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50 Times Architecture Lovers Were So Impressed With A Building They Saw, They Just Had To Share
Some might think that an architect’s main tasks are to create something that a) serves a purpose, b) is not a sore to the eyes, and c) is wind resistant, at least (ideally, durable enough to resist larger disturbances, too). And while that’s not far from the truth, there is so much more that goes into these three goals.
The things hidden within said tasks are often what takes certain buildings from good to great, whether they add to their timeless charm, their functionality, or how well they blend within the environment. Today we want to shed light on some examples of all three, which have caught the attention of architecture enthusiasts on the ‘Architecture’ community on Reddit. Ranging from houses of worship to old McDonald’s locations, they have the je ne sais quoi that people seem to like; scroll down to try to figure out what it is yourself.
Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with the designer and founder of Kurani, an architecture firm that designs life-changing spaces for education, Danish Kurani, who was kind enough to share his thoughts on what makes architecture great.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Preserved Edo Period Neighborhood In Japan
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#2
Under A Bridge In Egypt
#3
The Neo-Gothic Architecture Of New College, University Of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
#4
Ukraine - Lviv, Staircase In The House Of Scientists
#5
Mont Saint-Michel In Normandy, France, Started In The 12th Cent. (1080x1233)
#6
Weinhardt Mansion (Chicago, 1888)
flower petals 2 years ago
This looks like the residence of a quirky, spunky, wise old woman who’s loving life and lives with 15 cats. ☺️
#7
This Building In Brussels, Belgium
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
Giving directions to your friends, “My front door is the letter P.”
#8
Pretty Cool How They Managed To Preserve The City
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 2 years ago
Oxford was already 800 years old when painting on top was painted. I wonder what it looked like in the 11th century when it was founded.
#9
17th Century Grafarkirkja Turf Church In North Iceland, The Oldest Turf Church In Iceland. (1347x1681)
#10
The Ceiling Of The Shah Mosque In Isfahan, Iran
#11
Meteora Monasteries, Greece 🇬🇷
#12
"Azure Blue Pool" At Hearst Castel, San Simeon, California
#13
Barcelona , Spain
#14
Shades Of Blue Highlight This San Francisco Victorian Home
#15
Poland
Rebecca Elliott 2 years ago
This is lovely! Doesn't look real. Wish all places were this lovely!
#16
One Of My Favorite Simple And Beautiful Buildings
Bartlet for World Domination 2 years ago
It's in Tunisia and it's on AirBnB for roughly 200 dollars a night.
#17
Winter Garden, Biltmore Estate
#18
Palace In Russia With A Giant Iron Tree Built Into The Façade (Kazan Ministry Of Architecture)
#19
Yemeni Architecture
#20
King Alfred's Tower In England, Built In 1772 (1242x1388)
#21
The Oceanographic Museum Of Monaco
#22
Abandoned Church Purchased By Skaters And Renovated Into A Skatepark. What Are Your Thoughts?
#23
In England You Sometimes See These "Wavy" Brick Fences. And Curious As It May Seem, This Shape Uses Fewer Bricks Than A Straight Wall. A Straight Wall Needs At Least Two Layers Of Bricks To Make Is Sturdy, But The Wavy Wall Is Fine Thanks To The Arch Support Provided By The Waves
#24
Stuyvesant St., New York - USA
#25
Baps Akshardham Temple, Delhi, India
#26
Les Espaces D'abraxas, Noisy-Le-Grand, France
#27
Got The Keys To Where I’m Opening My Cafe. I Thought You Guys Might Like The Building
#28
Walls Of The Ark Of Bukhara, A 5th Century Ad Fortress In Bukhara, Uzbekistan. (3456x2304)
#29
Tyler House, Designed In 1950. Los Angeles, USA
#30
Somewhere, China
#31
Townhouse With A Double Staircase Entrance On Howe Street, Lincoln Park, Chicago
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago (edited)
Lincoln Park Chicago has the nation’s last free zoo! Edit: One of the last free zoos.
