Hang Nga Guesthouse, Crazy House, Đà Lạt, Vietnam

Design
Hang Nga guesthouse was originally built as a personal project by Vietnamese architect Dang Viet Nga, opening to the public in 1990. Nga, who received a PhD in architecture from the University of Moscow, has stated that her overall design was inspired by the natural environment surrounding of the city of Da Lat, along with the work of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí.
• Architecture
Rather than using standard architectural plans as blueprints, Nga produces paintings, and hires non-professional local craftsmen to transform these into structural elements. Few right angles are found throughout the building, which instead boasts a complex organic structure echoing natural forms. The building’s exterior resembles a five-story-high banyan tree, with unevenly shaped window openings and branch-like structures that "grow" along its walls and rise above the roof into the sky. Describing it as a "fairy tale house", observers have variously drawn comparisons between the building's architecture and the works of Salvador Dalí and Walt Disney. In attempting to classify the building’s architecture, the People's Committee of the city of Đà Lạt described it as “expressionist”.