Forget Skyscrapers - The World's Most Beautiful Buildings are Underground

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More than half of humanity lives in cities, and the world's urban population is going to explode in the coming decades.

By 2050, at least two-thirds of the planetary population will call cities home. All of those people will need places to live and work, and you can add only so many skyscrapers to squeeze in the flocking masses.

One solution: building underground. Lots of cities already have linked-up subterranean spaces, but as urban areas become more crammed, you can expect these spaces to multiply.

According to a 2013 report by the US National Research Council, exploring underground "may be the most successful way to encourage or support the redirection of urban development into sustainable pattern."

While experts figure out whether digging into the ground can solve the urban space problem, we take you to some of the world's most unique underground marvels in cities and beyond.


Built into a rock, the Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki gets ample sunlight through a glazed dome. Those rough rock walls were left untouched by the designers for a reason: naturally great acoustics make the church a perfect venue for concerts.

In this southern Tunisia village, locals live in traditional "troglodyte” dwellings — cave houses — created by scraping away rocks. There is even a subterranean hotel.

This house on the Greek island of Antiparos sits right where two slopes meet. Two long stone walls bridge the hills, allowing the house to naturally blend in the space.

Built in 2009 in the memory of a Korean poet, the Earth House in Seoul has two courtyards connecting six single rooms, a kitchen, a study, and a bathroom with a wooden tub and toilet.

This home in Glaumbær, Iceland is an example of a "turf house"— a highly-insulated building that has a stone foundation and layers of turf built around the sides.

In Poland, you have to take 800 steps down a shaft to reach this art gallery, health resort, and massive halls that host weddings and conferences — all rolled into one. This 13-century marvel was once a salt mine.

Built in 1996, this hobbit-like house in the Welsh countryside is a tunnel under a turf roof. The three-bedroom house with stunning ocean views resembles a home that featured in a famous British children’s TV show — locals call it the Teletubby house.

 

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The architect "buried" this museum on Japan's "art island" Naoshima. Small concrete openings and geometrical skylights dot the greenery.

The residents of Coober Pedy in Australia move underground to pray. The Serbian Orthodox Church, built in 1993, is carved in the sandstone and has a community hall, a parish house, and even a school.

Created by architect Peter Vetsch, this Swiss home is an example of an "earth house" — a type of home built into the ground that relies partially on surrounding terrain for walls.