93 Architectural Marvels That Look Almost Unreal

It’s nothing short of extraordinary that in the time humans have been on this planet, we went from a species living on a rock floating in space to a civilization with cities, countries, the internet, healthcare, and technology that would seem like magic to anyone born just a few centuries ago. And it genuinely feels like there’s no ceiling to what the mind can achieve when it’s given the right resources and enough time.

Nowhere is this more visible than in art and architecture. The things people have built, sculpted, and imagined into existence are a reminder of just how much ambition can be packed into a single human lifetime.

Archidit on Instagram collects architectural marvels from across the world, each one a testament to human creativity at its most daring. Scroll through and you might find yourself stopping more than once, in awe of everything we’ve managed to make.

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The Column Of Marcus Aurelius Erected In Rome Between 180 And 193 Ce

Intricately carved architectural structure featuring detailed historical reliefs showcasing humanity's creativity and craftsmanship.

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93 Stunning Architectural Masterpieces That Might Leave You Speechless

The Column Of Marcus Aurelius Erected In Rome Between 180 And 193 Ce

Chiesa Del Gesù | Sicilian Baroque Masterpiece Located In Palermo’s Albergheria District

The Botanical Gardens In Mount Lofty, Australia Shot From Above

For A 1926 Film Called The Holy Mountain, Directed By Arnold Fanck, A 50-Foot-Tall Cathedral Was Carved Entirely From Real Ice, Shaped Over Months Around A Hidden Metal Framework

A Truth Window (Or Truth Wall) Is A Small Opening In An Interior Wall That Reveals The Materials Used In The Wall’s Construction

The Shambles Is A Historic Street In York, England, Celebrated For Its Beautifully Preserved Medieval Architecture And Charming, Picturesque Character

Sunlight Pierces The Grandeur Of St. Peter’s Basilica, Casting A Divine Spotlight Before The Papal Throne During A Canonization Ceremony LED By Pope John Xxiii In 1959

This Space Of The Pauluskirche In Ulm, Germany Designed By Architect Theodor Fischer, Built Between 1908 And 1910

Casa Joan Fradera, Located In Old Havana, Cuba, Is A Striking Example Of Art Nouveau Architecture Influenced By Catalan Modernism

De Groene Kathedraal By Marinus Boezem (1978–1986) Consists Of 178 Italian Poplars Planted On The Ground Plan Of Notre-Dame Of Reims

“The House Between The Rocks”, Originally Built In 1861 In The Coastal Village Of Plougrescant, Cote De Granit Rose, Brittany, France

A Stunning Example Of Milanese Liberty Style. An Art Nouveau Masterpiece Built In 1904 By Architect Alfredo Campanini

This 12th-Century Tower In Ray, Northern Iran

13 m Sequoia Trunk Integrated Into The Stairwell Of Collège Du Martinet (Rolle, Ch), Marking The Exact Spot Where The Tree Once Stood

He Minaret Of Jam, Afghanistan | Built In 1190 And Rising 65 Meters From A Remote Valley. A Unesco World Heritage Site And Ghurid-Era Masterpiece, Still Standing After 830 Years

The Headington Shark, A 25-Foot Sculpture Installed On The Roof Of A House In Headington, Oxford

A Beautiful Iron Gate Crafted By Master Blacksmith Claudio Bottero

The Wavy Window Of The Building On The Vrijheidslaan 50, Amsterdam. It Features This Iconic Detail Of The Amsterdam School

Architecture Studio Mad Has Created A Canopy That Reinterprets Traditional Chinese Oil-Paper Umbrellas At This Year’s Venice Architecture Biennale

Remains Of The Old Roman City Under Modern Street Level In Verona, Italy, Near The Porta Leoni, Gate Into The City Dating To Roman Republic

Archidit 1w The Iconic Spiral Staircase Inside Brasília’s Itamaraty Palace, Designed By Oscar Niemeyer And Completed In 1970

Completed In 1981 In Mexico City, The Tamayo Museum By Teodoro González De León And Abraham Zabludovsky Blends Modernist Forms With Echoes Of Pre-Hispanic Architecture

A Close-Up Of The Four Knotted Marble Columns At Trento Cathedral, Italy Carved In The 13th Century

Rafael Moneo’s Museo Nacional De Arte Romano In Mérida (1986) Masterfully Integrates Roman Construction Techniques With Contemporary Design

Sainte-Cécile D’albi Cathedral In France Is One Of The World’s Largest Brick Cathedrals

The Winged Victory Of Samothrace Is Displayed At The Louvre Museum In Paris

The Last Building By Louis Sullivan (1922): A Small Chicago Music Store Admired For Its Stunning Terra-Cotta Facade And Intricate Ornamentation

The Stahl House, Designed By Architect Pierre Koenig In 1959, Is An Iconic Example Of Mid-Century Modern Architecture

Rue Eugène Sue, Located In The 18th Arrondissement Of Paris, Features A Distinctive Urban Layout Where Buildings Form A Star-Like Pattern

Woodpecker Disco Is An Abandoned 1970s Nightclub Near Cervia, Italy

In 1936, André Basdevant Proposed A Project To Allow Cars To Access The Restaurant On The Second Floor Of The Eiffel Tower

Le Corbusier’s Sculptural Iroko Wood Pews At The Notre Dame Du Haut In Ronchamp

Peter Behrens’s Vestibule For The Maison De Puissance Et De Beauté”, Which Was Part Of The German Section At The International Exhibition Of Decorative Arts In Turin 1902

Grundtvig’s Church, Located In Copenhagen, Denmark, Was Completed In 1940 And Designed By Architect Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint

Sar Aqa Seyyed Is A Remote Mountain Village In Western Iran, Where Homes Are Built So Tightly Into The Slope That The Rooftops Of One Row Become The Paths For The Next

Aldo Rossi’s Teatro Del Mondo Was A Temporary Floating Theater Built For The 1980 Venice Architecture Biennale

Massive Wooden Building Sibley Breaker, Pennsylvania, Built In 1886 And Destroyed By Fire In 1906

Galerie Des Machines, 1889 Designed By Ferdinand Dutert For The 1889 Paris World’s Fair, This Iron And Glass Marvel Featured A 111-Meter Clear Span

The Monumental Interior Of A Ptolemaic Temple In Egypt

The Margravial Opera House In Bayreuth, Germany. As The World’s Best-Preserved Baroque Court Theatre Built As An Independent Structure

Discovered In Antakya, Turkey (2010), This Roman Mosaic Dates Back To The 3rd Century Ad

Great Reading Room, Bibliothèque Nationale De France, Paris (1857–1867)

Temple Of Nefertari At Abu Simbel, Egypt, 1965-1968

Renzo Piano Building Workshop 2001. Tokyo, Japan

St.hildegardis Chapel, Düsseldorf, Germany 1962-1970

The Flatiron Building In New York, Completed In 1902 By Architect Daniel Burnham, An Iconic Early Skyscraper Whose Distinctive Triangular Form Has Become A Symbol Of The City’s Skyline

Mauro Staccioli’s ‘Martina Franca’ Italy ’79 Places A Large Concrete Triangle In The Street To Interrupt Daily Movement

Eslöv Medborgarhus In Eslöv, Sweden, Designed By Hans Asplund And Completed In 1957

All Across Tinos, The Cycladic Landscape Is Dotted With Interesting Stone Structures

Utrechtseweg 310 B30, Arnhem | 1936-1938 In The Style Of The Nieuwe Haagse School, Mixed With Influences Of The Expressive Brick Functionalism

Residential House In Groningen, The Netherlands 1929 | Egbert Reitsma

Jean Prouvé’s Maison Des Jours Meilleurs (Better Days), Designed In 1956, Featured A Steel Central Unit Containing The Kitchen, Bathroom, And Toilet

The Tomb Of Darius I (522–486 Bce), Carved High Into The Cliffs Of Naqsh-E Rustam Near Persepolis, Iran

Adolf Loos, Tristan Tzara House, Paris (1925-1926) | The House For The Romanian Poet And Dadaist Tristan Tzara And His Wife

Lina Bo Bardi’s Iconic Sesc Pompéia Factory In Sao Paulo 1977 – 1986

This Stunning Door Was Crafted By Italian Architect Pietro Fenoglio In 1907

Jean-Claude Gautrand’s L’assassinat De Baltard (1971) Captures The Dramatic Demolition Of The Iconic Halles De Baltard In Paris

Bedouin Tents In Morocco

Maison Guiette, Designed By Le Corbusier And Built Between 1926 And 1927 In Antwerp, Belgium, Is A Notable Example Of The Architect’s Purist Villas From The 1920s

Haid Al-Jazil, Yemen, A Village Over 500 Years Old, Stands Atop A Massive Rock In Wadi Hadhramaut

The Ocbc Centre Designed By I.m. Pei And Completed In 1976, This 52-Story Tower Has Long Been The Headquarters Of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation

A Small Head Embedded In The Corner Of A Building On Via Dei Banchi Vecchi Towards Corso Vittorio, Rome, Italy

The Former La Dépêche Du Midi Headquarters In Toulouse Is A Stunning Example Of French Art Deco

A Buddhist Monk Crosses An Iron-Chain Bridge Linking A Cliff Path To The Ancient Cloud Rock Temple’s Sutra Library In Sichuan Province, China. Photograph From The 1930s

Bologna’s Iconic Two Towers: The Tall Asinelli And The Leaning Garisenda, Both Built In The 12th Century

Detail From The Last Judgment Tympanum, Abbey Church Of Sainte-Foy, Conques (C. 1050). A Sculpted Figure Appears Trapped Between The Architectural Moldings On The Hell Side

Frank Gehry’s Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain, 1997, Shot By David Heald

Feigen Gallery (1969) In New York City, Designed By Architect Hans Hollein For Art Dealer Richard Feigen

Sino-French Science Park Church. Also Known As The “Shadowless Church”. Located In Chengdu, China

Flora Is An 8.5-Meter-High Structure In Barcelona’s Collserola Natural Park, Built From Invasive Pine Trees To Explore Sustainable, Nature-Integrated Architecture

The Shabonos (Or Yanos) Are The Traditional Communal Dwellings Of The Yanomami Tribes Of Southern Venezuela And Northern Brazil

Traditional Stone Roofing(Slate), Oppdal, Norway

The Forestry Building In Portland, Oregon, Known As The World’s Largest Log Cabin, Was Built In 1905 For The Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition

The Tomb Of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, Located Near The Porta Maggiore In Rome, Was Built For A Wealthy Freedman Baker

Mario Botta | Church Of San Giovanni Battista In Mogno, Switzerland, 1992-98

Aerial View Of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village (Stuytown) In Manhattan, New York City

A Striking View Of The Main Waiting Room Of New York City’s Grand Central Station As The Sun’s Rays Pour Through The East Window CA. 1929

The Loggia Del Mercato Nuovo, Also Known As The Loggia Del Porcellino, Is A Historic Open-Air Market In Florence, Italy

Casa Arran De Mar | Cala S’almunia. Santanyí, Mallorca

13 m Sequoia Trunk Integrated Into The Stairwell Of Collège Du Martinet (Rolle, Ch), Marking The Exact Spot Where The Tree Once Stood