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Jackie Craven

Jackie's Architecture Blog

By Jackie Craven, About.com Guide to Architecture

Silly Structures

Tuesday April 1, 2008
The Millennium Dome in Greenwich, England In the USA, April 1 is "April Fools' Day," when pranksters have a field day playing tricks and telling jokes. In keeping with the tradition, I've been thinking about foolishness in architecture. Even the most famous architects have designed some bloopers - buildings that are impractical, absurd, or just plain silly-looking. For Richard Rogers, it was the Millennium Dome.

The Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe And then, too, there are those building that look wonderful, but just aren't practical. Not many people could live comfortably in the glass-walled house Mies van de Rohe designed for long-suffering Edith Farnsworth.

Out of all the buildings that get attention in newspapers, magazines, and books, which are the silliest? Click on the comments link below. Want to post a photo? Join our Silly Structures discussion on the Architecture Forum.

Photos:
The Millennium Dome: National Audit Office Press Photo
The Farnsworth House © Steve Estes

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