#32
Art Deco Buildings, US
CrazyKnitter 2 years ago
As much as I am not a fan of Art Deco style (way too modern for me 😝), I wish we still built like this. I like buildings with unique style, even if it's not my style.
#33
The Royal Palace Of Naples
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
Ha! I toured this. The tour guide was a very bitter young woman. I learned from her that people from Naples pretty much hate Northern Italy.
#34
Gothic Architecture
Bartlet for World Domination 2 years ago (edited)
This is Norman (Romanesque) architecture, not Gothic. Rounded arches are Roman, pointed arches are Gothic.
#35
The Georgian Hotel Gives Me Wes Anderson Vibes
#36
The Hill Of The Buddha By Tadao Ando
OneWithRatsAndKefir 2 years ago
Beautiful, especially from the outside! The inside is almost surreal, too, but very grey.
#37
Meenakshi Temple, Tamil Nadu, India
#38
Why Do Medieval Cities Look Way Better Than Modern Cities? And How Much Would The Apartments On The Left Cost In America?
#39
Knoll House, Italy, A Private Home Built Atop The Ruins Of A Medieval Barn. Designed By Werner Tscholl In 1997
#40
Harbin Opera House Designed By Mad Architects
#41
A Cafe In Bhutan, Neyphug House
LauraDragonWench 2 years ago
Apparently it's the Neyphug Heritage cafe. https://www.dailybhutan.com/article/neyphug-heritage-sets-up-cafe-in-paro-to-give-back-to-monastery
#42
Oslo Opera House
#43
My First Design Built ✌️😁 Afred Nobel Bridge In Sweden
Anna Ekberg 2 years ago
Björkborn Bridge - wooden arch bridge for pedestrians and bikers crossing Timsälven in Karlskoga, Sweden. Designed in collaboration with three architecture students; Kristoffer Hamrin, Nour Fansa and Mateusz Szpotowicz. Info from Wikipedia.
#44
Karlatornet, Gothenburg Sweden
#45
I Just Drove By This House In Pensacola
#46
Classic San Franciscan Victorian With A Very Modern Color Aesthetic
#47
Surf House In California
#48
A Modern Cabin In Norway
Lyone Fein 2 years ago
So many issues....... carrying groceries, firewood, garbage out. Not good for children or anyone with mobility problems. etc.
#49
Why Can't Architects Build Like This Anymore?
CrazyKnitter 2 years ago
I love old houses and styles, but this looks slightly concerning to me.
#50
"Seating Pod" At The Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles, Designed By John Portman In 1974
Ralph Kretschmer 2 years ago
Can't say why, but I wouldn't feel comfortable neither on that balcony nor in this building.
#51
Grand Staircase With Intricate Woodwork And Wall Panelling In A Restored 1893 Queen Anne Victorian Mansion, Plainfield, Union County, New Jersey
#52
The Drake In Philadelphia
#53
Mvrdv's Brand New Housing Complex In Amsterdam, Netherlands
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
Three cheers to the intrepid architects who rebuilt this gem after Godzilla smashed through.
#54
Art Nouveau Building By Delune - Brussels, Belgium
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
Giving directions to your acquaintances, “My front door is literally an upside down lower case d.”
#55
Thoughts On The Koohsar Residential Building? Designed By Ashariarchitects. Located In Shiraz, Iran
#56
The Banff Springs Hotel, A 19th Century Châteauesque Hotel In The Canadian Rockies, Banff National Park, Banff, Alberta, Canada
#57
Renaissance Center Marriott | Detroit, Mi | John Portman | 1977
#58
Condo Building, Copenhagen
#59
What My Local Mcdonalds Looks Like
Hippopotamuses 2 years ago
My first thought was that it looks like Aussie pub. I did an image search and yes it was. Its in Melbourne.
