This Week’s Crazy Building: Hilton London Metropole

The unusual facade of the Hilton London Metropole seems to bend the laws of space. It is one of the largest hotels in Europe and can accomodate about 3,000 people in its conference space. It contains over 1,000 rooms and can dine about 2,000. The Metropole is centrally located in London, nearby Hyde park. The
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This Week’s Crazy Building: The Shard

Shard London Bridge (The Shard) by Alessandro is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
The Shard is currently the tallest building in the United Kingdom and its creation sparked controversy. Designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano, the staggering 1,016-foot high tower is visible from many parts of the city. Essentially it’s a glass pyramid rising around a concrete cylinder. A building like this is only possible in modern day.
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This Week’s Crazy Building: The Cheese Grater

London, The Cheese Grater Building, Leadenhall Building, HDR by Martin Pettitt is licensed under CC BY 2.0
The Leadenhall Building or Cheese Grater is located in downtown London. This unique 802-foot tall building, one of the highest in London, is actually the first prefabricated skyscraper to be assembled in a small space. It was largely built off-site due to space constraints and later assembled in its current location. This process helped to
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This Week’s Crazy Building: The Gherkin

The Gherkin by Morgaine is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
30 St. Mary Axe or “The Gherkin” is a tower in London’s financial district. Completed in 2004, this unique building is home to offices, shops, and restaurants. Its conical shape and argyle pattern make it instantly recognizable and it has appeared in films, tv shows, and video games. It has received numerous awards including the
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This Week’s Crazy Building: Inside-Out Building

The Inside-Out Building is also known as the Lloyd’s Building. It is home to Lloyd’s of London, a large insurance company located in London’s main financial district. The elevators, staircases, electrical power conduits, ductwork, and water pipes are located outside the building to maximize interior space. Each year they receive thousands of requests to visit
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This Week’s Crazy Building: MI6 Building

MI6 Building by Dun.can licensed under the terms of the CC BY 2.0
This week’s crazy building is the MI6 Building in London, England. You may know this one better as the “James Bond” building. It’s been depicted in The World Is Not Enough, Skyfall and most recently as a ruin in Spectre. What you may not know is that this oddly-designed building really does house the British Secret Intelligence Service.
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This Week’s Crazy Building: The Walkie Talkie

The Walkie- Talkie by Colin licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 4.0
This week’s crazy building is the Walkie Talkie Building in London, England. Officially called “20 Fenchurch Street”, this distinctive skyscraper was dubbed the Walkie Talkie building due to its unusual shape. Later, though, the Walkie Talkie began to pick up other, even less flattering nicknames: The “Walkie Scorchie” and the “Fryscraper.” Why the strange monikers? As
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