Nerds Republic

If the Halloween season has inspired you to finally live out that fantasy of being the neighborhood’s resident creep (just me?), then you might want to check this place out. But consider yourself warned. This faux castle in Woodstock, Connecticut, actually does have a lurid past.

It’s less about murder and mayhem than it is about general weirdness and discomfort, which is probably a good thing. It’s still pretty disturbing, though.

The castle was built in 2009 by Christopher W. Mark. He’s the great-grandson of a wealthy Chicago industrialist.

He’s also living proof that inheritance can be a really, really bad thing.

Christopher Mark is a strange guy.

He describes himself as an importer of antiques, and he’s been described by others as being “colorful.” In this case, that’s not a good thing.

One of Mark’s business endeavors, for example, was a modeling agency, which posted its photos on a now-defunct website, complete with the models’ measurements. This was the description on the site itself:

“Just one look at the shapely form of beautiful women brings about physiological changes that our senses will not allow our minds to deceive.”

Um, gross.

Upon touring the house and finding several “massage” rooms — and a shower large enough for a whole party — a local politician said that the place was “just weird.”

Mark was cited by the town because his “business” was unlicensed, and he got into further spats when he wanted to make the castle larger than was actually allowed by city zoning laws.

Oh, and there was also an exotic animal refuge on the property, featuring a zebra, an emu, and an ill-fated camel. When Mark and his now ex-wife were divorcing, each blamed the other for the negligence that led to the poor creature’s death by starvation.

Inside, the house is expectedly grand.

No castle is complete without a sarcophagus, am I right?

Or a made-up coat of arms!

If that sounds appealing to you, this place is now on the market.

It’s listed as an eight-bedroom home, and it’s going for a cool $45 million.

(via Curbed)

So if you want a really sad haunted castle to call your own, this might be the one for you. It has a moat and everything. Just watch out for the ghost of that dead camel.

With space at a premium and resources dwindling on our overworked planet, more and more people are looking to reduce and reuse where they can. This applies to everything from food to clothing, but it’s especially worth considering when it comes to housing. Why not build your home with something that already exists?

That’s what these clever architects and designers have been doing. They’ve recently started building homes with large shipping containers. As it turns out, they make great houses.

1. The Tree House, Jerusalem, Israel

These architects took a more rustic approach to the shipping container method, incorporating two massive Jerusalem pine trees that not only look nice, but also provide shade.

2. Casa el Tiemblo, Avila, Spain

These shipping containers weren’t redecorated much on the exterior, but the spacious interior and huge windows make up for that.

3. Crossbox House, Pont-Péan, France

Each level of this gravity-defying home in France was created using two merged shipping containers. It has three bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen, and a large living room. It was designed and built to showcase a cheaper alternative to traditional housing.

4. Zigloo Domestique, British Columbia, Canada

Made with eight 20-foot containers and a host of other recycled materials, this was one of the first shipping container houses in Canada. It’s a spacious, modern home, and it’s estimated that about 70 trees were spared by using containers instead of lumber.

5. Six Oaks Shipping Container Residence, California, U.S.

This house was designed with the desire to wreak as little havoc as possible on its natural surroundings. Much of the interior was created using recycled redwood and plywood.

6. Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany

This is actually an event space rather than a home, but it’s still made with containers! It hosts workshops of all kinds.

7. Hybrid House, California, U.S.

This spacious home was created using five shipping containers and recycled steel. It also features a movable roof and a water collection system.

8. Bunny Lane

This house features a modern profile, but inside, the Bunny Lane house is a cozy stack of containers.

9. 12 Container House, Maine, U.S.

Made with 12 shipping containers, this house opens right up to the great outdoors through a large, garage-style door. Stacked containers serve as the rooms, but the building still has a homey feel.

10. Jones-Glotfelty Shipping Container House, Arizona, U.S.

The recycled containers aren’t all that’s eco-friendly about this house. It also uses solar panels and comes equipped with an energy-efficient climate control system.

11. Containers of Hope, San Jose, Costa Rica

Architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe created this house for a couple who wanted to build their own home without driving themselves into debt. Made from two 40-foot containers, it’s a cheap, modern alternative to a traditional home.

12. Container Guest House, Texas, U.S.

This tiny guest house is only 320 square feet, but that’s all these minimalists need. The foundation is made from recycled telephone poles, and the flooring is repurposed bamboo. Despite its size, it’s rather luxurious.

13. Decameron Design Shop, Sao Paulo, Brazil

This design studio and shopping area features brightly painted containers. The containers are each little shops, and it makes for a colorful addition to the Sao Paulo neighborhood.

14. Caterpillar House, Santiago, Chile

Built on a mountain overlooking the city, this 12-container house was cheap and easy to build. It also uses the mountain’s cool air for eco-friendly ventilation.

