Extreme Homes Only the Brave Would Dare to Live In
Solvay Hut in Switzerland
This somewhat unstable-looking hut is perched on Matterhorn, a mountain on the Swiss-Italian border, at a deadly height of 13,000 feet above sea level. It will apparently hold 10 people in reality we were surprised it held that many. Looks like a small hut but I guess the photo angle? They claim this hut is an emergency shelter and can only be used by stranded mountain climbers.
The interior contains an emergency phone line for climbers. The hut happens to be owned by the Swiss Alpine Club, the largest mountaineering organization in Switzerland, in fact. But one thing’s for sure…and you wouldn’t want to put a foot wrong, it’s a long way to fall.
Phoenix House in Hawaii
Phoenix House bottom of the Loa and Kilauea, Hawaii, USA. For those not in the know, these are two volcanoes both currently in activity! In fact, they report that Kilauea is among the volcanoes most likely to threaten lives. However, remarkably this property is available on Airbnb, so if you want to put your nerve to the test, you could even spend a night in this deadly house!
So, when you have the confidence to book a stay at Phoenix House, just be ready to start dumping your belongings and darting for your safety should the worst occur! Perhaps, we would suggest, don sneakers?
The Korowai Treehouse is in Indonesia.
This example of treehouses is shown, in which the Korowai people who live in southeastern Papua, Indonesia, have traditionally lived. High up on stilts, these houses are built in a nerve-wracking way. It’s a must admit: this house doesn’t look the most solid…and you definitely would not want to be bouncing around too much in case you slipped between the slats and fell to your doom below! She also appears to make it in-and-out of the treehouse an art.
That said, this tribe has been around for thousands of years – so they must be on to something! Some of these treehouses are even 35 meters high!
Katskhi Pillar In Georgia
Perched atop a 40-metre-high limestone tower known as Katskhi Pillar is a church where Maxime Qavtaradze has lived for two decades. He is an Eastern Orthodox Benedictine monk. The monastic practice of residing in isolation on high pillars is, perhaps one of the saddest stories as it faded into obscurity for hundreds of years until it was revived in the mid-1990s. By that time, Qavtaradze had relocated to the top of this pillar, only descending twice a week. There was an iron ladder down the side of the pillar which allowed people to climb up it.
Hard to imagine scaling up and down on this column without safety gear. Yikes, that looks risky, to say the least! Just think of the accidents that must have resulted over the centuries and we shudder to think of them.
Drina River House in Serbia
The construction of Drina River House has begun back in 1969. Incredibly, this little cabin has been getting through the water, the floods, and the storms for the last 40 years! We can’t help but ask: how the bloody hell do you get to one? Just imagine how inconvenient it would be to load and unload groceries..or you’re not parking a car anywhere near this house! But seriously, this here house is so exposed!!
We can only imagine how creepy it would be to spend an evening in — at least overnight. We are also a little concerned about how high the water may rise. We would definitely recommend taking a life vest!
Takasugi-An in Chino, Japan
This seems like a single gust of wind could bring this thing down! No on would like to be living in this tiny home on a really windy day. In Japanese, Takasugi-an literally means “a teahouse too high” ― which is interesting, because The brave souls who enters this teahouse need to climb a ladder that is not anchored to anything. It is propped up against one of the trees. At the midpoint of the ladder, the guests must try to take off their shoes.
It doesn’t seem like there’s much room for this so one would think the fear of tumbling down the rung is quite palpable! Supposedly when you sit in the teahouse you can actually feel it rock in the wind – scary, huh?
The Foothills of Mount Merapi in Indonesia
If you haven’t heard of Delaware (don’t worry, we hadn’t either before we sat down to write this listicle!), Mount Merapi (on the island of Java in Indonesia) Active Volcan. It supposedly erupts more often than not. So, planting a foot here obviously means living dangerously…to say the least. Approximately 75,000 residents live in danger of a bit too close to Mount Merapi. That volcanic ash translates to very rich soil, so attractive.
Beyond the fertile soil, this volcano poses a real threat, with a series of eruptions in 2010 killing more than 386 people and thousands forced to leave homes like the one above.
Lichtenstein Castle in Germany
If you thought we had just come up with this gorgeous looking castle straight out of a fairytale book, you would be forgiven for thinking that. Unfortunately, that is not what happened. What we have here is not Lichtenstein, but rather Lichenstein Castle, located in Germany. This castle, hard to see in this pixelated location, is on a very dangerous cliff. Of course, this isn’t going to do a whole lot for the structural integrity of the building, which was also hit by bombs during the second world war.
