“We’re fascinated by architecturally unique buildings because we live in a world where most goods are standardized and mass-produced—including the structures we inhabit,” Lisa Yaszek, a Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech, told Bored Panda. Yaszek researches and teaches science fiction as a global language crossing centuries, continents, and cultures, and was happy to share some insights about architectural wonders with our readers.
According to Yaszek, “modern buildings depend on modular construction and prefabricated design, Western architectural trends that date back to the 1600s, when Parliament created the first modern building codes after the great fire of London in 1666 and when colonial settlers in America demanded homes built with English construction methods.”
“Today, modular construction based on simple geometry and industrially produced components is used to create everything from houses to public buildings for the simple reason that it is extremely cost-effective,” the professor explained.
Moreover, “by way of contrast, both the very old and the very new, sometimes still conceptual buildings that people share on the ‘beautiful impossibilities we want to live in’ subreddit are anything but standardized boxes designed with cost-effectiveness in mind. Instead, these buildings tend toward the elaborate and surprising, whether that comes in the form of flowing organic lines, strangely abrupt geometries, or dizzying feats of engineering,” Yaszek explained.
#7 The Reading Room - Royal Portuguese Cabinet Of Reading - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
#8 Nasir-Ol-Molk Mosque, Also Known As Pink Mosque, A Traditional Shiraz Mosque, Iran
“Similarly,” she argues, “whether they are intricately detailed or severely plain, whether they dazzle the eye with a flurry of gem-like colors or invite it to rest peacefully on expanses of neutral blacks, grass, and whites, these beautiful impossibilities remind us that there are other, perhaps more important, values than efficiency.”
Yaszek explained that “instead, these buildings are literal monuments to human creativity, ingenuity, and perseverance—especially since so many of these architectural marvels were constructed before modern materials, machinery, and in some cases, even before modern math!”
The professor believes that it’s no surprise that many of the people who comment on these images compare them to fairy tales and/or science fiction: "these buildings are so outside our everyday experience that we cannot help but think they must be from other times and worlds.”
“Finally, I love how these images bring people together, as viewers pool their knowledge of history, art, and culture to help each other make sense of the wonderful buildings and their origins. Imagine how fun it would be if we could all exchange our ideas about these buildings from inside, while exploring them together,” Yaszek concluded.
#14 The Inflatable "Gaia" Installation In The 18th Century Baroque Painted Hall Of The Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London, UK
#16 Leuven Town Hall (1448-1469) Belgium, One Of The Best-Known Gothic Town Halls Worldwide & It Took Three Architects And Thirty Years To Build It
#17 Art Nouveau Facade Of A Jewelry Store In Lille, Hauts-De-France, Northern France
#19 Wisteria Covered Terraced House In Argyll Road, Kensington, London, UK
