Fantastic architecture

Fantastic architecture is an architectural style featuring attention-grabbing buildings. Such buildings can be considered as works of art, and are normally built purely for the amusement of its owner. Architects that employed this style include Antoni Gaudí, Bruno Taut, and Hans Poelzig.[1]

Fantastic architecture should not be confused with novelty architecture. While both styles have unusual, attention-grabbing designs, novelty architecture is meant to be an advertisement for the business inside, such as buildings with a giant donut on the roof. Fantastic architecture, on the other hand, serves no other purpose than the personal amusement of its builder.

Selected fantastic-style structures

• Martin Castle in Versailles, Kentucky
• Sauer Buildings Historic District by Frederick C. Sauer, Aspinwall, Pennsylvania
• Watts Towers by Simon Rodia, Watts district of Los Angeles, California
• Wadham's Oil and Grease Company of Milwaukee

Notes

1. Curl and Wilson, Oxford Dictionary of Architecture, s.v. "Fantastic architecture," n.p.

References

• Curl, James Stevens; Wilson, Susan (2015). The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture (3 ed.). New York. ISBN 9780199674985. OCLC 909190508.
• James Stevens Curl (2006). Architecture and Landscaping. A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198606789.

External links

• Walker, John. "Fantastic Architecture". Glossary of Art, Architecture & Design since 1945, 3rd. ed.
• Wisconsin Fantastic Architecture
• Image gallery