My friend StellaKate sent me something about today’s subject, and it was so familiar, I was convinced I had written about it already. However, it turns out I had not!

If Antoni Gaudí and Ray Bradbury had fallen in love and then designed themselves a love nest, it would be the Nautilus House. Located in Naucalpan de Juarez near Mexico City, the amazing residence was commissioned in 2007 by a couple who asked Mexican architect Javier Senosiain of Arquitectura Organica to build a house for them and their children that would be eco-friends and feel organic. He certainly met their brief! The structure’s shape was inspired by the inner architecture of shells, and many of its surfaces and finishes reflect the designer’s aquatic theme. The building’s fantastic curves were created by first creating the frame out of steel-enforced mesh, which was then coated with many thin layers of a semi-flexible form of concrete. According to the architect, this makes the Nautilus House both earthquake-proof and maintenance-free.

Embedded in the exterior of the building are hundreds of rainbow-colored pieces of glass, swirling across the ceiling and walls, giving the building a magical, other-worldly look from the outside and the inside. Lush vegetation is also planted in some of the rooms, adding to the organic feeling of the place. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a lot of look and almost no storage. But while I wouldn’t want to live there, as a work of art, I think it’s magnificent.

I’m afraid I don’t know who took the pictures, so if you happen to know the photographer’s name, please let me know so I can add credits.