterns.

A stone hut overlooking a picturesque bay once hosted picnics for the wealthy Gribbel family.

A suburban housing complex with astonishing architectural features, locally nicknamed "the Camemberts."

The unique design of these skyscrapers in a Paris suburb led to them being nicknamed "cloud towers."

The best revenge is a five-tiered layer cake of a dwelling.

This historic suspension bridge is one of three remaining swinging bridges in Michigan, and one of the few swinging bridges left in North America.

This statue of one of the engineers who created the London Underground hides a ventilation shaft for the tube lines that run under the street.

The first regular high-definition TV transmissions were made from this seemingly out-of-place mast located on one corner of a Victorian-era entertainment venue.

This small, easily-overlooked sculpture recalls the first time Graz saw a live elephant.

This colossal hiking boot, once built for a scout jamboree, serves as an observation tower and barbecue area.

An interim housing alternative to FEMA trailers that is designed for densely populated areas during recovery and rebuilding following a natural disaster.

Eat fish and chips in a striking Neoclassical building that once hid a public lavatory.

This rural Australian restaurant claims to be the only restaurant in the world to be built almost entirely of sea shells.

This octagonal rotary jail built in 1889 now serves as a visitor's center.

A mysterious castle "in the clouds" has had many lives including a radar bunker, dog hotel, and conference center.

This prefabricated building was built in Belgium and shipped to Mozambique but was never inhabited, since its iron exterior was unsuitable for the tropical environment.

A 19th-century house filled with secret trap doors and hidden basements has been turned into a museum.