Weird Building Optical Illusion

The architect who designed this crazy building used a well known optical illusion effect in his blueprints. This effect was first noticed on a Cafe Wall somewhere in England, and stayed popular ever since. Basically the lines and blocks arranged in this special way, give you impression that the lines (in this case red ones) aren’t parallel at all. In reality the lines are perfectly straight and parallel, even though your brain interprets them being strangely bent. There is whole lot more of similar illusions in our “Seemingly Bent” category. Check them as many as you can, and then try to come to your own conclusion. Invite your friends afterwards, and see if they can solve it as well!

35 Replies to “Weird Building Optical Illusion”

  1. actually its not fly..
    cuz if u look at the image in its smaller form, the lines look like they might run into each other but as soon as u make the picture larger u can automatically see that the lines are parallel to each other.

  2. wow…I will be trying to figure this out all day. I bet it has something to do with the blocks being arranged in that close-to-straight way.

  3. Very cool! If you force yourself to really focus on the red lines, you can see they’re really straight. Some are easier than others. My guess is that the blocks are slightly different angles and sizes.

    One thing’s for sure…I wish I lived/worked in that building! :-)

  4. That is really weird!! funny how your brain plays tricks on you- makes you wonder what else we think we see?

  5. Here is the location of the building, I’ve been meaning to take a photo of it for this website. There is also Big orange circles on one side of it that look out of shape but are in fact circles. Might try to get a pic of it soon. Anyway, it’s right near Docklands stadium in Melbourne Australia. Put ‘-37.814535,144.945272’ into google maps to see it

  6. hey guys
    im a student from india in architecture..was currently involved with some research in kinesthetics.Are u aware of any usage of moire patterns as design elements in buildings..under a brand name of fluidskins or something..i read it somewhre but cant get examples of its application..
    seen or heard of stuff like this?

  7. This building is in Melbourne. I used to live about 5 minutes from it.

    The effect has been done many times but this one works very well.

    FYI the lines are totally parallel.

  8. oh yeah, I’ve seen that building in Melbourne when you drive passed it. It’s even better seeing it in real life :)

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