7 building designs that defy gravity

Architecture is based on the principles of structure and form. Any design in the field is made keeping in mind the materials, location and logic. However, in some projects, architects aim to defy any norms of gravity and logic to create structures that blow the mind away. These are 7 building designs that defy gravity on Earth.

Located in Prague, Czech Republic, the Dancing House is believed to have been inspired by the famous Hollywood dancers, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Following the architectural style of deconstructivism, the house whose real name is the Nationale-Nederlanden Building, was designed by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunic along with the Canadian architectural firm, Ghery Partners.

Takasugi-An, which literally means the tea house (built) too high, is a tea house on a tree in Japan. The house is built atop two chestnut trees and is accessible only by the free-standing ladders propped against the trees. Designed by architect Terunobu Fujimori, the house is made from bamboo and plaster and is observed as "the ultimate personal architecture" with its compact spacing which would at most accommodate two big tatami mats.

Situated on a scenic site by a small lake in Suffolk, United Kingdom, the Balancing Barn is 30 metres long with a 15-meter cantilever over a slope, with almost 50% of the body of the barn being balanced freely. It was designed by the Dutch architectural firm MVRDV and also uniquely has a swing suspended from beneath it.

Located in Hannover, Germany the Norddeutsche Landesbank is a German bank that occupies an entire city block. The unique 70-meter-high building rises from the courtyard and develops into a series of twists and turns that create an eye-catching view for the onlookers. It was designed by a German architectural firm, Behnisch Architekten.

The Odeillo solar furnace is located in Font-Romeu-Odiello-Via, France. Built in 1968, it shelters the National Scientific Research Center which researches elements and their properties at high temperatures. The building consists of a field of 10,000 mirrors which reflect the sun's rays onto a large concave mirror. The building was designed by the architectural firm RCR Arquitectes in collaboration with G. Trégouët.

Cube houses are a set of innovatively designed houses built in Helmond and Rotterdam, Netherlands. Designed by architect Piet Blom in 1984, these houses look like adjoined cubes balanced on vertical structures. Located near the cube houses, also called Kubuswoningen, is a 13-story hexagonal apartment tower resembling the shape of a pencil.

Located in Sydney, Australia One Central Park is a mixed-use dual high-rise building. Designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, the building has a public park whose canopies climb up to the floor-to-ceiling glass towers. What catches the eye apart from the greenery surrounding the building is a hovering cantilever that is at the top and contains the tower's most luxurious penthouses.