Eight buildings disguised as rocks
Following the creation of a cabin in France that was disguised as a large boulder, we round up eight buildings with rock-like forms including prayer halls, museums, theatres and houses.
Al Musallah prayer hall, UAE, by CEBRA
Danish architecture studio CEBRA created a cave-like prayer centre within a landscape of jagged, rock-like forms in Abu Dhabi. The building rises out of a small pool of water next to the Qasr Al Hosn Fort – Abu Dhabi's oldest stone structure.
"The geometries intentionally land somewhere between building and landscape," said CEBRA.
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2014 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, UK, by Smiljan Radić
Chilean architect Smiljan Radić created a pebble-like form for the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in 2014 from a paper-thin layer of white fibreglass. He raised the bulbous pavilion off the ground on a series of rough quarry stones.
"I feel like a giant made this model as a gift for London," Radić said at the time.
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The Chapel of Sound, China, by Open Architecture
Chinese studio Open Architecture designed this open-air concert hall for a site in a valley near the ruins of the Great Wall of China. The rock-like structure is formed from a series of concrete layers designed to mimic surrounding cliff faces.
"We were very aware of the responsibility we had to contribute a thoughtful structure that fits naturally into such a unique landscape," said Open Architecture.
"The symphony of nature is what we really wanted people to experience here."
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Centro Eventi Multifunzionale, Italy, by Bargone Associati
This theatre and cultural centre on Lake Maggiore, Italy, was designed by Bargone Architetti Associati to reassemble the pebbles on the stony shoreline nearby.
Its four rock-shaped volumes, which are clad in pale grey zinc, contain two auditoriums as well as rehearsal spaces, a restaurant and a cafe.
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Architecture studio Bureau covered this small wooden cabin in France in concrete so that it resembles a boulder – broken only by a porthole window.
The project is named after Thérèse, a character in the novel Derborence who was married to a shepherd who was trapped under rocks following a landslide.
Antoine, Switzerland, by Bureau
The partner to Bureau's Thérèse cabin, this rock-like shelter in Switzerland is named after the shepherd in the Derborence novel.
Swiss studio Bureau encased the entire wooden cabin in a concrete shell so that it is disguised as a large boulder.
National Museum of Qatar, Qatar, Atelier Jean Nouvel
While not immediately taking the typical rounded form of many of the rock-like buildings on this list, the National Museum of Qatar in Doha is informed by the shape of the desert rose – a mineral formation created when minerals crystallise.
"The desert rose is a symbol of the desert because it's an architecture created by time and the desert itself," said its architect Jean Nouvel.
"Nobody knows what the inside of a desert rose looks like, and we created a typology of intersections that makes you question what is inside it."
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Rock House, Kuwait, by AGi Architects
Appropriately named Rock House, this home in Kuwait is designed by local studio AGi Architects with a predominantly-solid outer wall to protect the resident's privacy.
The facades of the house, described by the studio as "origami-like", are entirely clad in stone.