The Buildings Being Weird Little Guys account was created in May 2021. Ever since then, it has been steadily growing and amassing more than 28K devoted fans ready to poke fun at the most hilarious and funky buildings out there. The creators of this page collect some of the weirdest structures found around the world, from Thailand to Australia to the United States.
Moreover, each photo has a caption with the name of the building, its construction date, architect, and location. So if some of these images left you wondering "what on earth were these people thinking", it will make it easier for you to look them up.
Some people say that buildings can speak to us, we only need to learn how to understand their messages. When you get a good look, the construction specifics and the style of the place can tell you its history — the overall ideas of that time, the traditions, celebrations, and much more. However, we can only wonder what these bizarre-looking creations would say. Would they invite us for a cup of tea? Share a funny anecdote? Well, your guess is as good as ours.
But there’s an abundance of evidence that buildings, or our surroundings in general, can affect our mood and well-being. More often than not, however, the desire to create something unique and impressive often takes over the minds of the architects. It sometimes even sets aside considerations of how their designs might shape the behaviors of those who will have to live with them. This might result in city dwellers feeling stressed, anxious, and unhappy without even grasping the real cause.
Scientists conduct psychological research to get a better idea of which urban environments people enjoy or find stimulating. In some of these studies, participants were asked to use devices to monitor their emotional state and mood. "This adds a layer of information that is otherwise difficult to get at," Colin Ellard, who researches the psychological impact of design at the University of Waterloo in Canada, told BBC Future.
"When we ask people about their stress they say it’s no big deal, yet when we measure their physiology we discover that their responses are off the charts. The difficulty is that your physiological state is the one that impacts your health," he explained that these physiological states could clarify how city design affects our bodies.
One of the most important and consistent findings of Ellard's research was that people are strongly impacted by building facades. You see, if it's complex and looks interesting enough, people react positively to it. If it’s simple and monotonous, their feelings become rather negative. When Ellard walked a group of participants past a long, smoked-glass facade, their wristband readings and surveys showed their mood and arousal to drop sharply. When they reached a stretch of restaurants and stores, they reported feeling more lively and engaged.
Well, the buildings you see on this list are anything but basic or dull. Their inexplicable designs and funky looks make the viewers confused and entertained at the same time. While they might not be the most practical or user-friendly structures out there, we hope they will at least brighten your moods and lead to a few genuine laughs.
