Extraordinary Animal Shaped Buildings

There are many attractive buildings that are shaped like animals such as chicken, elephants, sheep, sharks, fish and many more. StarProperty.my takes a quick tour to bring you some of these uniquely shaped buildings.

Dog and Sheep Buildings in Tirau, New Zealand
The Sheep Wool Gallery is a sheep skin rug and novelty shop which offers woolen goods and gifts while the Dog Building is an Information Centre cum public restroom. The buildings were built in 1994 and are along the main road in Tirau.

The idea to build an information centre in the shape of a dog initially came from John Drake, the owner of the land, and this led to the large corrugated iron building known as the "Sheep".

When the South Waikato District Council was looking for a site to build new public toilets, the land beside the Sheep belonging to John and Nancy Drake seemed to be ideal. Work on the Dog Building started in January 1998 and it was officially opened in September 1998. The shape of the Dog’s head was constructed by local craftsman Steven Clothier.

The common material used to build structures such as barns and storage sheds is corrugated iron. This material has been used to build extraordinary looking animal-shaped buildings in Tirau, Waikato.
(Image by Ellergy Blogspot)

Lucy the Elephant, Margate City, New Jersey
This is a six-story elephant-shaped structure weighing 90 tonnes. Lucy was constructed in 1882 by James V. Lafferty in Margate City, New Jersey in an effort to sell real estate and attract tourism. Lucy had served as a restaurant, business office, cottage, and tavern over the years.

In the 1960s, Lucy was in bad condition and was scheduled for destruction. It has been moved and refurbished as a result of a "Save Lucy" campaign in 1970 and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976. Josephine Harron is one of the founders for the Save Lucy Committee.

Several elephant-shaped buildings have since been constructed after Lucy. The second was The Elephant Colossus at Coney Island amusement park which was a twelve story structure but was destroyed by a fire in 1896. In 1884, ‘Light of Asia, or ‘Old Dumbo’ was built at Cape May but it was torn down. Only Lucy was lucky enough to survive until today.
(Image by Ellergy Blogspot)

Elephant Tower in Bangkok
Located in the Chatuchak district, it has three towers and forms the shape of Thailand’s national animal – the elephant. The Elephant Tower is only 10km away from central Bangkok and is one of most famous landmarks in Thailand. It’s made up of seven parts which consists of condominiums, office space, shopping plaza, bank, post office, a language school and a garden.

This tower is one of the futuristic buildings of the 21st century. It can be accessed by many roads, expressway and the upcoming mass transit transportation including the first and second stage expressway - Don Muang Tollway, Hopewell Mass Transit and Expressway, BTS Elevated Train as well as MRTA Subway.
(Image by BEEN SEEN)

Giant Muskie, Hayward, Wisconsin
A museum and also an angler’s shrine shaped in a leaping musky, this unique building is one and a half city blocks long and four and one and a half storeys tall. It is made of concrete, steel and fiberglass. It’s gaping jaw which serves as an observation platform is able to accommodate about 20 persons or more. The landmark is surrounded by a quarter acre of natural pond.

The museum houses fishing artefacts; an inventory of over 5,000 dated lures, hundreds of antique rods, reels and angling accessories, and more than 400 mounts of almost 200 different species of fish. The building idea was brought to live in 1960 by Bob Kutz.
(Image by Ellergy Blogspot)

Frank Gehry’s Fish, above the Vila Olimpica in Barcelona
Built in 1992 for the Olympic Games, located above Vila Olimpica in Barcelona, the monumental Fish sculpture consists of a retail complex designed by Gehry Partners within a larger hotel development by Skidmore, Owing & Merill.

The sculpture was modeled entirely in 3D and delivered directly to the fabricators as a 3D model. There have been many other fish buildings that followed thereafter.
(Image by BEEN SEEN)

Dog Bark Park Inn, Cottonwood, Idaho, USA
Dennis and Frances are the owners of this gigantic beagle in Idaho. Dennis’ background in the construction and building design industry prior to becoming an artist gave him the necessary expertise to build the dog building himself.

The head of the Dog is a loft room with additional sleeping space plus a cozy alcove in the muzzle. The building at 30 feet tall, 34 feet long and 14 feet wide was completed in 2003. Some of the Dog’s decorative furnishings are carvings by Dennis & Frances. Visitors may walk the grounds; browse the gift shop, or even share dog’s travel and life stories at the dog park.
(Image by Ellergy Blogspot)

Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn, Jabiru, Kakadu National Park, Australia
Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn, Jabiru offers an international standard four-star service to their visitors. This unique hotel is shaped like a crocodile and is located in the centre of the world heritage listed Kakadu National Park. It is a popular base for exploring the rugged beauty of the vast National Park.

The Crocodile’s mouth is the entrance of the hotel which leads to an expansive marble foyer designed to represent a cool, green billabong. Its body section houses guest rooms overlooking a central patio with a recreation of a natural billabong and a shaded swimming pool, designed to signify the crocodile’s heart. There are also tennis courts and a golf court situated within a short distance from the hotel.
(Image by Ellergy Blogspot)

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