30 Unique Houses From Around the World

Houses types and styles vary greatly according to region, climate, culture and tradition

Earth House



This unique house is located in Switzerland. It is an earth house, an architectural style characterized by the use

of natural terrain to help form the walls of a house. An earth house is usually set partially into the ground and c

overed with thin growth, and is often intended to have a small ecological footprint.

 Rondavel


This pretty amazing house is called a rondavel, a traditional African-style house. They are usually round in shape

and traditionally made with materials that can be locally obtained in raw form. The rondavel's walls are often

constructed from stones. The mortar may consist of sand, soil, or some combinations of these mixed with dung.

The floor is finished with a processed dung mixture to make it smooth. The roof braces of a rondavel are made

out of tree limbs, which have been harvested and cut to length. The roof itself is made out of thatch that is sewn

to the wooden braces with rope made out of grass.


Shell House


One distinct house is the Shell house. It is the most original house in Mexico or maybe in the world. It is one

of the most beautiful houses you will surely enjoy. It is located in Isla Mujeres northeast of Yucatan peninsula

in the Caribbean Sea.


 Rumah gadang


Rumah gadang which means "big house", are the traditional homes of the Minangkabau. The architecture,

construction, internal and external decoration, and the functions of the house reflect the culture and values

of the Minangkabau. A rumah gadang serves as a residence, a hall for family meetings, and for ceremonial

activities. With the Minangkabau society being matrilineal, the rumah gadang is owned by the women of the

family who live there - ownership is passed from mother to daughter.


Toda Hut


The peculiar hut of a Toda Tribe of Nilgiris, India is noted for the decoration of the front wall, and the very small door.

The Toda people are a small pastoral community who live on the isolated Nilgiri plateau of Southern India. Prior to

the late eighteenth century, the Toda coexisted locally with other communities, including the Badaga, Kota, and Kurumba,

in a loose caste-like community organization in which the Toda were the top ranking.


Korowai Tree House


This bizarre house is home to the bizarre tribe called the Korowai or also called the Kolufo. They are a people of

southeastern Papua (i.e., the southeastern part of the western part of New Guinea). Until the 1970s, they were

unaware of the existence of any people besides themselves and some immediately neighboring villages. Only a

few of them have become literate thus far. They are one of the few surviving peoples in the world that are thought

to possibly still engage in cannibalism. Others dispute this, saying that these practices ended decades ago and

that there have been no reported instances of cannibalism in over twenty years.



Trulli House

Trulli houses, distinguished by conical store roof, are traditional in the southeastern region Apulia, Italy.


Palloza


A palloza is a traditional thatched house as found in the in Galicia, Spain. They are circular or oval, and about ten

ortwenty meters in diameter. These houses are built to withstand severe winter weather at a typical altitude of 1,200

meters. The main structure is stone, and is divided internally into separate areas for the family and their animals,

with separate entrances. The roof is conical, made from rye straw on a wooden frame. There is no chimney, the

smoke from the kitchen fire seeps out through the thatch.


Farmhouse


Earth sheltering is the architectural practice of using earth against building walls for external thermal mass, to reduce

heat loss, and to easily maintain a steady indoor air temperature. Earth sheltering is popular in modern times among

advocates of passive solar and sustainable architecture, but has been around for nearly as long as humans have been

constructing their own shelter. The picture above is Earth covered farm houses located in Keldur, Iceland.


CrannogA crannog is an artificial island, usually originally built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters, and most often used as
an island settlement or dwelling place in prehistoric or medieval times. The name itself may refer to a wooden platform

erected on shallow floors, but few remains of this sort have been found.




Mardin Stone Houses: TurkeyThis Arab-style architecture is located in Mardin, a city in southeastern Turkey. It is commonly recognized for its Arab-style architecture, and it also has a strategic position on a rocky mountain overlooking the plains of northern Syria.



Beehive Mud Houses: Harran, Turkey

These traditional mud houses are located in Harran. The interesting thing about them is that they were constructed entirely without the use of wood. The design of these mud houses is believed to have stayed the same for at least 3,000 years, until about the 1980s, when they officially stopped being used as living space.


Tongkonan - Toraja People House: Sulawesi, IndonesiaThese distinctive wooden houses have curved roofs with tall gable ends that make them look likes boats. The houses are built on stilts and are entered by curved steps and beautifully decorated doorways. They are the homes of the Toraja peoples, who live in central Sulawesi.




House of Marsh Arabs: IraqThe Houses of the Marsh Arabs are built from reeds. They are often constructed on floating platforms woven from tips of reeds still growing up out of the swamp. The people travel around by canoe. The Marsh Arabs' lifestyle is threatened by drainage projects that are taking water from swamps, causing them to dry up.



Log Cabin House: USAThe log cabin house is among the first house designs of early America. It is sturdy and easy to construct, and can be built by hand to provide shelter in a very short period of time.



Reed Houses and Boats: Lake Titicaca, Peru

The Uru people living around Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world) build their boats and houses out of reeds. Clusters of houses stand on floating rafts, which are also made of reeds.




Blockhouse: USA

A blockhouse in Muskegon State Park, Michigan

This typical pioneer fort was designed to defend the community from attacks of Indians. Early American settlers built long blockhouses to defend themselves against Indians. The logs were pierced with slits through which defending riflemen could fire.


Celtic Hut: Wales, UKAn ancient Celtic hut, rebuilt in the original style


Cone-Shaped Thatched Hut: Burkina Faso


Round Clay Huts: Burkina Faso

The modern Mossis of Burkina Faso live in round clay/mud huts with thatched roofs with some villages protected by mud walls.


Polynesian Thatched HutThe natives of Polynesia actually live in Tiki Village on Moorea Island in thatched huts. This way, they preserve crafts that are hundreds of years old.



Wood-Ribbed House: Cameroon
This house is made entirely of wood.

Yurts: Kazakhstan
Yurts are traditionally used by Kazakh villagers. They still live in Yurts and herd livestock as their ancestors have done for generations. A yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia.

Palm Hut: Tuvalu
Traditional homes thatched with palm leaves and some have open side to allow air to pass through. Islanders of Tuvalu live in villages of open-sided houses with steeply sloping roofs. The houses do not need thick walls because the climate is warm all year round.



Tukul: EthiopiaThe thatched hut, called tukul, is divided by a partition. The family is housed on one side and their cattle on the other.

Nipa House: Philippines
This house, typical of the Philippine countryside, is built using nipa leaves and bamboo. The nipa are processed and sewn into 'pawod', and used to cover the bamboo frame.


Stilt Houses: Benin

Stilts are common along rivers and in the coastal lagoons.


Glass House: Connecticut, USA


This unique looking glass house was designed by Philip Johnson. It has been regarded as one of the world's most beautiful and yet least functional homes. The design of the house is often cited as a model example of the International Style.


Cave House: Italy

This cave-house in a shape of a human face is located on Bomarzo, Italy. This cave house was built around 16th century.


Stone Houses: United Arab Emirates

These ancient stone houses can be found in United Arab Emirates.