This Week’s Crazy Building: Capsule Hotels

“Capsule Hotel” by Kojach is licensed under CC BY 2.0
At first glance, this may look like a row of washing machines but they are actually rooms at a Capsule Hotel. Room sizes vary but the average is about 4 feet wide, 6.5 feet long, and 3 feet high. Composed of a narrow space with a bed and some other amenities such as an alarm
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Fuji Television Building

The Fuji Television building in Tokyo, Japan, is almost ordinary… except for the 1,322-ton stainless steel ball stuck on it! Designed by internationally recognized architect, Kenzō Tange it was completed in 1996. Inside the steel ball or, Hachitama Spherical Observation Room, visitors can get 360-degree views of the Tokyo waterfront as well as the TV
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Nakagin Capsule Tower

nakaginctb05f by scarletgreen is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Is this the set of the next Blade Runner movie? Not quite! The Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo’s fashionable Ginza district is real but may not be for long! The concept behind this unusual structure comes from an architect named Kisho Kurokawa. He was a major contributor to the Metabolism architectural movement and envisioned the
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Whimsical Houses by Terunobu Fujimori

Takasugi-an by Kenta Mahuchi is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Terunobu Fujimori, a Japanese architect, and architectural historian was virtually unknown until 1991 when he was asked to design a small museum. At first, he was reluctant to do so. His concern was that by becoming an architect himself, he might lose credibility. Well, the museum was a success, and Fujimori has been producing one
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Cocoon Tower

Cocoon Tower by kuracom is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
This week’s crazy building is the Cocoon Tower in Tokyo, Japan. It was completed in 2008 and is the home of 3 educational institutions. At 669 feet tall, it is the 2nd tallest educational building in the world and Tokyo’s 17th tallest building. It can accommodate 10,000 students. In 2008 it was awarded Skyscraper of
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Umeda Sky Building

Umeda Sky Building in Osaka by Brücke-Osteuropa Licensed Under the Terms of the CC0 1.0 Universal
This week’s crazy building is the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka, Japan. Those strange construction cranes aren’t cranes at all. They’re actually a part of the building! Specifically, they serve as fire escapes, bridges and escalators to help get around the massive structure. You may think they look unsightly, but you can’t argue with the
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Tower of Winds

Tower of Winds by Forgemind ArchiMedia licensed under the terms of CC BY 2.0
This week’s crazy building is the Tower of Winds in Yokohama, Japan. A picture doesn’t truly do this structure justice. While the tower merely reflects the rest of the city during the daytime, by night it’s a different story. Computers within the building sense the ambient wind and noise levels, then adjust its 1300 lamps,
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Tokyo Big Sight

Tokyo Big Sight by heiwa4126 licensed under the terms of CC BY 2.0
This week’s crazy building is the Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, Japan. While it may look like some futuristic spacecraft or a supervillain headquarters, it’s actually a convention center—the largest one in all of Japan. Officially called the Tokyo International Exhibition Center, it was completed in 1996 for nearly $2 billion. It’s well known in the
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Acros Fukuoka

Acros Fukuoka
This week’s crazy building is Acros Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan. Designed by famous Argentinian architect Emilio Ambasz, this strange but little-known structure opened to the public in 1995. Acros, which stands for Asian CrossRoad Over the Sea, is a cultural center and Fukuoka’s most distinctive landmark. What makes it distinctive is obvious to anyone who
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Asahi Beer Hall

Asahi Beer Hall by rsk licensed under the terms of CC BY 2.1 JP
This week’s crazy building is the Asahi Beer Hall in Toyko, Japan. As you may have guessed, it’s the main office of Asahi Breweries. The brainchild of French designer Philippe Starcke, Asahi Beer Hall was completed in 1989 and includes two highly unusual structures. The main building is over 300 feet tall and 22 stories.
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