Houses in the Wrong Place (10 Photos)

Ten houses that ended up somewhere a house should not be

One sits on a rock in the middle of a river. One hangs from a crane. One landed on a museum roof upside down. Some are art installations, some are real homes people have lived in for centuries, and all of them are in the wrong place.

More: Buildings That Won’t Behave (10 Photos)

---

🌉 Bridge House — Ambleside, UK 🇬🇧

A tiny stone house built on top of a bridge on Rydal Road in Ambleside, with the stream running right under the floor. The Braithwaite family put it up over Stock Beck in the 17th century to reach their land on the other side and store apples. 📷 Photo: Mtaylor848 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

💡 History Fact: It has been a counting house, a tea room, a cobbler’s and, at one point, home to a family of eight. Local residents bought it in 1926 and gave it to the National Trust.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsBridge HouseBraithwaite family · Ambleside, UKGrade I listedNational TrustOver Stock Beck1Local residents bought Bridge House in 1926 and gave it to the National Trust.The Armitt, 6 May 20222It has been a counting house, tea room, weaving shop, cobbler’s and chair maker’s, and once housed a family of eight.National Trust: history of Ambleside1926Bought locally, given to the National Trust202028 SepPhoto by Mtaylor84820226 MayReopening announced, The Armitt20221 AugReopening date set for 5 Aug2024SepStreet View202622 OctNational Trust opening timesRead the full file →

---

🪞 “Dalston House” — By Leandro Erlich in London, UK 🇬🇧

This terraced house front lay flat on the ground in Dalston. A huge mirror tilted above it did the rest: people lay down on the facade and in the reflection they hung from window ledges and did handstands on the wall. The Barbican commissioned it, and it stood at 1–7 Ashwin Street for the summer of 2013. 📷 Photo: Cmglee / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

💡 Nerd Fact: The lot it stood on had been largely empty since it was bombed in the Second World War.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsDalston HouseLeandro Erlich · 2013 · Dalston, LondonBarbican commission45-degree mirror1–7 Ashwin Street1A Victorian terraced house facade lay flat on the ground, with mirrors overhead making visitors appear to stand on or scale it.Public Art Online2The Ashwin Street lot had stood largely vacant since it was bombed in the Second World War.Dezeen201326 JunOpening-day report · Londonist201326 JunOpening report · Dezeen20131 JulListing with dates · Public Art Online2013JulPhotographed by Cmglee20134 AugAnnounced last day of the showRead the full file →

---

🌊 Drina River House — Bajina Bašta, Serbia 🇷🇸

A wooden cabin on a single rock in the middle of the Drina, about 2 km upstream from Bajina Bašta. No bridge, no path. You swim or you take a boat. 📷 Photo: Rasevic / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

💡 Nerd Fact: Young swimmers built the first shelter on the rock in 1968, partly from planks the river carried down. By 2019 high water had destroyed it seven times, and it was rebuilt every time.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsKućica na DriniDrina River · Bajina Bašta, SerbiaWooden cabin on a rockDrina RiverBajina Bašta symbol1The Drina has carried the cabin away from time to time, and local enthusiasts have always quickly put up a new, sturdier one.Tourist Organisation Tara-Drina2According to Kurir (January 2023), the cabin came through the latest flood: the rooms needed repair, but the walls held.Kurir, 22 Jan 20231968First cabin on the rock, RTS2010Cabin swept away, Telegraf20172 JanPhoto, Wikimedia Commons202224 MayPhoto, Wikimedia Commons202219 OctPhoto, Wikimedia Commons202218 DecWithstood a flood wave, Kurir202322 JanCame through the flood, Kurir20258 JunPhoto, Wikimedia Commons202616 AprPhoto, Wikimedia CommonsMore photos2026 Spring, calm waterPhoto: Gagervgd / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)2025 Summer, low waterPhoto: Vladanikolic / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)Read the full file →

---

⛰️ Setenil de las Bodegas — Andalusia, Spain 🇪🇸

Here the rock is the roof. The white houses of Setenil sit under overhangs carved out by the river, so the builders mostly needed a front wall. The cafe tables get shade for free. 📷 Photo: Rafa Esteve / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

💡 Nerd Fact: The town is split into Cuevas del Sol, lit by sunlight bouncing off the white cliff, and Cuevas de la Sombra, which stays in the shade.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCalle Cuevas del SolSetenil de las Bodegas, SpainCádiz provinceRock-roofed cave housesGuadalporcún river gorge1The cave houses close the opening under the canyon rock with a front wall; for most of them, the rock itself is the roof.Ayuntamiento de Setenil: routes of interest2Cuevas del Sol opens to the south, and its cave-house fronts get the most light, according to Turismo de Setenil.Turismo de Setenil: what to visit2015JunStreet View201923 OctOur photo, Rafa Esteve202315 DecLa Bodeguita, Draceane202612 MarQué! feature202621 AprEl Español featureRead the full file →

---

🪨 Casa do Penedo — Fafe, Portugal 🇵🇹

On a windy hilltop near Fafe in northern Portugal, someone built a house in the gap between giant boulders and let the rocks do most of the work. Construction started in 1972 and took about two years. 📷 Photo: Feliciano Guimarães / Flickr via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

💡 Nerd Fact: It started out as a holiday home and is now a small museum. Wind turbines stand on the ridge nearby, but the house itself has no electricity.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCasa do Penedo1974 · Fafe, PortugalBuilt between four bouldersInside a wind farmGuided visits by booking1The house was built between four large rocks, starting with the roof, to fit perfectly into the landscape.Casa do Penedo (official site)2It stands inside a wind farm; the only access is the Fafe/Lameirinha rally stage.Visite Fafe (Fafe tourism)197413 OctInaugurated, official site200910 MarPhoto, Feliciano Guimarães201124 AprPhoto, Pablo García Chao20229 JanThe Portugal News20238 JanOpen for visits, Notícias ao Minuto202410 DecVisits by appointment, Postal20259 JunMini museum, Islands202622 OctGuided visits offered, official siteRead the full file →

---

🌳 “Arrancada de raíz” — By Leandro Erlich in Bogotá, Colombia 🇨🇴

A brick house hangs from a crane on the Plazoleta de Lourdes in Chapinero, in front of the Lourdes church, roots and all, as if someone pulled it out of the ground like a weed. Erlich modeled it on the old houses of Bogotá neighborhoods like Chapinero and Teusaquillo for the city’s BOG25 art biennial in 2025. 📷 Photo: HernanAAA / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

💡 Nerd Fact: It is a version of Erlich’s Pulled by the Roots, redesigned for Bogotá after his first visit to the city in 2025.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsArrancada de raízLeandro Erlich · 2025 · Plaza de Lourdes, BogotáBOG25 biennialMixed materialsMade for Bogotá1Erlich designed this version for BOG25 after his first visit to Bogotá in 2025, modelled on houses from neighbourhoods like Chapinero and Teusaquillo.Bogota.gov.co, 22 Sep 20252The house said goodbye with a vallenato and Pacific-music serenade at Plaza de Lourdes, Citytv reported on 26 October 2025.Citytv, 26 Oct 2025202520 SepInstalled, El Espectador202522 SepHanging house, La FM photo2025OctPhoto on Wikimedia Commons202526 OctFarewell serenade, Citytv202528 OctStreet View: plaza empty202511 NovCity report: new nameRead the full file →

---

🏛️ Casas Colgadas (Hanging Houses) — Cuenca, Spain 🇪🇸

Wooden balconies stacked on top of each other at the very edge of a cliff above the Huécar gorge. There is proof of these houses from the 15th century, and the most recent refurbishment was in the 1920s. 📷 Photo: Edmundo Sáez / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

💡 Art Fact: One of them is now the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art, so you can look at abstract paintings while the gorge drops away under the windows.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCasas Colgadas1481 · Cuenca, SpainHuécar gorge, CuencaFirst recorded 1481Abstract art museum, 19661The first documentary record of the houses dates from 1481; their wooden balconies jut out over the vertical wall of the Huécar gorge.Castilla-La Mancha Tourism2Since 1966, two of the three surviving houses have held the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español.Visit Cuenca1481First documentary record19661 JulMuseum opens, El Debate201613 OctPhoto at dusk, Edmundo Sáez201618 OctDeclared a protected monument202219 MayRestaurant contract signed2024MayStreet View2026MICHELIN Guide 2026Read the full file →

---

💥 “House Attack” — By Erwin Wurm in Vienna, Austria 🇦🇹

A whole family house, windows and gutters included, nosedives roof-first into the top of the mumok museum in the MuseumsQuartier. Wurm put it there for his big solo show, which ran from October 2006 to February 2007; from the street it looks like it fell out of the sky an hour ago. 📷 Photo: stopmangohome / Flickr via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

💡 Exhibition Fact: The show below it, “Keep a Cool Head,” had more than 400 of Wurm’s drawings, videos, photographs and sculptures, and mumok billed it as the most extensive survey of his work up to that point.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsHouse AttackErwin Wurm · 2006 · mumok, ViennaKeep a Cool HeadMuseumsQuartier, ViennaSurvey of 400+ works1Wurm says the idea for House Attack emerged while planning his retrospective at mumok.Erwin Wurm: Keep a Cool Head, MUMOK2In 2008 the house was reportedly rehung on the STRABAG office building in Bratislava, to stay five years.The Slovak Spectator, 1 Dec 2008200617 OctMUMOK press announcement20067 NovPhotographed on mumok200630 DecWide view (camera date)200711 FebLast day of the exhibition20081 DecReported moved to Bratislava2017AugStreet View: façade bareMore photos2006 The whole museum, with the house on its cornerPhoto: Scarantino / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Read the full file →

---

⭐ “Fallen Star” — By Do Ho Suh in San Diego, USA 🇺🇸

A blue cottage with a chimney sits crooked on one corner of the roof of Jacobs Hall at UC San Diego, jutting out over the ground seven stories below. A crane lifted the 70,000-pound cottage about 100 feet up onto the roof in November 2011. 📷 Photo: Doglover41 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

💡 Nerd Fact: Inside it is fully furnished, with a fireplace, a clock, a TV and family photos, and the floor sits at a different angle than the house, which gives some visitors vertigo.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsFallen StarDo Ho Suh · 2012 · UC San Diego, San DiegoStuart CollectionSeven stories up70,000 lb (university)1The cottage was built on the ground in front of Jacobs Hall and raised to the roof on 15 November 2011.Stuart Collection2According to UC San Diego, the house weighs 70,000 pounds and is a three-quarter-sized version of a small house in Providence, Rhode Island.UC San Diego Today201115 NovRaised to the roof · Stuart Collection201231 MayOpening announced · UC San Diego20127 JunOpens to the public201230 JunHouzz tours house and garden20236 JulVisitor: closed for maintenance202329 DecPhotographed by Doglover41Read the full file →

---

🏯 “Bridging Home, London” — By Do Ho Suh in London, UK 🇬🇧

A traditional Korean hanok, bamboo garden and all, landed at an angle on a footbridge over Wormwood Street, one of the busiest roads in the City of London. Suh made it in 2018 for Sculpture in the City and Art Night, a to-scale replica set against the glass towers near Liverpool Street. It was Suh’s first large-scale outdoor installation in London. 📷 Photo: Loco Steve / Flickr via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsBridging Home, LondonDo Ho Suh · 2018 · LondonSculpture in the CityArt Night co-commissionWormwood Street footbridge1A to-scale replica of a traditional Korean hanok with a bamboo garden, it appeared to have fallen onto the footbridge at an angle.Sculpture in the City2Lights on a timer created the illusion that “somebody’s home” after dusk, according to the fabricator.The White Wall Company201824 SepUnveiled, Memoirs of a Metro Girl201811 NovStay to March 2020 reported2019MayOn the bridge, Street View202013 FebLondonist: end due April 2020202025 MayPhotographed in place2020NovBridge empty, Street View2024OctStill empty, Street ViewRead the full file →