Wednesday, 20 March 2013

Shopping mad! The crazy 'crooked house' Polish mall inspired by freaky fairytales


By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 18:34, 7 July 2012 | UPDATED: 22:03, 7 July 2012

No, you haven't had too much to drink. Nor has this building been warped with a bit of photo trickery.
The architects of this Polish shopping centre decided to do away traditional straight lines in favour of rather more mind-boggling geometry.
Krzywy Domek - which translates as 'crooked house' - was inspired by the fairytale illustrations of Jan Marcin Szancer.
Jelly geometry: The bizarre curves and warped roof of the Krzywy Domek shopping centre in the Polish town of Sopot will have had many people thinking their eyes were deceiving them
Jelly geometry: The bizarre curves and warped roof of the Krzywy Domek shopping centre in the Polish town of Sopot will have had many people thinking their eyes were deceiving them
The building was inspired by the fairytales drawings of Jan Marcin Szancer
The mall has been likened to a cartoon funhouse
Mind-boggling: The design was inspired by the fairytale drawings of Polish illustrator Jan Marcin Szancer and the art of Per Dahlberg

Cartoon crazy: Krzywy Domek, which translates into English as 'crooked house', was constructed in 2004 and is the most photographed building in Poland
Cartoon crazy: Krzywy Domek, which translates into English as 'crooked house', was constructed in 2004 and is the most photographed building in Poland
Built in the seaside town of Sopot, it was brought to life by visionary architect Szotynscy Zaleski.
He was also influenced by the art of Per Dahlberg, whose drawings can be found inside.
The building has been likened to a child's drawing that has been squashed and a cartoon fun house. Others say it looks as if it is melting.
Ever since it was finished, the Crooked House has become Poland's most photographed building.
Freaky: Szancer, who studied at Kraków's Academy of Fine Arts, illustrated around 150 fairytales before his death in 1973
Freaky: Szancer, who studied at Kraków's Academy of Fine Arts, illustrated around 150 fairytales before his death in 1973

Double take: People enjoying a drink outside the shopping centre, which has been likened to a child's drawing that has been squashed
Double take: People enjoying a drink outside the shopping centre, which has been likened to a child's drawing that has been squashed
Built in 2004 and measuring 4,000sqm, it now houses a drinking hole called the Wonky Pub.
Szancer, who was born in 1902, studied at Kraków's Academy of Fine Arts, then in France and Italy.
He illustrated some 150 books before his death in 1973.
Szancer's illustration of Pinocchio
Another fairytale illustrated by Szancer
Influential: Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio illustrated by Szancer (left) and another fairytale sketched by the Polish artist are among works which inspired the Crooked House

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2170194/Shopping-mad-The-crazy-crooked-house-Polish-mall-inspired-freaky-fairytales.html#ixzz2O7BAsVD9
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