With that said, this castle is safe enough for tourists to visit. Source: frosty east ↑ ↓ Nevertheless, we might still advise against climbing right up to the cliff’s edge – the drop looks rather large!
Spain’s Castellfollit de la Roca is a fortress.
Another once-perfect castle, perched precariously atop a cliff face. As entrancing, and as picturesque, as the performance may appear however, one cannot help but dread the ominous-looking ledge, if you wander too near the cliff face of the mountain! Castellfollit de la Roca, Catalonia, Spain, as seen above. If you haven’t noticed, a few buildings here and there have been built – a couple also have their backyard facing the cliff directly!
Apparently, the drop is over 160 feet high! So, you’d most definitely never catch us gardening down the bottom of these backyards — not on a windy day, anyway!
China’s Southern Peak, Mount Hua
The Southern Peak of Mount Hua, China (aka the world’s most dangerous hike) There are two routes by which to gain and start this vertiginous elevation. If you aren’t feeling too adventurous, first you can ride the cable car to the top. Or, you can opt for the ‘normal’ option, which reportedly consists of wooden boards outside up the mountain, in the sky (yikes!? ). You can also take the stairs.
Naturally these are the steps in the picture below the snap. Others claim that the incline is so fierce that you can slide and roll down the hill. Eeeek!
This is the Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Paro Taktsang.
The Paro Tiger’s Nest Monastery sits nearly 900 meters in the air over the ground at the edge of a cliff. More accurately, this monastery is located in Paro Valley in Bhutan. As this image may suggest, hiking by foot to this monastery isn’t so simple – particularly given the lack of modern health and safety regulations. Hikers long this track will tell you that the most dangerous part are the dozens of horses that ride up the track in high seasons.
Apparently, they run down the hill in the procession back from the monastery & can push hikers right off the trail! So, as you might expect, you are going to have to take care!
New York’s Just Room Enough Island
We’re guessing it’s partially self-explanatory why “Just Room Enough Island” could become hazardous. This property sitting up on this little island looks to not be too far from the streets of the St. Lawrence River. Lets put it this way; we would not like to be in this property if it were to rain. This home has to be flood-prone, right? If you do plan on going to this island, maybe bring some life jackets along?
lApparently, an affluent family purchased this home back in the 1950s. The place has become something of a tourist trap, unfortunately, but it purchased itself to be a place to get away and rest in silence.
Mount Heng in China is home to the Hanging Monastery.
In this photograph appears The Hanging Monastery (Xuankong Si) in Mount Heng, China Monks seeking solace built this incredible monastery around 1,500 years ago. Xuankong Si is situated overlooking a dramatic 250-foot drop as you can see. It was said that this ancient building did not have the beams when it was built! Supposedly these were simply included to the take action for all that, appraisal going to feel more secure.
If we’re honest, we are no architectural specialists, but the manner in which this monastery is built precariously on the jagged rockface does not look safe! Although, to be fair, this monastery has stood the test of time for well over a thousand years. Clearly, it is doing something right!
The Depression of Danakil in Ethiopia
The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the most inhospitable places in the world. I here: get the sign that, over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, is not unusual (except in the dead of winter if it gets cold): – it is one of the hottest spots on the planet! And it rains less than eight inches a year, on average. Nestled in such a hostile environment, earthquakes and volcanoes may erupt near where they live.
That would endanger the structural integrity of a property and is scary to have anywhere near your home! Well according to a simple Google search, some worldly folk have branded the Danakil Depression as the “gateway to hell”, uh oh!
New York City features an open-air trash can.
You could be forgiven for thinking this IS a joke. But this is not a so-called “apartment,” as expressed on HGTV─ it is a real house. I am not kidding when I tell you this pretentious prick went so far as to sell this dumpster as an “art deco hipster mini apt from a converted dumpster is green friendly and sustainable. If you would like to reside in such a pisser (sorry for the pun), it’ll cost you $1,200 monthly for the right.
Although they are marketed as mini apartments, this does not seem like much protection from the elements and ill-intent. And you’d probably have to deal with people confusing your house with a dumpster…gross!
The monasteries of Meteora in Greece
For the uninitiated, Meteora is a rock formation near the town of Kalampaka, Greece. UNESCO World Heritage site Meteora actually (in Greek) translates to “suspended in air” in English, which is quite fitting as these monasteries are way up high! While there are more than a few monasteries all over Meteora, only a few of those are actually home to any monks or nuns. The other ones are just left behind and that is some scary shit.
