People around the world live in houses or dwellings that are very different from one another. Culture, geography, climate and materials all affect the final look and design of the dwelling. Where culture and economy permit, modern house designs are prevalent, but in many places around the world it's the ancient house designs that are still widely used.
Mardin Stone Houses: Turkey
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This Arab-style architecture is located in Mardin, a city in southeastern Turkey. It is commonly recognized for its Arab-style architecture, and it also has a strategic position on a rocky mountain overlooking the plains of northern Syria.
Beehive Mud Houses: Harran, Turkey
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These traditional mud houses are located in Harran. The interesting thing about them is that they were constructed entirely without the use of wood. The design of these mud houses is believed to have stayed the same for at least 3,000 years, until about the 1980s, when they officially stopped being used as living space.
Tongkonan - Toraja People House: Sulawesi, Indonesia
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These distinctive wooden houses have curved roofs with tall gable ends that make them look likes boats. The houses are built on stilts and are entered by curved steps and beautifully decorated doorways. They are the homes of the Toraja peoples, who live in central Sulawesi.
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House of Marsh Arabs: Iraq
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The Houses of the Marsh Arabs are built from reeds. They are often constructed on floating platforms woven from tips of reeds still growing up out of the swamp. The people travel around by canoe. The Marsh Arabs' lifestyle is threatened by drainage projects that are taking water from swamps, causing them to dry up.
Log Cabin House: USA
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The log cabin house is among the first house designs of early America. It is sturdy and easy to construct, and can be built by hand to provide shelter in a very short period of time.
Reed Houses and Boats: Lake Titicaca, Peru
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The Uru people living around Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world) build their boats and houses out of reeds. Clusters of houses stand on floating rafts, which are also made of reeds.
Blockhouse: USA
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A blockhouse in Muskegon State Park, Michigan
This typical pioneer fort was designed to defend the community from attacks of Indians. Early American settlers built long blockhouses to defend themselves against Indians. The logs were pierced with slits through which defending riflemen could fire.
Celtic Hut: Wales, UK
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An ancient Celtic hut, rebuilt in the original style
Cone-Shaped Thatched Hut: Burkina Faso
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Round Clay Huts: Burkina Faso
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The modern Mossis of Burkina Faso live in round clay/mud huts with thatched roofs with some villages protected by mud walls.
Polynesian Thatched Hut
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The natives of Polynesia actually live in Tiki Village on Moorea Island in thatched huts. This way, they preserve crafts that are hundreds of years old.
Wood-Ribbed House: Cameroon
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This house is made entirely of wood.
Yurts: Kazakhstan
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Yurts are traditionally used by Kazakh villagers. They still live in Yurts and herd livestock as their ancestors have done for generations. A yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia.
Palm Hut: Tuvalu
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Traditional homes thatched with palm leaves and some have open side to allow air to pass through. Islanders of Tuvalu live in villages of open-sided houses with steeply sloping roofs. The houses do not need thick walls because the climate is warm all year round.
Tukul: Ethiopia
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The thatched hut, called tukul, is divided by a partition. The family is housed on one side and their cattle on the other.
Nipa House: Philippines
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This house, typical of the Philippine countryside, is built using nipa leaves and bamboo. The nipa are processed and sewn into 'pawod', and used to cover the bamboo frame.
Stilt Houses: Benin
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Stilts are common along rivers and in the coastal lagoons.
Glass House: Connecticut, USA
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This unique looking glass house was designed by Philip Johnson. It has been regarded as one of the world's most beautiful and yet least functional homes. The design of the house is often cited as a model example of the International Style.
Cave House: Italy
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This cave-house in a shape of a human face is located on Bomarzo, Italy. This cave house was built around 16th century.
Stone Houses: United Arab Emirates
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These ancient stone houses can be found in United Arab Emirates.
So where do you picture yourself living? In the ultra modern glass house, or in the reed or stone houses of the ancient times?
