What’s With That Roof?!: The Weirdest Roofs You Need to See to Believe

The great thing about the human race and the world, in general, is that we’re all unique and have a different perspective to offer.

Of course, with so many different opinion and perspectives, there are bound to be a few that are odd, to say the least.

One subject that has inspired some very unique ideas is roofing. Home design has always been a refuge for the quirky and unorthodox, but some designs stand out even in that field.

In the paragraphs below, we’re going to be talking about some of the most unique roofs to ever be built.

1. Torajan Roof

There aren’t a lot of great jokes we can make about this one, especially since it’s a cultural tradition. Also, it’s not that weird.

The strangest thing about the Torajan roofs is their shape, which resembles a boat, or a banana. Come to think of it, there are a lot of things that are turned up at the edges and sunken in at the middle.

This is just one weird building out there. There are plenty of others if you want to focus on something other than the roof.

2. Leaf House

This house in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil boasts a roof that looks like a six-pointed star made from arrow-like leaf shapes. Many would argue that this is the perfect example of creativity done right.

It’s a very unique design, but it doesn’t go overboard. Without having ever seen it before, you can still tell what it’s supposed to be. 

It’s a common saying now that art doesn’t need to be explained or even understood to still be art. While this is true, public installations, or just things visible in public, should make sense.

3. La Pedrera

Commissioned in 1906, Casa Mila, perhaps better known as La Pedrera, is one of the strangest buildings ever constructed. It was built at a time when the rich were in the habit of attempting to build bigger, more pretentious houses than everyone else.

It was designed by the all-too-aptly-named Antoni Gaudi. In case you were wondering, no, his name did not inspire the word ‘gaudy’. He just breathed new life into it.

This roof has a lot of strange features, including way too many windows, abstract head statues to guard the place, stairways to walk around on and archways for some reason. 

This building is now a world heritage site and an interesting tourist destination to boot.

If you’re looking for a more normal-looking building, try contacting Bartlett Homes and Roofing.

4. California Academy of Sciences

The next entry on our list of unique rooftops is located in San Francisco, California. The roof of the California Academy of Sciences is covered in grass and artificial hills.

It’s weird for sure, but there’s a method to this madness. The academy claims that it’s a great way to help the environment. This structure houses over one million plants and serves as a habitat for local animals, among many other things.

You can’t fault them for using their building for the greater good. The glass openings in the roof serve to provide sunlight for an indoor rainforest hidden beneath one of the hills.

5. 350 Earth

This environmental project in New York has a rooftop display of a painted map showing the New York coast after a 7-meter rise in sea level. The problem is that aside from a ‘+7M’ painted in one corner, there’s no way to tell what it is.

It does match the pattern most maps use to mark off water and earth, but if you don’t know what you’re looking at, you’ll see a more abstract design. The first thing that came to our minds was a blue, white and orange tiger motif. 

We come back to an earlier statement. If it’s a public installation, and especially if you’re trying to send a message, it needs to be easy to figure out.

6. ACROS

This strange building, located in Fukuoka, Japan, has one of the most unique green roof designs out there, as well as one of the most fashionable. This building is home to a garden fourteen stories high. Its roof is arranged much like a step pyramid.

We understand that good design and bad design is all subjective, but we’re quite fond of this one. This isn’t the first time a green design or even a garde roof has ever been built, but it is the first time it’s been done this way.

Unlike many green building, this was built for the Japanese government by an Argentinian designer named Ambasz. Officials were reluctant to approve the building at first, seeing as the proposed site was on the grounds of an existing park.

They feared that the structure couldn’t be built without getting rid of the park or at least reducing it. In one of the greatest ‘hold my beer’ moments in all of history, Ambasz created the ACROS building whose rooftop not only housed the greenery of the park but expanded it.

7. Casa Batllo Gaudi

Another strange rooftop brought to you by the creative mind of Antoni Gaudi, this structure was originally built by one of Gaudi’s teachers in the late 1800s. In 1904, Gaudi was put in charge of destroying the building but instead decided to update it.

Gaudi was not great at following directions. This becomes apparent very quickly when you read about him.

The roof is painted several ocean-inspired blues, greens, and pinks. The shape looks like the spine of an animal, which may have been intentional.

Unique Roofs of the World

The world is full of unique roofs, some breathtaking and others just plain weird. Some are traditional or cultural, like the Torajan roofs. Others have a more environmental purpose, such as ACROS, the 350 Earth building, or the California Academy of Sciences. Some are leaf-inspired or the work of visionaries like Antoni Gaudi.

If you want to know about more strange facts around the world, please visit our site. Maybe you want to try your hand at some odd pastimes. Let us help.

Weirdomatic is the place where all weird things come to life through the amazing world of photographs – a corner of our wild imagination or the whimsical face of the reality?