There are individuals who thrive on living dangerously, and in the case of these homes, it’s a literal experience. Imagine waking up every day with a sense of fear for your life!
Some of these houses were designed as architectural marvels that engineers initially thought were impossible to construct, while others were built right on the edge of cliffs towering a thousand feet high. Regardless of the reasons, the people behind these peculiar and risky houses clearly seek the thrill of adrenaline in their lives!
Check out this list to see the most dangerous houses in all the world! Some are scary, some are quirky, and all of them are unique!
Katskhi Pillar, Georgia
The Katskhi pillar is a tall natural limestone monolith, standing at 130 feet, near the town of Chiatura in Georgia. At its top sits a structure that was constructed by a hermit during the 9th or 10th century. Today, it is occupied by a Georgian Orthodox monk named Maksim Qavtaradze. Qavtaradze only descends from the pillar twice a week to visit the monastery below and gather food. To do this, he must scale down the rock wall using a ladder.
Lake Kivu, Central Africa
Lake Kivu, situated on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, is a picturesque home to approximately 2 million people. However, beneath its beautiful surface lies a potential danger. Lake Kivu is one of three lakes globally known for limnic eruptions, a rare natural disaster where carbon dioxide erupts from deep lake water. This can create a deadly gas cloud capable of killing all living things within miles. Furthermore, scientists remain uncertain about the trigger for a potential limnic eruption in Lake Kivu. Building a house there comes with significant risks and should be approached with caution.
WoZoCo Apartments, Netherlands
Imagine living in an apartment that extends outward from the rest of the building. That’s the case for residents of the WoZoCo Apartments in Amsterdam. These apartments were designed in a creative way to comply with building codes while fulfilling the client’s unique request. Although the protruding units are securely attached to the building, it can be quite nerve-wracking to stand underneath them!
Takasugi-an, Japan
This bizarre-looking structure is known as Takasugi-an, a teahouse in Nagano, Japan built out of cut-down trees jammed into the ground. To get up to the teahouse, guests must climb up one rickety ladder, remove their shoes, then climb up a second rickety ladder. Inside the teahouse is cozy and quaint, but fair warning: the structure may sway back and forth in the wind. Apparently whoever built the structure had a sense of humor, because “Takasugi-an” means “too high” in Japanese.
Sutyagin House, Russia
Beginning in 1992, the Sutyagin House was constructed over the course of 15 years by Nikolai Petrovich Sutyagin, a crime lord in Arkhangelsk, Russia. Originally the house was supposed to be just three stories, but the Sutyagin family kept adding floors until they got to 13 (without any sort of building permit or real plans, mind you), rendering it the tallest wooden house in the world. In 2008, the city authorities declared the structure a fire hazard, and it was taken down. But let’s be honest here – it’s probably better that way.
Phoenix House, Hawaii
If you’ve ever wanted to sleep underneath an active Hawaiian volcano, you’re in luck because the Phoenix House is available on Airbnb! The Phoenix House is located just outside of the danger zone of Kilauea on Hawaii’s Big Island – meaning that lava flows very close by during an eruption. Not to mention, Kilauea is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, so you’re pretty much guaranteed to see some action should you choose to vacation there!
Drina River House, Serbia
The Drina River House is a special house found in the middle of the Drina River near Bajina Bašta in Serbia. Two brothers built it first in 1968, but it got washed away during a rainy season. However, they rebuilt it in the following years. The house became famous worldwide during the first Drina Regatta in 1994, where about 20,000 people passed by it. Nowadays, it’s one of the most popular spots for taking pictures in Serbia.
Elliðaey Island, Iceland
Are you introverted enough to live in the loneliest house on Earth? This isolated house is found on Elliðaey Island, near the southern coast of Iceland. It used to be a hunting lodge and there’s an old storage building used by biologists. What makes it risky, you wonder? Well, let’s just say it’s hard to reach a doctor if you accidentally fall and break your leg.
Castellfollit de la Roca, Spain
Castellfollit de la Roca is a town in Catalonia, Spain. It sits on a 160-foot-tall cliff made of basalt, formed when two lava flows combined. The town is ancient, existing for a thousand years, and stretches almost one kilometer. Around 1,000 people live there. There’s a small street between the houses for getting around. Just picture having a cliff as your backyard—it’s quite something!
Casa do Penedo, Portugal
In northern Portugal, you can find Casa do Penedo, or the Stone House. It took two years to build (from 1972 to 1974) using four huge rocks. Originally, it was meant to be a vacation home. However, now it’s just a tourist spot, a small museum displaying things from its past. Despite being close to a wind farm, the house doesn’t have any electricity. Imagine living so simply and close to nature!
The Cliff House, Australia
This cliff house is in Victoria, Australia. It’s not suitable for people afraid of heights. The house has five stories and clings to the vertical cliff. It was inspired by how barnacles stick to ships. And if that isn’t enough to make you nervous, the roof also serves as the garage, adding even more weight on top! Are you brave enough to live there?