15. 2+ Weekend House, Trebnie, Slovenia

Yes, this is real! These containers aren’t actually shipping containers, but modular sections created specifically for housing. With this approach, people can create houses that suit their specific needs.

16. The Port-a-Bach, New Plymouth, New Zealand

When folded out, this portable shelter can easily sleep six adults, and it even includes a bathroom and shower. The fold-out panel serves as a porch. When closed, it’s completely secure.

(via Digital Trends)

If living in a shipping container didn’t sound too awesome at first, you probably changed your mind after seeing what some clever design work can do.

Ae you in the market for a new house, but don’t want the same thing that everyone else is getting? Are you looking for something truly unique? Well, this home might be the one for you — especially if you’ve always fancied living like a Bond villain.

Looking at these pictures, you might think that this is a movie set, but it’s a very real home. And this villain-worthy headquarters is on the market right now.

The house perches atop a 150-foot cinder cone.

This formation is actually the geological corpse of an extinct volcano.

This dome-shaped home comes with an open floor plan and some impressive panoramic views.

And sunsets up here are absolutely phenomenal.

Located about 45 miles east of Barstow, California, the Volcano House used to belong to California’s Gold producer and host Huell Howser.

It sits on 60 acres of Mojave Desert land, and has some pretty stunning views of the arid landscape. It comes with two bedrooms and two baths, as well as a separate garage and upstairs apartment — the perfect lodging for your villainous minions!

The observation deck is great for taking in the view…

…and keeping an eye on approaching superheroes.

This view is a nice trade-off for the fact that the home is in the middle of nowhere.

And a remote location really is best for hatching plans for world domination.

Flash floods are common in these parts, so sometimes, you even have waterfront property!

(via Messy Nessy Chic, Redfin, Curbed)

Of course, a house like this won’t be cheap. The current asking price is $650,000. But if you’re a supervillain, you can always just hold the world hostage to get some funds together. While the house is still on the market and looking for a permanent owner, it’s also currently open to the public for vacation rentals, events, and photo shoots.

Even if you’re not a supervillain yet, you can at least pretend to be one for a little while.

When Sarah Szymczak and her family (one husband, four children) moved from their home in Minnesota to Washington State, they knew they were in for an adjustment.

After watching I’m Fine, Thanks, a documentary that follows several people pursuing their dreams, Szymczak and her husband Ed decided that perhaps an adventure was what they needed, too. For their adventure, the family bought and set about refurbishing a bus, which they planned to live in, kids and all, for at least a year.

Ed and the kids, Theo, Kaia, Zoe, and Sawyer.

The bus allows the family to move around and, renovations included, cost less than their rented home in Washington.

Inside, it’s been completely remodeled to be a cozy but functional home.

There’s a full kitchen.

There are nooks built in for the kids’ beds. The parents’ bed folds up during the day to create a play space.

Six people living on a bus might seem daunting, but the Szymczaks are loving their “bus life” and embracing the practical simplicity that comes along with it. They’re also happy that their children are getting the experience of traveling around, meeting new people, and learning that life isn’t all about how much stuff you have.

At this point, the kids are homeschooled, so this area is their learning space. Living on a bus also allows them to explore the outdoors.

(via Little Things)

While the bus life is cozy and adventurous, it’s not going to last forever. As the kids grow, they’ll need more space, and so the family will be moving back to their home in Minnesota. It was a hard decision to end their time on the bus, what with all the adventures they’ve had, but they decided it was ultimately best. It’s not that they don’t like it, Szymczak explains, but that they simply wish to return home.

“We will miss living in its simplicity, listening to the sound of the rain on the metal roof…We will miss this beautiful land that we have been so fortunate to have been given the gift to experience and enjoy,” she says. “And in the end of this bus year, we’ll let go…because sometimes life is like that.”

You can see more of the Szymczak’s adventures on their bus on Sarah’s blog.

Can you have a house that’s severe, modern, and stark while still being breathtaking and luxurious? According to Greek architects Laertis Antonios Ando Vassiliou and Pantelis Kampouropoulos of OPA Works, you certainly can. The pair have created designs for a home called Casa Brutale, a home built inside a sheer cliff face overlooking the Aegean Sea.

The exposed concrete and geometric forms of this house were created in what’s called the Brutalist style of architecture, which features a lot of massive, heavy forms and industrial materials. However, it’s also an interpretation of the surrounding landscape, and was inspired by the nurturing qualities of the Earth.

(via BoredPanda, deMilked)

Vassiliou and Kampouropoulos describe their design as “a geometrical translation of the landscape” that seeks to create a harmonious balance between humans and the land. Right now, Casa Brutale is still in its concept phase, meaning it has yet to be built. So if you’ve been looking for a seaside beach house, perhaps in the Aegean, let Casa Brutale stay on your mind.

You can see more of OPA Works’ projects on their website and Facebook.

There’s plenty of interesting architecture, new and old, all over the world. Take a look: