Life in the world's first upside down house (just don't use the toilet)

By Claire Bates
Updated:


Looking at this house you could be forgiven for thinking the world had turned upside down.

Standing on a pointed roof and supported by steel beams in the attic, the house amazes neighbours  and passers-by alike.

And inside the front door things are even weirder - everything from the bathroom to the fruit bowl on the kitchen table are hanging over head.

The 23ft-tall house has an upside-down kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom.  It was also built on a slight incline to challenge the viewer's perspective still further.

upside down house

This bizarre upside down house was created on the grounds of a German zoo. The roof is reinforced with steel girders

Thankfully the topsy-turvy building was not designed to be lived in. Instead it was created for a local zoo in Gettorf, Germany.

Local carpenter Gerhard Mordhorst and his colleagues Gesellse Splettstößer and Manfred Kolax put the unusual building together.

'It was a challenge for us,' Mr Mordhorst said.

'You had to constantly think of the mirror image.'

They described the job as the 'craziest' one they had been asked to do and found the bathroom the trickiest to put together because of bulky items like the shower.

Enlarge   ktichen
Enlarge   bathroom

A confused visitor checks out the kitchen and bathroom inside the unusual 40-tonne wooden house in Gettorf

In total they screwed 50 separate pieces into the floor-ceiling, including beds, tables, a microwave and pictures. The heaviest piece of furniture was a 100lb wardrobe with mirror.

The men spent months to perfect every little detail and even took to needle and thread to keep the bed linen in place. But Mr Splettstößer said their pains were worth it.

'It's a nice feeling, so to make something unique,' he said.

The zoo owners hope the house will give visitors a 'totally new perspective on a familiar view.'

dining room

A meal down under: All the dining room utensils had to be stuck on individually.

The 'crazy house' is reminiscent of a home described in Roald Dahl's children's book The Twits. In the children's story a group of monkeys are forced to hang upside down by their owners. They have their revenge by sticking all of the couple's furniture to the ceiling and convince them to stand on their heads.

The 'crazy' house was thought up by Hamburg investor Dirk Oster. He will open it to the public on March 30.



Most watched News videos