Mind-Bending Buildings

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Cactus House: Gotta love the Dutch. The Cactus House is another apartment building meant to maximize sunlight and outdoor space ? each of the 98 homes come with a balcony and a view.

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Floating Castle: How about that? An old bunker supposedly used for surplus mineral fertilizer in the Ukraine literally floats - held up by just one cantilever.

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The Crooked House: Literally called The Krzywy Domek, the Crooked House is located in Sopot, Poland. Built in 2004, it's also part of the Rezydent shopping center and was designed by Szotynscy & Zaleski, who were in turn inspired by children's fairy tale drawings.

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Wozoco Apartments: Wozoco is located in Amsterdam-Osdorp and is made up of 100 apartments. Because the regulations of the area, which restricted apartment blocks to 87 units, the idea was to create more units while giving each tenant more light. The conclusion? An extra 14 units were suspended from the side of the main building.

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The Norddeutsche Landesbank: A huge bank complex in Hanover, Germany, was built by Behnisch, Behnisch & Partner after winning an international competition. Its goal was to reduce energy by bringing more sunlight into the structure using a number of green building techniques.

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Solar Furnace: This reflective structure is made up of parabolic mirrors, which reflect light to a focal point in order to heat a small area to a high temperature. This one was built in 1970 at Odeillo, Font-Romeu in the Pyrenees of France, and can heat up to over a whopping 6,300 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Cybertechture Egg: Due to be completed at the end of this year, the Cybertechture Egg will be one crazy, 13-floor office building. As you can see, it'll let in plenty of light, and also has a green garden space up top to offer a view of Mumbai.

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Upside Down House: Along with making a statement on the Communist era and the state of the world, the Upside Down House has also brought hoards of tourists to its tiny village of Szymbark, Poland - though many complain of dizziness and seasickness when they come out.

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Puerta de Europa: These twin office buildings in Madrid have 26 floors and designed by American architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee. They rest on an inclination of 15 degrees and are the first inclined skyscrapers in the world.

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Wonder Works: An inverted, stately home in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, this attraction is really just that - a place for folks to bring the family and have some fun. The amusement park has over 100 interactive exhibits and is close enough to the Smokey Mountains to illicit a quick stop ? for the architecture and the laughs.