January 21, 2026, 2:05 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Buildings decorated with graffiti or statues of animals are a dime a dozen. But some architects take it a little further and construct entire buildings in the shape of their favorite animals. TRAVELBOOK shows seven playful animal buildings from around the world.
A walk-in glass elephant, a church in the shape of a dove, or a kindergarten in the shape of a cat: these 7 buildings are a must-see for animal lovers. When designing the buildings, the architects were inspired by all kinds of cuddly pets, exotic mammals, and wild sea creatures. Some of the buildings have a curious history of use; others are official government buildings. There are also two German addresses for zoophiles!
1. i-SITE Visitor Center Tirau, New Zealand
Tirau is a small town with around 800 inhabitants in the Waikato region on the North Island of New Zealand. What used to be a real ghost town now attracts numerous tourists with its corrugated iron houses: The oversized visitor center is particularly popular: the façade is shaped like a horseshoe: One end looks like a dog, the other like a sheep.
2. Kindergarten Wolfartsweier, Germany
Who wouldn’t have liked to go to this kindergarten? The Wolfartsweier kindergarten in Karlsruhe is shaped like a cat lying down.
3. National Fisheries Development Board, India
This friendly city fish is neither an aquarium nor a museum, but a government building: the National Fisheries Development Board in Hyderabad, India, is responsible for managing India’s fishing industry.
4. The Glass Elephant in Hamm, Germany
This glass elephant was once a building for coal washing and belonged to the Maximilian colliery in Hamm. In 1984, the previously inconspicuous industrial building was converted into a walk-in sculpture by the artist and architect Horst Rellecke as part of the State Garden Show. In the head of the approx. 35 m high glass elephant is a light-flooded palm garden, which also houses a permanent exhibition by the artist. The elevator to the palm garden is located in the elephant’s trunk.
5. Chicken Church Dove, Indonesia
The abandoned Gereja Ayam stands in the middle of Indonesia’s deepest jungle. It was once a house of prayer built by the Christian Daniel Alamsjahaus on his own initiative after he had a vision that told him to do just that. It was open to Christians, Muslims, and all other religions and people. Today, however, the house of prayer is abandoned and falling into disrepair. It is soon to be converted into a villa with a therapy center. Read the full story about the giant bird in the jungle here!
This Kindergarten Is a Giant Cat
You Can Stay in This Giant Shoe
6. Alimango Restaurant, Philippines
This giant crab is not a maritime museum, but a former restaurant on the coast of the Philippines. Since it went bankrupt, however, it has stood empty. However, it has become an even more popular location for lost-place photographers.
7. Turtle Building, USA
This building, in the shape of a rather disturbed-looking turtle, was once the Native American Culture Center of the state of New York. According to Iroquois legend, the world was built on the back of a giant turtle, which is why the museum was built in this unusual shape. However, it has now also been abandoned and has been for sale for years.