As architects struggle to balance aesthetic appeal with practical considerations, many are finding the best way to create bold, interesting, even mind-bending features is through the use of optical illusions. In effect, our own eyes are being used against us – and nobody’s complaining about the results!

(image via: Sacred Sites)

The use of optical illusions in architecture isn’t new; in fact one of the most outstanding examples is the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, constructed over 25 centuries ago. Curiously, the many subtle techniques (called entasis) used by the Parthenon’s architects don’t make the structure look like something it isn’t – instead, they correct the viewer’s perceptions so that the temple looks as it should. Slightly wider corner columns, pillars that curve inwards and a floor that is 6 cm (2.4 inches) higher at its center all conspire to give the Parthenon an enduring beauty that is evident even in its current state.

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Architects of the Classic Era worked mainly in stone, and the ancient Romans applied newly discovered knowledge of optics and perspective to create the amazing optical illusion mosaic floors shown above.

(image via: Travelblog and ASL)

The Middle Ages and the Renaissance saw a rebirth of science, art and design as epitomized in the magnificent paintings of Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo. Their influence was (and is) felt around the globe, as seen in the floor of Saltas cathedral in Argentina (above left) and the painted floor of Tokyo’s Sunshine City shopping center (above right).

(image via: Patricia’s Palette)

Modern architects often use traditional forms and styles as a starting point, then warp them to create something new that – either amusingly or disturbingly – puts a new twist on what we expect to see. The so-called Melting Building, created by artist Peter Delavie for France’s Athem Co., is actually made from tarpaulins draped over the sides of a Paris building under construction.

(image via: Athem)

Here is another of Athem’s buildings, this one after completion. A clever mix of inorganic stone and organic greenery softens the sever outlines of the structure while adding a note of whimsy.

(image via: Martin Winer and SquidVids)

The late M.C. Escher was widely known for his curious paintings and drawings that played with perspective in unusual ways, yet still conformed to mathematical theories. Many of these depicted “impossible” buildings and architecture, with some better known examples shown above.

(image via: New Optical Illusions)

Even The Simpsons have gotten in on M.C. Escher’s act!

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Andrew Lipson is an obvious admirer of M.C. Escher and he shows it in his accurate as possible renderings, in Lego bricks, of many of Escher’s impossible structures such as Belvedere above.

(image via: Uwe Hermann, Enigmatico and New Media Designer)

Some architects have taken M.C. Escher’s unspoken challenge and have tried to create actual structures which reflect the late artist’s virtual reality. Examples of these include, clockwise from above: Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, a pavilion by Aldo Benedetti and this ethereal Stairway to Nowhere – no connection to Sarah Palin.

(image via: Hot Homes of Utah, Point Click Home and Floridahome-rental)

Architects who seek less mind-bending architectural optical illusions simply turn the concept upside down… by turning the building upside down. Above are three examples, one from Japan (left) another from Poland which mocks the Communist era (right) and Orlando’s famous Wonderworks House (lower).

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Eastern Europe boasts a surprising number of surprising buildings designed both before and after the fall of the Soviet Union and its associated regimes. One of the most famous is the Dancing House (Nationale-Nederlanden building) in Prague, Czech Republic. Built between 1992 and 1996 and designed by Vlado Milunc and Frank Gehry, the building houses one of Prague’s best restaurants on its top floor and gives visitors excellent riverside views of the city’s historic downtown.

(image via: Roy Lichtenstein Foundation)

When is a house not a house, even though it looks like a house? If you think you’re confused now, try visiting the Roy Lichtenstein House. There are actually two of these intriguing structures: a fiberglass structure from 1997 located at LongHouse Reserve, East Hampton New York, and a painted aluminum version from 1998 located at the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden in Washington DC. Here’s a video illustrating what it would be like to walk around one of these odd houses:

(image via: MTNWA)

Optical illusion architecture doesn’t have to take the form of a house, building or other such structure, as this intriguing walkway and associated installations in Athens, Greece so eloquently illustrate. Built for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games and designed by acclaimed artist/architect Santiago Calatrava, these structures interact with sunlight to create a complex panoply of light and shadow that fools the eye while soothing the mind.

(image via: Illusion King)

Our final and perhaps finest example of an optical illusion building is the Australian Customs Service building, located in Melbourne, AU, and completed in 2006. Each floor of the building is exactly the same height, yet the tessellation pattern of black & white rectangles separated by parallel orange lines gives quite a different impression. The building was designed to display the so-called Cafe Wall Illusion originally noted in 1979 following the completion of a café in Bristol, England. Hard to imagine enjoying a warm cuppa in the presence of that disturbing pattern!

When it comes down to it, optical illusion buildings allow developers to attract attention without the need for expensive construction techniques. Keeping the eye fooled can keep the bank account – and the buildings – filled.

LEGO … it’s the best thing to come out of Denmark since, er, danishes. Much more than just a children’s toy, LEGO pieces make ideal artist material due to their exceptionally versatile design. These 20 essential works of LEGO art illustrate just what can be accomplished with a little inspiration and a LOT of LEGO bricks.

