A building shaped like a glass egg. A bubble palace. A ceramic house.
No matter where you go in the world, you can find interesting, sometimes bizarre architecture that showcases the endless creativity of human beings.
Click start to play today’s Word Search, where you can pick out all kinds of structures.
Here are five striking buildings that compel you to take a second look:
1. Cybertecture Egg, India
Located in the business district of Mumbai, India, the Cybertecture Egg is an office building with a ‘synthesised biosphere’. A net-zero energy building, it blends a natural shape – that of the egg – with innovative technologies, across an expanse of 33,000 square metres. The building is completely green, using solar panels and photovoltaic cells in its exoskeleton, and integrating plants to create sky gardens that cool and replenish the air.
2. Earth House, Switzerland
Exactly like the Shire from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings universe, the Earth House in Switzerland (pictured above) is an architectural marvel, designed as homes burrowed within hillsides. With banked earth for roofs, and natural terrain forming the walls of the structures, this is one of the most unusual housing communities in the world.
3. Bubble Palace, France
Palais Bulles, or Bubble Palace, is a massive residence in Théoule-sur-Mer, close to Cannes, France. Designed by the Hungarian architect Antti Lovag in 1975, the palace was originally built for a French industrialist, until French fashion designer Pierre Cardin bought it as a holiday home. The unique 1,200-square-metre structure houses a panoramic lawn, 500-seat open-air amphitheatre, 10 bedrooms and numerous swimming pools and waterfalls.
4. Casa Terracotta, Colombia
Also called Ceramic House, Casa Terracotta was constructed entirely by hand, using clay, which was then parched in the sun. Located in a mountain village in Colombia, it’s called the Flintstone House by locals, for its resemblance to the prehistoric homes featured in the cartoon.
Which of these structures is your favourite? Play today’s Word Search and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
