Bringing the beauty of nature to the concrete jungle, some architects have turned to the humble flower for inspiration. In contrast to all the vertical, rectangular-shaped towers you see in a city, these flower-shaped buildings are a welcome change and jaw-droppingly beautiful. Boyd’s Flowers has put together some of the most striking flower-inspired buildings here.
Wuhan. Wuhan New Energy Centre. Photo: Soeters Van Eldonk
Calla Lily
Wuhan, China
One of the most sustainable and energy-efficient buildings in the world is designed to resemble the humble yet elegant Calla Lily flower. A stylized, innovative, and artistic building, the Wuhan Energy Flower building is the home base for Wuhans’ Energy Center, which is dedicated to researching and developing new energy technologies. The building is striking in its design and green achievements. It produces zero carbon emissions and uses no fossil fuels. It harnesses the energy of the sun with its angled roof which faces the sun and is covered in solar panels, and it harnesses wind power too with vertical wind turbines located in the pistil. The title roof also smartly provides shade to the office buildings located in the tower during China’s hot summers. The roof also captures rainwater which is reused to provide water to the bathrooms and rooftop garden on the 17th floor. There are a number of other green building strategies in this remarkable building, inspired, no doubt, by the “green” efficiency that naturally exists in the Calla Lily.
Lotus Blossom
Lotus Temple, Dehli
Lotus Temple view from above
Delhi, India
Rising up in the middle of an urban landscape is a beautiful and massive flower bringing the glory of nature into a busy city. Designed in the shape of a lotus blossom, the Lotus Temple is a remarkable structure that pays homage to the symmetry and perfection of nature, which shows no bias, only beauty. Officially named the Baha’i House of Worship, the Baha’i faith believes in the Oneness of Humankind and Oneness of Religions. The temple is open to anyone who wants to worship and has no pictures, sculptures, or carvings based on a particular faith. Instead natural light and reflection are the only decorative elements. Showcasing the beauty of nature in this manner really causes people to stop and wonder, contemplate, and worship. Three rows of petals create the exterior form of the temple, with two rows curving inwards and the bottom row curving outwards and creating covered roofs for each of the nine openings. Surrounding the temple are nine reflecting pools in the shape of a lotus blossom’s leaves. These pools not only provide cool air for the interior of the temple but also give the illusion that the temple is floating on water.
Supertrees at Gardens By the Bay
Singapore
A fantastical and very popular nature park, structures resembling trees, plants, and flowers abound within.
Burj Khalifa – reddit
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The tallest building in the world was inspired by the fascinating tiger lily flower.