So, although you can drive part-way, in order to get to one or two of the monasteries, you will need to cross by foot-only the footbridge that rests over-top of the chasm. If you have the fear of heights, I would suggest skipping this one!
In Brazil, the Leaning Towers of Santos
One has to wonder just how comfortable anyone would be living in one of the leaning towers of Santos in Brazil? So apparently, these towers lean the way they do because back when these buildings were built, there was no building code. This spared builders the hassle of digging so deeply into the sandy underbelly necessary to dig foundations for the building today.
Some of these towers have thankfully been refurbished over the years to help preserve the strength of the structure, but not all of the buildings seem to have gone through renovations – and we aren’t sure we want to risk the lives of some adventurers!
These are the Hanging Houses of Cuenca in Spain.
Image description: One of the houses in the city of Cuenca, Spain. It is a city that hovers more than 3,000 feet in the air, where people have lived for centuries. But proceed with caution. The internet tells me that these hanging houses were last renovated in the 1920s, So, how much faith can we have in the strength of those wooden balconies? At least we don’t want to be the first to test it out!
Fun Fact: There are only three of this hanging house left. And whatever you do, we wouldn’t advise sleeping in one of these hanging houses if you’re a sleepwalker…this seems to be a great plunge from the balcony!
Italy’s “Isle of Fire”
Even if the properties on Stromboli Island are safe and fairly solid, the location itself is not. Not exactly the most hospitable place on earth, as its name suggests: ‘The Island of Fire’. In fact, it is home to 300 people… and an active volcano. Like in 1930, when a substantial eruption and tsunami occurred. A few years down the track, the volcano began erupting almost continuously.
In a recent documentary on the island, residents say they know the volcano’s rumbles well. It is so much so that they call him iddu, which is “he” in Sicilian. We bet this sounds nearly as adorable as it does creepy!
The German church of Suurhusen
This here church tower looks a bit wonky, but you don’t need us to tell you that. In fairness, at least, Suurhusen Church (in northwest Germany) dates all the way back to 1450, so the fact it’s standing at all is still quite a feat. In fact, this tower of Surrhusen was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records way back in 2007. Guess what it is a world record holder for. For the least likely to fall tower.
Blame it on the marsh it was built on, amid tree roots of oak, say experts — the tower is tilted. But for centuries, the area dried, and then when the water receded, the wood rotted, causing the tower to drop.
Jean-Antoine Carrel found safety on Mount Matterhorn.
Once again, not really a home for you if you have a fear of heights! The property shown is built at 12,467 feet (3,810 m) above sea level, on the SW side of Mount Matterhorn. Opened in 1969, it includes 50 beds and was a sanctuary for mountain climbers. So the property is quite exposed to the elements if you will. For which, in some places, the building itself has been a bit battered. But for someone to need the refuge at all, you’d have to be a complete coward.
Well, some sources place Mount Matterhorn in the sixth place when it comes to the most dangerous mountains on the planet. Therefore, people would have to give up their lives for the sole purpose of venturing to this refuge realm then it would only be visited by the true hearted! I.e., not us!
Ellðaey is in Iceland’s Westman Archipelago.
Elliðaey is a small island just off of Iceland and here is one of the very few buildings on it. More specifically, the Elliðaey Hunting Association owns it. This is said to be a temporary hunting lodge. We must confess that we won’t feel much at easy living away from the rest of humans, so far away. However, besides that, a considerable amount of volcanic activity is taking place in the vicinity.
Mash those altogether and we can definitely come up with some safer places to pitch a tent! Indeed, a volcanic eruption occurred in 1973, which is not a million years ago!
The United States’ Fallingwater House is in Pennsylvania.
And on the surface of it, this property looks pretty damn beautiful, right? But instead this, in Pennsylvania in the USA, is Fallingwater House. As gorgeous as Frank Lloyd Wright architectural masterwork looks like in this week’s AirBnB most popular properties list — but turns out, this property is also an engineering flop. Even though experts told him the structure of the home would eventually start to be compromised he pressed on. Now, a couple decades later, the Western Pennsylvania Conservatory, the owners of the property, had to fix the problem.
Unfortunately, the beams holding up the building were starting to crack. Fortunately, they managed to raise money to restore the Fallingwater House and this magnificent building is still standing today. Still, of all the properties on this list, it’s probably about the least dangerous!
The Maldives are an island group in the Indian Ocean.
Again, this is one of those images that, on the face of it, appears to be a page from a holiday house listing – until you dig a little deeper to discover the reason for the homes sitting high above the sea. Sadly, to the citizens of the Maldives global warming causing the ice caps to melt is a very real threat. For the uninitiated, the Republic of Maldives is the flattest country in the world, and therefore among the most susceptible to rising sea levels. Consequently, there is a real possibility that the majority of Maldives will be submerged within a century.
