Architecture that Amazes: the Most Bizarre Skyscrapers in the World

One of the most bizarre buildings in the world that never fails to awe is certainly the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Standing 57 meters tall, with its seven bells weighing up to 7.5 tons, it tilts almost 4 degrees off its vertical axis. The bell tower of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, in the famous Piazza del Duomo, wasn’t designed this way; its tilt developed over hundreds of years due to soil settlement, and it underwent structural adjustments, the latest at the end of the last century, to balance its weight.

Without mentioning this world-famous monument, there are many other examples of architecture and engineering pushing the limits of imagination. They can be found almost everywhere, and they’re not all centuries-old structures. These buildings defy architectural conventions with bold shapes and innovative technologies, representing in some cases the future of architecture and addressing environmental and functional challenges.

Arriving from Singapore’s airport, the first striking feature of the renowned casino resort Marina Bay Sands Hotel is its incredible skyway 200 meters above the ground. This suspended ship-shaped platform, known as SkyPark, is 340 meters long with a bow-like extension that floats in the air. This structure earned Singapore the title of global capital of contemporary architecture.

It is essentially a 12,400-square-meter park that forms the roof over the three towers that make up the building, each with 57 floors; inside, there are hanging gardens, whirlpool pools, wellness centers, bars, and restaurants with a capacity of 3,900 people, and a 150-meter-long infinity pool. From here, you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the city, starting with the Supertree Grove, a garden dominated by 18 artificial trees between 25 and 50 meters tall, designed for climate relief and reminiscent of the world created by director James Cameron in his film Avatar.

Completed in 1986 and immediately established as the headquarters of United Overseas Bank, the Robot Building in Bangkok was a pioneer of video game-inspired architecture, anticipating the boxy look of Minecraft architecture by nearly thirty years.

Designed by Thai architect Sumet Jumsai, it’s recognized as the world’s most playful skyscraper because of its robot-inspired shape. Since its opening, it has become one of Bangkok’s symbols. Its design also recalls another Bangkok building, the more modern Chang Building, also known as the Elephant Building for its unusual elephant-like shape. Opened in 1997, it was named one of the “20 World’s Iconic Skyscrapers” by CNN.

This skyscraper defies gravity and was awarded a Guinness World Record in June 2010 as the only man-made leaning tower. The 35-story, 160-meter-tall skyscraper, covered with 728 diamond-shaped glass panels, is also called the “Leaning Tower of the Middle East” because its 18-degree tilt surpasses the inclination of the church bell tower of Suurhusen (a village in Lower Saxony, Germany) and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. To counteract gravity, the building was constructed with a reinforced concrete core strengthened by steel, anchored to the ground with 490 piles placed 30 meters deep.

Playing with cube rotation as if they were Lego bricks is a common architectural solution in Northern European urban designs. An example is the Norddeutsche Landesbank in Hannover, Germany, a 70-meter-high building constructed with offset blocks, as if they were large boxes stacked randomly.

Apart from buildings that evoke Lego structures, the drive to amaze knows no architectural or geographical boundaries and often aligns with the widespread race to reach the sky. Notable examples include modern engineering masterpieces such as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, still the tallest skyscraper in the world at 829.8 meters, and the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh, the second tallest building in Saudi Arabia at 302 meters, constructed by Webuild and known as the “Bottle Opener Building“.

Circular-shaped buildings have also found a place in the minds of leading architects. The most notable recent example is undoubtedly The Sphere, the massive ellipsoidal music and entertainment arena in Paradise, Nevada, USA, near the Las Vegas Strip and east of The Venetian resort. Built with an investment of over 2 billion dollars, it dominates the skyline with its 112-meter diameter.

Even more unusual than The Sphere is the Coin Building, officially known as the Aldar Building. Standing 23 stories high and built with glass and steel, it resembles a giant coin and is located at Al Raha Beach, near Abu Dhabi Airport. At 110 meters high with a total area of 51,000 square meters, it represents the first example of circular architecture in the Arab world.

The desire and need to experiment with new design techniques to meet environmental and functional challenges have, in recent years, led to the increasing spread of Data Centers. Webuild Group, with its subsidiary CSC Costruzioni in Switzerland specializing in highly technological buildings, is also involved in this sector.

In an era when every online action generates data that must be stored and managed, there’s a race to build large facilities that house IT infrastructure for creating, running, and delivering applications and services. Unconventional architecture has also entered this sector, as in the case of Google’s Hamina Data Center, placed in a former paper mill between the fjords in the Gulf of Finland to use seawater for cooling large electronic processors. Also cooled with fjord water, this time in Norway, is the Lefdal Mine Data Center, built within a decommissioned mine and now powered by hydroelectric and wind energy.

Other data centers have been built with highly futuristic designs, with an emphasis on energy savings and sustainability. Examples include Stockholm’s Pionen White Mountains, carved into rock, and the Hive Blockchain data center in Canada, situated among the glaciers of the Arctic Circle. But when such sites aren’t available, lateral thinking is required, even repurposing old churches. This is the case with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, housed under the former Torre Girona chapel in the Catalan city. Owned by the government, it hosts the MareNostrum 4 supercomputer, one of the most powerful in Europe.