VARIETY

Unusual architecture:

Three creative edifices

You may have seen some modern architectural constructions that are breathtakingly beautiful and are very unusual in structure and shape. In fact, some of these buildings seem so unrealistic and makes one wonder as to how such concepts were even designed by the architects.

There are many such unusual architectural feats around the world but today we like to familiarise you with three rather unusual but very creative structures in Kansas City and Ohio, in the USA and in Canada. They are a library,an office complex and a housing complex. What is most facinating are their exteriors.

The Public Library of Kansas city is considered to be one of the most unusual architectural works because of the facade of the parking garage for the Central Branch of the public library.

The garage wall has been designed to look like a row of giant books that are lined up on a shelf. It is really amazing as the book spines measure approximately 25 feet by 9 feet and are made of signboard mylar. There are 22 titles showcased on the shelf reflecting a wide variety of reading interests as suggested by Kansas City readers and then selected by The Kansas City Public Library Board of Trustees.

The garage behind the "books" had been constructed in 2006. When the need arose for additional downtown parking the Kansas city community had been asked to give their ideas on ways to beautify the new structure and ultimately the idea of a bookshelf evolved. Community members and patrons were asked to vote on the titles to be displayed and the ones chosen reflect a wide range of famous literature.

Titles of the 22 volumes represented include "The Lord of the Rings" by J. R. R. Tolkien and "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury among many others.

The other unusual edifice featured today is the Basket building of Ohio, designed by Dave Longaberger.It is the home office of a company named The Longaberger Co. which is best-known for its handcrafted baskets. The home office, which is a giant replica of one of the company's wares has offices set around a seven-storey, 30,000-square-foot atrium.

It might just be one of the strangest office building in the world. The 180,000-square-foot building, a replica of the company's famous market basket, cost $30 million and took two years to complete. Many experts tried to persuade Dave Longaberger to alter his plans, but he wanted an exact replica of the real thing. Daylight streams in from an overhead skylight and from 84 windows in the 'basket' walls. There are also two basket handles that together weigh about 150 tons and are attached with copper and wooden rivets that look just like those on a real Longaberger basket. The building even has a giant, 725-pound Longaberger gold-leaf-painted tag.

The third unusual edifice is Habitat 67, which is a housing complex and landmark located on the Marc-Drouin Quay on the Saint Lawrence River at 2600, Pierre Dupuy Avenue in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Its design was created by architect Moshe Safdie based on his master's thesis at McGill University, and built as part of Expo 67.

The cube is the base, the mean and the finality of Habitat 67. In its material sense, the cube is the symbol of stability. As for its mystic meaning, the cube is symbol of wisdom, truth, moral perfection, at the origin itself of our civilization.

Would you believe that 354 cubes of a magnificent grey-beige build up one on the other to form 146 residences nestled between sky and earth, between city and river, between greenery and light?

We will feature more such unusual and creative buildings and structures in our future issues.

Facts and pix: Internet