To the extent that evacuation plans were indeed prepared. But instead of evacuating, those in the Maldives went ahead and built taller buildings to wade off the coming doom. Scary, right?
Southeast Africa’s Lake Kivu is visible.
Lake Kivu is tucked away between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But beauty can be deceiving, it’s a relatively high risk place to live. Not the least because the lakes water captures volcanic gases — carbon dioxide and methane. Thus, these adverse gases have a tendency to rise and burst out into the atmosphere. These gases can be lethal at these concentrations. Indeed, the eruptions have been given the nickname mazuku — Swahili for “evil wind” — by the locals.
Unfortunately these gas clouds can kill wildlife, and humans as well. In that case, maybe avoid Lake Kivu if a view of the lake’s side is what you’re after?
Park for chess on Mount Hua in China
This is outstanding chess pavilion located on Mount Hua in China. Its one of the mountains that are well-known in China. Yet despite this mountain being home to many, it is extremely dangerous to climb. From what I read, scrambling up this mountain is similar to rock climbing. More specifically, because for you to climb the mountain you need to use the footholds and cling on to the chains for dear life! So deadly is Mount Hua that it is estimated that approximately 100 people a year die attempting to scale its heights.
One of the most dangerous parts of the trail is know as The Plank Walk. Here is where climbers step across a few boards bolted into a 7,000-foot peak. You are strapped in, but it is a little scary!
Los Angeles, USA, is home to the chemosphere.
Disclaimer: Perhaps the most dangerous building on this list but still raises a few red flags so we wanted to include it on this listicle (not the most common). Above, the Chemosphere by architect John Lautner It was erected in 1960. Most worryingly, this building that looks like its inception was cross-pollinated with The Penguin from Batman ragefully swivels to a 45-degree slope. However with the area covered in quakes, this property still stands strong.
Granted, saying a massive abode on a steep incline that would sporadically experience earthquakes sounds like a very unsafe home, so maybe we’ll pass on this one!
Lake Michigan’s Shadow Cliff
One can only imagine the type of individual it must take to own this place, nerves of steel right? This is a photo of a building named Shadowcliff. Overlooking at Lake Michigan, the building was designed and built in 1969 and created by architect Harry Weese. However, the reason that this feat of architecture is so unsettling is that the room lives over the cliff. It also has a pit in the middle of the room filled with glass.
So when you are sitting or you’re standing on the window, you are hovered over the water below. But hey, if you can even handle the heights then the views have to be something epic right!
A house on Middle Sedge Island
You could be gazing at this house and saying holy crap, it is massive and beautiful! Yet this secluded estate was once even more extravagant, believe it or not. Told it used to have a pool and a guest house. However, a storm was able to bombard the isle and displace the pool! This left the property rather dangerous and, unfortunately, to this very day, lies derelict.
It may even disturb you to think that it is so inaccessible that the only way you can access it is by boat or helicopter. Image via Shutterstock If you were to have an emergency — out of the blue!!
Cliff House in San Francisco
Cliff House in San Francisco, at least at first glance, looks quite solid. Yet it has been restored a whopping three times! The well-known restaurant famously survived an earthquake back more than 100 years ago in 1906. Still, it survived that, unfortunately, a year later it burned to the ground! You would also have to contend with the another precarious cliff it rests upon. There have been many shipwrecks under Cliff House.
Is it just us, or does Cliff House feel a little cursed? Unfortunately, this legendary eatery closed its doors to the public in 2020, as the pandemic’s undesirable impact started to ravage the nation.
Eastchurch Cliff House in England
You won’t be surprised to hear that this house wasn’t always located precariously as pictured here. For years residents had allegedly been cautioned of the threat. Which then, sadly enough, caused the worst to happen. This california property took a dangerous turn after a landslide As you might have already deduced, this property is no longer livable. It is a good thing that this disaster did not see any loss of lives!
Just take a gander at the property literally dangling off the edge of a cliff. That would send shivers down the spines even of the hardiest among us. I can’t imagine being on the wrong side of this house eeeek
Akraberg Lighthouse, Faroe Islands in Denmark
The Akraberg Lighthouse in the Faroe Islands in Denmark is a terrifying place to call home for one reason; this beautiful lighthouse is miles and miles away from anything remotely resembling any kind of amenity so should you need a plumber, good luck getting them to find you. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it also sits on the side of cliff above a rough ocean with a notorious current.
