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In our ongoing search for the most interesting and innovative construction around the globe, we always come across projects, particularly museums, that can only be classified as strange. Due to the wide array of information and artifacts that they showcase, museums have great artistic leeway in their designs. So, here's a quick round-up of some of the strangest museums we have come across, down to the shapes of the buildings themselves!
1. Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Commonly referred to as The Bathtub, the Stedelijk Museum's newest expansion is shaped like just that, a giant bathtub. Designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects, this eggshell white extension of the original 19th century building is topped with fibre-reinforced plastic, while its base is transparent, making the striking bathtub design appear levitated. The Bathtub houses modern and contemporary art from famed artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and Andy Warhol.
2. Tea Museum, Meitan
This giant teapot isn't filled with tea, but it is surrounded by it. Meitan tea country in China is considered the hometown of Chinese green tea, and the surrounding views are filled with China's largest tea fields. The city decided to construct a museum in the shape of a giant teapot with an adjacent teacup to celebrate and showcase its history and culture as it pertains to tea. Considered the world's biggest teapot, the Meitan Tea Museum has a diameter of 24 metres and stands at 73.8 metres in height. The beautiful clay-red teapot and cup contrast the surrounding greenery beautifully, and they stand as a symbol of Meitan's heritage and pride.
3. National Museum of Art, Osaka
This bumblebee-looking metal casing houses the subterranean National Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan. Designed by Cesar Pelli, this structure is actually meant to represent waving reeds in the wind and is situated adjacent to the Osaka Science Museum. As visitors make their way further into the exhibits of this largely post-war art museum, they proceed further underground. The entrance, auditorium, and gift shop are just beneath ground-level, permanent exhibition space is located in the intermediate level, and changing exhibitions are on the lowest level.
4. Mr. Toilet House, Suwon
Not only does this scatological museum explore the world of toilets and feces, but it looks like a toilet bowl itself. Along with facts about feces and fecal health, the museum showcases toilets from around the globe, such as Roman-style, European, and ancient Korean commodes. Sculptures of squatting people are distributed around the museum grounds, presumably about to do the deed. So, whose idea was it? The former mayor of Suwon, Sim Jae-Duck was apparently born in a toilet, and had a passion to ensure that people the world over had access to clean toilets. He then founded the World Toilet Association and built this toilet-shaped building, making it the first toilet-themed park.
If you have any ideas for future round-ups, comment below!
