After winding their way up a hundred-foot-tall pathway in the Czech Republic set atop a mountain peak (itself located over 3,000 feet above sea level), visitors are presented with two options: walk all the way back down, or take a ride on the slide that shoots back down through the center of the spiralling walkways on all sides.

Another feature for daredevils comes in the form of netting suspended from a section along the top. Those who wish to can walk and lay on this mesh, experiencing whatever level of terror they can tolerate.

Fránek Architects designed this massive wooden structure, dubbed Sky Walk and aimed at giving viewers a number of twists, turns and chances to find the perfect vista while they work their way up.

“It offers an endless amount of views, situations and moments where an indiscernible human being enters the depth and emerges on the outskirts of this natural structure,” said Fránek.

The pathways are suspended from a central structural core made up of metal-joined wood trusses, forming a space frame that also supports the stainless steel slide more brave guests will opt to take for their return trip.

Located as it is on top of a tall and exposed mountain, the structure is heavily reinforced throughout and tied to concrete footings buried deep in the ground. It also features an emergency spiral staircase down its center. Travelers can get to this wheel-accessible pedestrian viewing spiral via a chairlift at the foot of the mountain, near Dolni Morava.

“I don’t know of any other timber construction with steel elements of a similar size and purpose,” Fránek said. “There are constructions of a similar size but ours takes on an abstract form that suggests the flight of a nocturnal butterfly whose path is seemingly chaotic.”

Buried within a mountaintop nearly 7,500 feet above sea level, this remarkable semi-subterranean mountaineering museum, designed for a unique client – the first man to scale Everest without oxygen.

Designed by Zaha Hadid (images by Werner Huthmacher), the Messner Mountain Museum Corones refers to Reinhold Messner. Located atop Mount Kronplatz in Italy, it is the first in a series of planned mountaintop museums, each designed to create a sense of journey and adventure for its visitors.

In this case, one arrives from the side then continues below the surface before emerging to discover a dazzling view of the surrounding landscapes and peaks, framed by huge windows or enjoyed from a balcony jutting over the edge.

As one travels through the building, the focus shifts from artifacts and exhibits within the museum back to the outdoor world that inspired this famous climber to become the first to ascend all fourteen of the world’s tallest peaks. The signature curves of Hadid’s work guide one through narrowing and widening spaces, slopes and steps, each shaping the experience.

From the architects: “A composition of fluid, interconnected volumes, the 1000 sq. m. MMM Corones design is carved within the mountain and informed by the geology and topography of its context. A sharp glass canopy, like a fragment of glacial ice, rises from the rock to mark and protect the museum’s entrance”

Without further landscaping, it is hard to say whether the building in reality reflects the mountain-piercing concept, but a freshly-constructed work of architecture is rarely finished until more greenery (and maybe in this case some additional dirt) comes back into play.

More from Messner on the museum itself: “On Kronplatz I present the development of modern mountaineering and 250 years of progress with regard to the equipment. I speak of triumphs and tragedies on the world’s most famous peaks – the Matterhorn, Cerro Torre, K2 – and shed light on alpinism with the help of relics, thoughts, works of art, and by reflecting the outside mountain backcloth in the interior of MMM Corones.”

Built on Devil’s Peak (along a promontory known as Devil’s Slide), this obsolete base end station was designed to spot, triangulate and radio in sightings of enemy ships approaching the San Francisco Bay.

Rounding the bend along California’s scenic coastal State Route 1 from either north or south, it is impossible to miss the incredible bunker, which appears to float over the earth around it. While the area is fenced off, a parking zone nearby is used by some explorers as a place from which to venture closer to the structure, located just south of Pacifica and past a hillside highway tunnel.

Though this is neither safe nor recommended, it is also possible to climb into the viewing slot on the first level then walk the stairs to the top – unofficially: the view is incredible. Meanwhile, the edges of the bunker have turned from supports to supported, cantilevered precariously over their surroundings, allowing you to walk up and sit under thousands of pounds of reinforced concrete.

While it looks like the work of nature, the apparent erosion surrounding the lone structure is reportedly a man-made effort designed to pave the way for further development, presumably by the military. At the same time, natural causes would not be too much of a surprise or stretch, considering that this section of highway has been known to close due to everything from earthquakes to landslides – the next disaster very well might take this abandoned building with it. The land and bunker are meanwhile owned by a private party and officially off limits (though with limited fencing).

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In a bold yet beautifully contextual move, this embedded mountaintop museum structure is part of a series of buildings set high in the mountains of Tyrol, Italy, and designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.

Visitors ascend the slope from below, enter a glazed above-ground space, then pass through subterranean exhibit rooms and come out onto an observation deck with stunning views down the steep sides of the mountain below.

The sixth of the set, Messner Mountain Museum is situated at the peak of Mount Kronplatz above a regional ski resort. It is designed to educate visitors on the discipline of mountaineering and celebrate the world’s greatest rock faces.

Aside from its sinuous aesthetic, the strength of this design relies on sequential experience – movement through the building provides an appreciation for both the site and the subject matter of the museum. It works, quite literally, on a number of levels.

From the architects: “A composition of fluid, interconnected volumes, the 1000 sq. m. MMM Corones design is carved within the mountain and informed by the geology and topography of its context. A sharp glass canopy, like a fragment of glacial ice, rises from the rock to mark and protect the museum’s entrance”