Additionally, there is apparently also a problem with rock erosion here. All that put together would make this lighthouse a nightmare to stay overnight in. We think we are going to pass on this one!
The Underground Houses, Coober Pedy in Australia
This is an example of one of the underground houses in the town of Coober Pedy in Australia. For the uninitiated, this Australian desert is infamous for its inhospitable climate and geography. Well, it is too hot there, in a way that humans just cannot live. Which is why half the people in Coober Pedy live underground in caves and converted mine shafts.
While these houses do a decent job of blocking the nasty heat, let’s be honest– it is pretty creepy to think that you are living beneath tons of earth. Kinda coffin-y, right?
Capital Gate in Abu Dhabi
Wow. As you first gaze upon this magnificent testament to skyscraper architecture, one realizes that At just over 520 feet high, this curvy structure is located in Abu Dhabi. But even with its steep curves, it is in fact literally engineered to battle gale-force winds and earthquake pressures. We mean, we not only think it would be terrifying to silence in the lean of this tower, but stack that on top of these geologic forces…it’s a double no from us.
Did you know: This building known as the Capital Gate was titled as the “world’s furthest leaning man-made tower” in June 2010. It even got itself into the Guinness Book of World Records—officially.
Sutyagin House, Archangel in Russia
The Sutyagin House, Russian Federation Archangel — A fairly creepy building; For one, it’s allegedly constructed by a fabulously rich arms dealer, Nikolai Petrovich Sutyagin. That alone raises some red flags. Unwittingly, this meant he was building the tallest wooden building in the world. When he finished building on the original property, it was 13 stories high. But the authorities ultimately tore it down as it posed too great a risk of catching fire.
With such an untraditional history and its draculian, skeletal shape, we already heard it was allegedly haunted long before we stepped foot inside. What shady business happened behind those closed doors back in the day?
House R 128 in Germany
Glass might be one of the more fragile building supplies and if we are being honest here, we really don’t know about you. So when you see a bulk of a property built from it, doesn’t even you get a little bit of anxious regarding the walls splitting up? Or is that just us? So when you see something that looks like this unique home you do a double take. There isn’t a single wall, on the outer expanse of this building, that’s not comprised of glass.
House R 128, built in 1999, may be a little bit on the shady side when it comes to building materials, but it’s 100% sustainable, and none of that emits anything that can damage the planet!
The Glass House, Timber Cove in California
Well, this house seems fairly picturesque to us. Just look at those sea views! This place is, somewhat appropriately named the Glass House, is all-in on the stuff! Then again, with the exposure of this house to the elements; we wonder how safe we would feel in a home that mostly consists of glass. And remember, to score this pad, you’re going to need to cross the winding walkway as the waves crash below.
The Glass House is secluded which adds lots of privacy because the home is a stand alone home so if your looking to escape the world than this may be your retreat.
Wozoco Apartments in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
If you have been assigned a creative brief at any point in your life, you know the soul crushing insanity that ensues when a client’s needs come into conflict with all mighty creative brief heaven. This coincidentally happened during the construction of the Wozoco Apartments in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam’s municipal code conflicting with the clients of the Dutch MVRDV firm’s architects In particular, it was a balance between creating as much light as possible around the building and maintaining green space as much as possible.
And so for the needs of these two opposing sides, they gave birth to these structures that look like drawers. It may seem a little top-heavy this way, but it is safe, indeed. It’s not going to fall over in a hurry!
Habitat 67, Montreal in Canada
Above: Habitat 67 in Montreal, Canada. Does it ring a bell? It does sort of have our minds wondering, the property room looks a bit like a wobbly Jenga! Well we need to be careful here, a jenga tower is not exactly what we want to be discussing when we talk apartment blocks! But this architectural feat proved popular with the people. So much so that even though the homes were initially meant to be low-cost, its gravity-defying style never dropped in price and became one of the most expensive areas in the city!
That being said, at least it is quite neat to know that architects are always creating more modern methods to stimulate urban living high density without making people feel like they live in human filing cabinets.
Gate of Europe Towers in Madrid
The Gate of Europe Towers (Kio Towers), Madrid (photos) Technically more in the office than residential column, but we really can’t get over how amazing – and terrifying – the lean is on these two buildings we had to get them on the list. We can only imagine the views up top these towers. But if you fear heights, probably best to stay away!
Fun fact: The Gate of Europe Towers were the first leaning skyscrapers ever built when they were constructed in 1996, which is an impressive architectural achievement. Pretty cool, right?
