It’s A Bird, It’s A…
Sort of plane.
An airplane house to be specific. The chocolaty bite of delight that is Heather sent this gem to me and I must say I think it has to be one of the most unattractive offbeat homes I have ever seen.
First off; I honestly like to keep it positive around here. Easy to do because I shamelessly fall for most of the unique home and design ideas I run across. I’d say that I’ve loved, been intrigued with, or at least had a good solid crush on most of the homes, architects, and designers I’ve featured. But this house has some issues.
Take a look.
Do I like the idea of this airplane house, located in Abuja, Nigeria — frankly yes. You’d have to be a pretty lame offbeat homes blogger to not be completely on board with the idea of an airplane house. But do I like how the design was carried out? Not so much. It seems like if you’re going to go all out and build an airplane house, you might take the time to really do it well.
This house looks almost like an unfinished piñata on top and I think the plane portion could have been raised a bit. From this view it looks like a plane, but think how it might look if you were standing right in front looking straight ahead. I think it might look like poor architecture.
But you do have to give the builder props for trying (and achieving) and the idea behind it. The Washington Post has a cute story that sort of makes up for the design flaws. According to the article, the home was built by a fellow named Said Jammal. He built it for his ex-frequent traveler wife Liza in hopes it might keep her grounded at their own home base.
From the Post:
“Liza asked her new husband to someday build a house for her in the shape of an airplane as a symbol of her hobby. In the flush of young love, he agreed.
“That was my wife’s dream,” Said Jammal said smiling sheepishly….The vow went unfulfilled for the first two decades of their marriage, as the demands of seven children and a fast-growing business consumed the Jammals. But in 1999, they spotted a piece of land on a rise alongside the main highway heading north out of Abuja.“
They bought the land and the rest is airplane house history. I think it’s a nice story and I bet the local kids LOVE it.
What do you think?
Tags: abuja_nigeria, Architects, build_an_airplane, cute_story, design_flaws, frequent_traveler, new_husband, offbeat, washington_postRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Eccentricities
7 opinions for It’s A Bird, It’s A…
Jon - The DC Traveler
Aug 16, 2007 at 3:06 pm
It’s a bird, It’s a plane…it’s not something I’d want next door to my house.
I love to cook, but my house doesn’t look like an oven or a stand mixer.
Heather
Aug 16, 2007 at 3:18 pm
“Chocolaty bite of delight” - you are my new favorite person! :D
I agree with you - I think the story behind it is cute but the house itself… I think at the first “sketching out” I would have nixed it as not such a great idea after all!
Jennifer Chait
Aug 16, 2007 at 4:26 pm
I was wondering about property values. I don’t tend to because I’d be worried all the times with all the kooky stuff I show — but this time it crossed my mind. If you ever do decide to make your house look like an oven please do send me the pictures :)
So, Heather. You like your new nickname. Good. I like it. It suits you. I agree some things must not even look good on paper. But the vision persists.
Angelique
Aug 16, 2007 at 5:17 pm
I’m at once enthralled and terrified. Perhaps it’s my innate fear of planes… yet there is something that holds my gaze.
Or is it just that I love the fact that it’s so sparkling white? How the heck do they keep it that way? All the money in the world couldn’t make me want to clean the place. Maybe it’s a dump inside (ha! that would be funny!)
Hey ~ have you ever done the “trashiest” offbeat homes? You know, the kind where you have to think, “Oh, dear. Would it be better to just demolish it and replace it with a treehouse?”
Jennifer Chait
Aug 16, 2007 at 5:52 pm
I did do a trashed home post, of a sort…
http://www.offbeathomes.com/presenting-my-new-house/
But it’s not a bad idea to do more. I see some horrible stuff sometimes during my offbeat searches. I know it was way too white.
Mary Jo
Aug 16, 2007 at 10:22 pm
At a quick glance, it looks like a plane has crashed into the top of the house. That’s scary!
Jennifer
Aug 17, 2007 at 7:53 am
Mary Jo! Hi, it’s like the World According to Garp! Cool. Or yes, scary.
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