They Actually Built These (10 Photos)

Buildings, sculptures and installations that refuse to blend in

An art school on colored legs, a giant nickel and a prairie-town starship start this collection of ten built oddities. Elsewhere, a brick facade slides toward the pavement, a straw dinosaur opens its jaws and a red postbox ties itself in a knot. Some were temporary; all were physically made.

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🏚️ “From the Knees of My Nose to the Belly of My Toes” — By Alex Chinneck in Margate, UK 🇬🇧

In 2013, Chinneck made a house front appear to slip into its own garden, bending the windows on the way down. It was a temporary installation: the original building was demolished in December 2016.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsFrom the Knees of My Nose to the Belly of My ToesAlex Chinneck · 2013 · Cliftonville, MargateThe Sliding HouseBrick faces on bent steel£100,000, mostly donated1The sliding front used real brick faces sliced off and glued to pre-bent steel sheets; each bent window is 40 layers of plywood.The Guardian2The council’s own record says the whole building was demolished in December 2016, by DDS Demolition, to make way for redevelopment.Thanet District Council201327 SepPhoto taken (the one above)201329 SepPublic opening201426 JulPhoto taken (Geograph)201423 NovPhoto taken, past its planned end20154 JulPhoto taken: last dated sighting2016DecWhole building demolished201830 NovNew build put out to tenderRead the full file →

More: Alex Chinneck’s Architectural Illusions

📷 Photo: Alex Chinneck / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

🔗 Follow Alex Chinneck on Instagram

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🎈 Giant Kusama Figure — Paris, France 🇫🇷

A giant inflatable figure depicting Yayoi Kusama leaned over Louis Vuitton’s Champs-Élysées store in January 2023. Its hand appeared to paint dots across the facade, with the windows making the scale plain.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsGiant Yayoi Kusama FigureLouis Vuitton · 2023 · ParisDepicts Yayoi KusamaLouis Vuitton displayChamps-Élysées store1According to Euronews, the giant inflatable figure was seen “painting” the dots that adorned the building.Euronews2The 2023 collaboration was Louis Vuitton’s second with Kusama, after a first one in 2012.Sortir à Paris20235 JanWorks on show “Since January 5” (Sortir à Paris)202311 JanListed start of the display (Sortir à Paris)202315 JanNews photo of the figure over the store (caption date)202331 MarListed end of the display (Sortir à Paris)Read the full file →

More: Yayoi Kusama’s Public Art

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🖖 Starship Monument — Vulcan, Canada 🇨🇦

Vulcan put a Star Trek-inspired ship on a stone pedestal beside the road. Local workshops built the almost ten-meter model, unveiled in 1995; its design deliberately differs slightly from the Enterprise.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsStarship FX6-1995-ATown of Vulcan · 1995 · Vulcan, AlbertaUnveiled 10 June 1995Airport code FX6Original Enterprise model1The town says the name joins Vulcan’s airport identifier, FX6, with 1995, the year it was built.Town of Vulcan2According to the plaque on its base, Gary McKinnon of G&M Welding in Vulcan built it; D. Day was the engineer.Base plaque photo, 2017199510 JunStarship replica unveiled199823 OctVulcan Trek Station opened201310 JunStarship replica photographed in Vulcan201619 JunCityNews reported on Vulcan's space-themed attractions20178 JulStarship and base plaques photographed by Jonathan Koch / RPAP202010 JunRadio Canada International described local fabrication and the 1995 unveilingRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Canoe1967 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

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🛞 “Everything Is Possible” — By Villu Jaanisoo, Formerly in Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮

Loops of used car tires formed a five-meter gorilla seated outside a university building in Viikki. Jaanisoo completed it in 2009; the sculpture was later destroyed by arson.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsKaikki on mahdollista (Everything Is Possible)Villu Jaanisoo · 2009 · Viikki campus, HelsinkiUsed car tyresAbout 5 m tall2006 competition winner1It was built from used car tyres and chosen through an invited competition held in 2006.State Art Commission2A fire in the early hours of 10 January 2018 destroyed the sculpture completely.MTV Uutiset200924 SepUniversity announces the unveiling200929 SepYle reports the gorilla has arrived20146 MayPhoto by Harald Bøhn201410 MayInstagram photo by Panu Lempiäinen (our photo)201810 JanDestroyed by fire in the night201811 JanState Art Commission reports arson20185 FebOnly supports and tyre remains leftRead the full file →

More: Tire zen master gorilla in Helsinki, Finland

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🦖 “Tyrannosaurus” — By Musashino Art University Students and Local Residents in Niigata, Japan 🇯🇵

Rice straw became an open-mouthed dinosaur large enough for visitors to pose beside its teeth. It was one of six works made by Musashino Art University students and local residents for the 2015 Wara Art Festival at Uwasekigata Park.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsTyrannosaurusMusashino Art University students and local residents · 2015 · NiigataRice strawWara Art Festival 2015Uwasekigata Park1Niigata City says Musashino Art University students and local residents completed six straw works on the theme of “living creatures” in August 2015.Niigata City2According to the city, the works were displayed for about two months, from September to 1 November 2015.Niigata City201529 AugCompleted at the two-day Wara Art Festival (city)20154 SepJapan Travel reports the straw dinosaurs at the park20157 SepZME Science shows the straw T-Rex20158 SepKAI-YOU: still on display in the park20151 NovDisplay ends (city)Read the full file →

More: Giant Straw Animals at the Wara Art Festival

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🔨 The Skinny House — By Nathan Thomas Seely in Mamaroneck, New York, USA 🇺🇸

Three narrow stories, red shingles and a small porch fit into a strip of land in Mamaroneck. Nathan Thomas Seely built the house in 1931–1932; it measures just ten feet wide and 37 feet long.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsSkinny HouseNathan Thomas Seely · 1931–1932 · Mamaroneck, New YorkSalvaged materialsVillage landmark 1986National Register listed1The National Register nomination calls it “the polar opposite of a spite house”, reflecting friendship between neighbors.National Register nomination2According to 6sqft, a chicken coop was used as part of the living room.6sqft198627 JanDesignated a Mamaroneck Village landmark201316 SepPhoto by Anthony22 (our photo)201518 MayNational Register file published (NRIS 15000235)2026JulGoogle Street View imageRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Anthony22 at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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☁️ “Horizons” — By Neil Dawson at Gibbs Farm, New Zealand 🇳🇿

What looks like a drawing of loose paper is a structure on a hill, with cattle resting below it. Dawson’s 1994 sculpture is welded and painted steel, standing 15 meters high.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsHorizonsNeil Dawson · 1994 · Gibbs Farm, KaiparaWelded, painted steel15 × 10 × 36 m1Gibbs Farm calls it one of the few works on the farm that can be seen from the road.Gibbs Farm2According to Public Delivery, the sculpture began as a freehand sketch.Public Delivery201416 AprDated Flickr photograph of the sculpture on its hill.202424 FebHorizons photographed on its hill during a Calder & Lawson tour (camera date 24 Feb 2024)Read the full file →

More: More Photos of Horizons

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📮 “Alphabetti Spaghetti” — By Alex Chinneck in London, UK 🇬🇧

A red pillar box ties itself into a knot outside Caxton Works in Canning Town. Chinneck’s sculpture keeps the familiar cap and black base, making the twisted middle look even less plausible.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsAlphabetti SpaghettiAlex Chinneck · 2019 · Caxton Works, Canning Town, LondonKnotted pillar boxOne of threeCaxton Works, Canning Town1Of the three knotted boxes, the Sheffield and Margate ones were temporary; the London one was to remain permanently.It’s Nice That2The London site is where Chinneck made his first public artwork in London: a derelict factory with 312 identically broken windows.The Spaces201927 SepIt’s Nice That: London box to stay permanently20192 OctRoyal Mail news covers the knotted boxes20199 OctLondonist places it at Caxton Works202220 JunThe wub photographs it in place · camera dateRead the full file →

More: More Architectural Illusions by Alex Chinneck

📷 Photo: The wub / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

🔗 Follow Alex Chinneck on Instagram

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🏫 Sharp Centre for Design — By Will Alsop in Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦

A patterned box stands on colored steel legs above the older buildings of McCaul Street. Will Alsop designed OCAD University’s Sharp Centre with Robbie/Young + Wright Architects; it was completed in 2004.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsRosalie Sharp Centre for DesignWill Alsop with Robbie/Young + Wright Architects · 2004 · Toronto12 coloured steel legsNine storeys above groundRIBA Worldwide Award1According to OCAD University, the building opened in 2004 as part of a $42.5-million campus redevelopment.OCAD University2The Canadian Centre for Architecture says the tabletop is raised nine storeys above ground on brightly painted steel legs.Canadian Centre for Architecture200813 JunCCA exhibition on the building opened20175 AugSharp Centre photographed from McCaul Street202310 SepTabletop and coloured legs photographed by CanmenwalkerRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Arild Vågen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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🪙 Big Nickel — Sudbury, Canada 🇨🇦

A 30-foot coin became a landmark at Dynamic Earth. Built in 1964, the Big Nickel reproduces the 1951 Canadian nickel, including the maple leaves and the dates commemorating the naming of the element.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsBig NickelTed Szilva · 1964 · Sudbury30 feet tall13,000 kilograms1951 five-cent coin1Szilva reportedly raised the $35,000 construction cost by selling miniature medallions of the monument.Sudbury.com2According to the Bank of Canada Museum, the 1951 coin it copies marked 200 years since nickel was named and isolated.Bank of Canada Museum201428 NovBank of Canada Museum profiled the landmark20183 JulBig Nickel photographed at Dynamic Earth202416 JulSudbury.com announced the coming 60th-birthday event202622 MayPhotographed by Mel Sirois on Felix Wong's Sudbury tripRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Ryan Sharpe / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)