(image via: Andrew Lipson’s LEGO Page)

When does art begin and LEGO end? The line is especially vague when the artist being emulated is the late master of skewed perspective, M.C. Escher. The meticulous multicolored masterpieces of LEGO art created by Daniel Shui and Andrew Lipson are a true homage to Escher’s vertigo- inducing vision. The above piece is modeled after the 1953 lithograph, Relativity.

(image via: Andrew Lipson’s LEGO Page)

Other creative recreations including uncanny copies of (clockwise from above left) Balcony, Belvedere, Ascending & Descending, and Waterfall can be viewed at Lipson’s website.

(image via: The Brick Artist)

LEGO has also been used to show that “art imitates life”, none more superlatively than by ex-lawyer turned Lego-er Nathan Sawaya. The now 34-year-old New Yorker has had his brickwork exhibited in reputable galleries and art museums – some of his creations have sold in the 5-figure range.

(image via: Lego Is Fun)

Lego art can also imitate fine art, though the original artists Munch, Da Vinci and Van Gogh might not agree. Then again, they’re not around to take issue.

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Modern art as well, has inspired its share of imitation in LEGO bricks. The above montage showcases LEGO surrealist art by Rene Magritte and Andy Warhol’s iconic Marilyn Monroe quartet, and beneath them the climactic final scene of the 1942 film Casablanca.

(image via: The Little Artists)

An outstanding – if not outrageous – example of modern art is British artists Damien Hirst’s “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living”. Created in 1991 and featuring a 14-foot long tiger shark sealed in a glass-walled tank of formaldehyde preservative, Hirst’s best known work recently sold at auction for approximately $15 million. It was also reproduced in LEGO by art cooperative The Little Artists, shown in two views just above Hirst’s original.

(image via: Paula Wirth)

More in the category of Folk Art is the well-worn LEGO Art Car, captured for posterity above by Paula Wirth and Art Car Central. Constructing an actual working car from LEGO bricks and pieces is a major undertaking, so with a little glue and a whole, er, carload of Lego bricks one can create a reasonable facsimile. Trouble finding your car in a crowded mall parking lot? Problem solved!

(image via: Walyou)

Pop the hood on the brick-encrusted sedan and undoubtedly there’s a tired 4-banger wheezing away. What SHOULD be there is this painstakingly precise Lego V8 engine built over a 4-month period by someone who’s either incredibly obsessed or not gainfully employed – or both! Check out the engine in action:

The fine detail of this interminable construction engine and its many moving parts that include a spinning fan and rotating crankshaft adds fuel to the fire of those who ask, “Is there anything that you can’t make with LEGOs?”

(image via: Metro UK)

The answer to that question is, of course, “NO!!”… provided one has enough Lego bricks to get the job done. In the case of this truly amazing LEGO aircraft carrier, that would be about 300,000. This scale model of the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier is accurate down to the sailors’ lifebelts and tips the scales at a whopping 353 pounds! Crafted with the utmost care by Malle Hawking of landlocked Munich, Germany, the 14.7 foot long Lego leviathan is the world’s largest Lego ship… cool that someone seems to be keeping track!

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As awesome as the Lego aircraft carrier is, we wouldn’t want to see it take on Brickley, the Lego sea monster at Downtown Disney in Walt Disney World… wait a minute, yes we would! Brickley is made out of 170,000 LEGO bricks and stretches a sinuous 30 feet long. He calls the Lego Imagination center his home, and really, who’s going to argue with him?

(image via: New Launches)

As long as the theme is quantity, check out this 94-foot tall LEGO tower at – where else – Legoland in California. It took an unbelievable 465,000 Lego bricks to complete this awesome stack-o-plastic, which should make an unbelievable mess once a gust of wind blows it down.

(image via: Leif Pettersen)

Monumental describes many of the exhibits at California’s LegoLand, such as the presidential figures from Mount Rushmore reproduced in LEGO bricks.

(image via: On My List)

From quantity to quality. Jeffrey Hunter specializes in Lego art and his creations range from wacky to whimsical – even including a LEGO self-portrait (above left). Hunter’s sense of humor is prominently displayed in the “Leggo My Lego Eggo!” waffle (right)

Hunter is obviously a fan of legendary British progressive band Pink Floyd, as the two classic Lego album covers illustrate. Just another LEGO brick in the wall, wot?

(image via: The Brick Testament)

Sunday School might be a lot more enjoyable if kids learned their bible stories through The Brick Testament, clever re-tellings of the psalms in polystyrene.

More from The Brick Testament, whose creators have obviously spent a LOT of time preparing a wide variety of biblical scenes including that all-time favorite, the Original Sin starring Adam, Eve and an uncredited snake in a rare speaking role.

(image via: The Bootlego Beatles)

Taking on organized religion is pretty big, even for LEGO. In closing then, it’s only appropriate to segue to the seminal 1960s band said by one of their members to be “bigger than Jesus”. It is, or course, The Beatles, and their classic album covers have now been reproduced in Lego under the funny, punny title of The Bootlego Beatles. Can’t buy me love? Just put it on plastic!