Chemosphere, Los Angeles
The Chemosphere is a unique house in Los Angeles. It’s shaped like an octagon and has one floor, providing 2,200 square feet of living space. It sits on a narrow concrete column, only five feet wide, and is raised about 30 feet above the ground. John Lautner designed it in 1960, and it was considered the most modern home in the world at one time. The house’s design is impressive because it was built on a steep 45-degree slope.
Dumpster Apartment, New York City
Living in New York City can be quite costly. Some might say that even finding a dumpster to live in would cost at least $1,500 a month. However, an interior designer created an art installation that turns that idea into reality. They designed a dumpster apartment with a shower, toilet, bed, and even a tanning deck. Surprisingly, this unique living space is available for the lower price of $1,200 per month!
Keret House, Poland
If you enjoy living in small spaces, the Keret House in Warsaw, Poland, could be your dream home. This house holds the record for being the narrowest in the world, measuring under 5 feet at its widest point. While it’s classified as an art installation because it doesn’t meet Polish building codes, it does accommodate tenants, although only one person at a time. It’s a unique living experience for those who appreciate compact living arrangements.
Glass House, Sonoma Valley, California
Worth a cool $3.9 million, this house is located in Sonoma Valley, just two hours from San Francisco. It features stunning views of the Pacific Ocean from just about every corner of the house. What’s not to love? Well, for starters, the house is made almost entirely out of glass, and secondly? It sits atop a rocky point 300 feet above the ocean. Is all of that worth it? We’ll let you be the judge of that.
Just Room Enough Island, New York
Hub Island, or Just Room Enough Island, can be found in the Saint Lawrence River, straddling the Canada-US border in northern New York. Despite its size of only 3,300 square feet, it holds the title of the world’s smallest inhabited island. True to its name, the island is just big enough for a house, a tree, and a small beach. The Sizeland family bought the island in the 1950s as a secluded vacation spot, but the word got out, and it lost its privacy.
Shadowcliff, Lake Michigan
Shadowcliff is a unique house created by architect Harry Weese. It is a glass box house that juts out from a cliff, hanging over Lake Michigan. Initially, it served as a vacation office for Ben W. Heineman, who advised Lyndon B. Johnson. Though it might seem scary, Weese ensured its stability, able to endure winds up to 90 miles per hour. One remarkable aspect is the glass floor window that offers a view of the cliff below.
Solvay Hut, Switzerland
Hidden on the side of the Matterhorn in the Alps, there is a small hut built for mountain climbers seeking shelter from harsh weather or a short break. While it’s tiny, it can accommodate around 10 people if needed. The hut also has an emergency phone line for situations like avalanches or injuries that require a helicopter rescue from the mountain.
Falling Water House, Pennsylvania
The Falling Water House, designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, sits atop a waterfall in Pennsylvania, surrounded by a forest. However, it faced issues with durability and safety. The floors proved insufficient to support the house, and the beams started cracking under pressure. To rectify these problems, a hefty sum of $11 million was raised to address the construction errors and make necessary repairs.
Meteora Monasteries, Greece
The Meteora, found in central Greece, is home to a vast complex of Eastern Orthodox monasteries. It is among the largest and highest built in the world. These monasteries were constructed on natural pillars during the late 14th century to protect against raids. Presently, only six of them remain, each housing fewer than 10 people. Initially, the only way to access them was by rope, but fortunately, stairs have now been carved into the rock formations for convenient entry and exit.
Tiger’s Nest Monastery, Bhutan
You may have noticed that monks often choose to live on the edge, and that holds true for the monks at Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Bhutan. To reach the monastery, visitors must hike for at least two hours. It is perched on a cliff at an elevation of nearly 3,000 feet. If you’re in Bhutan and not afraid of heights, make sure to visit this place because it is said to be absolutely breathtaking.
Leaning Towers of Santos, Brazil
Italy is not the only country with a leaning tower. Unlike the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which is a tourist attraction, the leaning towers of Santos in Brazil are home to residents. Ideally, these buildings would have had deeper foundations, but relaxed building codes led to their hasty construction on soft clay, causing them to lean. While they appear unusual, this could be problematic during earthquakes and pose a potential disaster.
The Hanging Houses of Cuenca, Spain
The Hanging Houses, also known as Las Casas Colgadas, have a mysterious origin that historians are unsure about. However, there is evidence that they have existed since the 15th century. Don’t they appear perfectly integrated into the rock? Today, the Hanging Houses are home to a restaurant and the Spanish Museum of Abstract Arts. It’s not surprising that they are considered the most famous buildings in Cuenca.
House on Middle Sedge Island, New Jersey
The house on Middle Sedge Island, situated off the coast of New Jersey in the Atlantic Ocean, offers lavish features like a heated pool, guest house, and a bocce court, all on 14.4 acres of land. However, this luxury comes at a cost. The house can only be accessed by helicopter or boat, and it was devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The extent of the damage was substantial, and as a result, the house has not yet been repaired.
The Underground Homes of Coober Pedy, Australia
Coober Pedy is a town situated in South Australia, famous for its opal deposits. What makes this town even more unique is that 80 percent of its residents live in “dugouts” underground to escape the extreme daytime heat. Living in Coober Pedy means facing the risk of heat stroke every time you venture outside during daylight hours, as temperatures can reach a staggering 127 degrees Fahrenheit.