The Fallen Star

University of California San Diego has a reputation for impressive student art bringing life to the campus. The newest addition is the “Fallen Star” created by South Korean artist Do Ho Suh. This charming little blue house hangs partially off of a seven-story building. It’s modeled after New England architecture and although it might look terrifying, it’s perfectly safe to enter.

Private temple over a residential building

In a place as populated as China, people have to find peace and quiet wherever they can get it. In the Chinese city of Shenzhen, some found it in this privately built temple-like structure that sits atop a 20-story residential block. But the temple is no more. It was built illegally so its wealthy benefactor, a Beijing physician, was recently given 15 days to tear it down.

Mountain villa on a building rooftop

If you can’t get to the mountains, bring the mountains to you! That’s what one wealthy Chinese businessman did. Zhang Biquin dedicated six years to making his realistic-looking two-story mountain villa on top of a high-rise apartment structure in China’s capital. Unfortunately, the villa – complete with a karaoke studio – did not meet safety requirements, and will soon be demolished.

Rooftop soccer at Shibuya Station

Every neighborhood in Tokyo is meant to function like a self-contained city. You should be able to find everything you need without ever leaving your district. The Shibuya Station decided that on top of the eight rail and metro lines it houses, it needed a soccer arena. And so it built Adidas Futsal Park on the roof.

Rooftop villas on top of a shopping mall

If you were dropped by a helicopter in the middle of this “neighborhood”  in Zhuzhou, China, the manicured lawns and charming houses would make you feel certain you were tucked away in suburbia, not sitting on top of a shopping mall. This little neighborhood of four villas, complete with gardens, will house the mall’s 160 real-estate management employees.

Rooftop lake

People who go to lakes often do so to get away from city life, but visitors to this lake on the Selfridges roof garden in London go to get a better view of it! The water is colored an artificial-looking green and boaters can enjoy cocktails on it. The garden recently reopened for the first time since World War II, when the department store was bombed.

Runway on top of a building Manhattan

A helicopter landing pad on top of a Manhattan skyrise isn’t such a weird site, but what is is a World War I-era warplane doing on a tiny rooftop in lower Manhattan. When the William Kaufman Organization built an office tower at 77 Water Street, they decided that instead of cramming the roof with the usual water tanks and air-conditioning equipment, they’d place something more picturesque there. Today anyone standing above the 26th-story tower can see a runway with functioning lights, and a perched bi-plane.

Didden Village on the roof of a private residence

On top of the already monumental Didden family home in the Netherlands is a sky-blue parapet. Behind that sit two also sky-blue gables, giving the entire structure the look of a crown on top of the monument. But the Didden family does not only use their small Smurf-like village as additional work or living space. It’s built to resemble a real village with alleys, courtyards with benches, tables and a pool.

House on top of a factory

According to the local media in Dongguan, these houses were not built to meet the original design submitted and so the construction is not legal. Nonetheless, they add a little charm to an otherwise bleak-looking factory, for as long as they stand there.

Upside-down house on top of Slovakian headquarters

The Slovakia-based headquarters of Strabag sit in an energy-efficient building complete with geothermal heating and cooling. But the headquarters are also filled with art, including this upside-down house called “House Attack.” Strabag is the largest construction company in Austria and one of the largest in Europe. It proved that it has a sense of humor too when it commissioned artist Erwin Wurm to create it. The house hangs over 530 busy employees of Strabag.