Upside Down

I’d been having a few tentative thoughts about the subject of Upside Down as a topic. I’ve heard about cakes but that didn’t do much for me, I was very tempted about maps. And this morning when I was having a shower I realised that I was turning the shampoo container upside down as it passed the half way full mark and wondered what other objects around the house I turned upside down for convenience.

Anyway I started making a few notes on that when I needed to check on a particular fact and was very surprised to find reference to a whole house that was upside down. And not only that but there are loads of them.

Apparently the very first one was built in the Centre of Education and Regional Promotion in the north Poland town of Szymbark (see image above). Completed in 2007, the house was designed by businessman Daniel Czapiewski as a statement about the uncertainty of life in post-Communist era Poland.

The construction of the timber-clad house proved rather problematic. The foundations alone required 200 m3 of concrete. Danmar, a timber construction company, took 114 days to construct the house, rather than the normal time of just three weeks, in part due to the regular breaks workers had to take because of the disorientation caused by the strange angles of the walls.

Indeed, visitors to the house often report feelings of giddiness and nausea only a few minutes after they have entered through one of the attic windows and walked along the ceiling.

The interior of the house is furnished in a style typical of houses in the Communist-era Poland of the 1970s. There is even an old TV that shows vintage propaganda.

that upside down feeling

There are many such houses and buildings around the world now such as:

Germany (Trassenheide): Die Welt Steht Kopf (The World Stands on its Head) is completely furnished, including a bathroom and kitchen.

South Africa (Hartbeespoort): An art installation and tourist attraction where the building is angled for stability.

Poland (Pobierowo): A bright blue, modern-styled home frequently visited for its interior.

Niagara Falls: This house looks as if it has been literally picked up and placed on its roof.

And how about the UK? Well, the Upside Down House UK was launched in November 2018 with its first house in Bournemouth and they have expanded to multiple locations nationwide. Tom Dirse, its CEO said: “The success of our very first house in Bournemouth back in 2018 motivated and propelled the business which has gone on to expand throughout the country including residences in Brighton (see image below), Bristol and Lakeside Shopping Centre. Each location is unique, with its own identity.”

From what I can see the other houses are in Cardiff, the Metro Centre, Clacton, Great Yarmouth, Swansea, Portsmouth, Skegness and Liverpool. Although I have just spotted that one is being built in Blackpool.

I will just go back to that reference to some people feeling nauseous when walking around the houses. Years ago when I lived in Coventry a group of us went for a pint at the Crooked House in the Black Country (see image below). We rolled pennies uphill along the floor and bottles up tables. The fixtures and fittings were at wonky angles. A couple of us had to leave the building as they were feeling wonky themselves. I think they took their beers with them.

Upside Down

It's funny how beetles
and creatures like that
can walk upside down
as well as walk flat.

They crawl on a ceiling
and climb on a wall
without any practice
or trouble at all.

While I have been trying
for a year (maybe more)
and still I can't stand
with my head on the floor.

                            Aileen Lucia Fisher, 1986.

Thanks for reading, Terry Q.