#60
Church In France, Near Omaha Beach
Fabian Bernard 2 years ago
Not even close to Omaha Beach, it's Saint Joseph Church in Le Havre, France. It's about 100 km from the said Beach, on the other side of the Seine bay. Lived 100 m from that church for 5 years, it's trully magnificient at nught
#61
Boston Architecture Styles In One Photo
keyboardtek 2 years ago
I remember my brother taking a photo from this same spot back in the 1980's.
#62
The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel In C. 1900. The Hotel Was Demolished In 1929 And Replaced By The Empire State Building. New York City, USA
Hippopotamuses 2 years ago (edited)
That wasn't much of a lifespan for such a magnificent building.
#63
The Reflection Of The Church
#64
Glass-Bricks And Windows In Amsterdam
#65
80 Metre Climbing Wall Built On The Side Of A Power Plant In Copenhagen, Denmark
#66
Building By My Hotel In Tokyo
#67
This Was Taken At A Subway Station In Washington Dc. Sorry For The Slight Misalignment
#68
The American Restaurant, Kansas City | Warren Platner | 1974
kitten levels tokyo 2 years ago
You know it’s 1974 when the mustache and the sideburn are almost touching.
#69
Brutalist Monuments, Former Yugoslavia
#71
Hyatt Regency , Architect John Portman 1973
Carl Roberts 2 years ago (edited)
This is in San Francisco, for those wondering. It holds the Guinness World Record for the largest hotel lobby in the world. The interior was seen in several films, including The Towering Inferno, Time after Time, High Anxiety, and Telefon. The structure at the top is a former rotating restaurant, now a private club.
#72
Faculty Of Arts And Law, Paris, France
#73
Entrance Hall Of Kyoto Station, Japan, Designed By Hiroshi Hara In 1997
#74
Design Submitted By The Architect vs. How The Contractor Ends Up Building It
𝐆𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐦-𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 2 years ago
This might not be the contractors fault. It might be the owners cheaping out when they saw how much the original design would be to build.
#75
Why Can't Architects Build Things Like This Anymore?
Hippopotamuses 2 years ago (edited)
I love the repurposed ones dotted around NZ, they are so obvious. And, yes, I miss their restaurants.
#76
Jun Aoki’s New Louis Vuitton Store In Ginza, Tokyo
#77
The Frank Lloyd Wright Ennis House In Los Angeles, Ca
#78
Roberto Garza Sada Center, Monterrey, Mexico, Designed By Tadao Ando In 2007
#79
Thoughts On This? I Have So Many
#80
Perhaps One Of The Most Disliked Buildings In London Is The No 1 Poultry Building. Polled As The Fifth Worst Building In London, It Was Built In The Place Of A Charming, Neo-Gothic Structure. Much Like Many Other Buildings In Post-War London, It Was Demolished For A Modernist Replacement. [building]
![Perhaps One Of The Most Disliked Buildings In London Is The No 1 Poultry Building. Polled As The Fifth Worst Building In London, It Was Built In The Place Of A Charming, Neo-Gothic Structure. Much Like Many Other Buildings In Post-War London, It Was Demolished For A Modernist Replacement. [building]](https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/6650793fb8752_tieric23zsr41__700.jpg "Perhaps One Of The Most Disliked Buildings In London Is The No 1 Poultry Building. Polled As The Fifth Worst Building In London, It Was Built In The Place Of A Charming, Neo-Gothic Structure. Much Like Many Other Buildings In Post-War London, It Was Demolished For A Modernist Replacement. [building]")
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What do you think ?
Rebecca Elliott 2 years ago
I love Bored Panda. It is a great place to go when depressed! I always find something that makes me laugh. And think. And be amazed. Some of the comments made give me hope for mankind with the humor, empathy.
Rebecca Elliott 2 years ago
I love Bored Panda. It is a great place to go when depressed! I always find something that makes me laugh. And think. And be amazed. Some of the comments made give me hope for mankind with the humor, empathy.
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