Kunsthaus Graz
Location: Graz, Austria
Architect: Sir Peter Cook and Colin Fournier
Completed: 2003

Photo: Kunsthaus Graz

Looking like some kind of giant space slug trying to hide among the traditional buildings of Graz, Austria, the Kunsthaus Graz or Graz Art Museum, as it's also known, is one of the boldest and best examples of organic architecture anywhere - at least on this planet.

Photo:Kunsthaus Graz

Its distinctive otherworldly form and 'skin' of made of iridescent blue acrylic panels has earned the building its nickname, 'the friendly alien'.

Photo:Kunsthaus Graz

In both form and material, the building is designed to strike a dramatic contrast with the surrounding baroque roofs of its 'host city' with its red clay roofing tiles; however, it also integrates the façade of an 1847 iron house.