When we only think about what’s currently possible — in architecture or anything else — aren’t we limiting our imaginations?

Digital architectural concepts by ANITREALITY.

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However wild and fantastical they may be, concept designs that aim to break free from the constraints of societal standards can help us wrap our minds around whole new ways of constructing the world around us. Imagine for a moment that you could erase all concepts of architecture as it already exists from your brain and replace them with designs you found fun and exciting. What would you come up with?

Digital architectural concepts by ANITREALITY.

ANITREALITY does just that with a series of striking digital illustrations that’ll make you yearn for a whole lot more creativity in real-world architecture. One notable example is Summer House: an awesome seaside retreat that features not just a concave rooftop that doubles as a swimming pool, but also a ladder that leads straight from the pool into the ocean below. Glimmering in a metallic gold, the house almost seems more like a piece of jewelry than a building, and the designer certainly doesn’t shy away from the offbeat nature of the concept, showing swimmers lounging alongside peacock companions.

Digital architectural concepts by ANITREALITY. Digital architectural concepts by ANITREALITY.

“One of the key design intents was to create a building that would be completely open to the surroundings, providing the possibility to observe and engage in direct contact with nature,” explains ANTIREALITY. “The Summer House has been designed with seasonal recreation and weekends outside the city in mind.”

But that’s far from the only cool concept this artist has to offer. How about a forest pavilion on stilts that looks like an enormous abstracted flamingo? A café in the tundra that mimics the look of nearby glaciers? An aquarium that appears to be a monstrous sea creature poking its head out from under the surface, offering both wet and dry observation levels for gazing deep underwater? A circular café set in a river that surrounds you with a curtain of flowing water?

Digital architectural concepts by ANITREALITY.

The anonymous designer behind ANTIREALITY offers little explanation or description for any of these concepts. But they did speak to Crit Day in January, expanding a bit on the meaning behind their work. A recent architecture graduate with a master’s thesis in Urban Planning who gained some professional experience in Scandinavian architectural offices, they start with preliminary sketches, diagrams, and notes before using Rhino 3D software, V-Ray, and Photoshop to bring them to life.

Digital architectural concepts by ANITREALITY.

“ANTIREALITY is a conceptual world built on the basis of abstract ideas about reality. It is a space that escapes realism and pragmatism and is dedicated to exploring ideas that oftentimes can be neither adapted to the existing reality nor implemented. [The] images are a record of my mental journey through the fictional world of antireality.”

Digital architectural concepts by ANITREALITY.

“This journey is not only a search for nonstandard ideas, but also inspiring paths of visual expression. The alternative world of antireality is characterized by the absence of limitations and standards, it is an experimental space that at times borders between dream and reality. Antireality is a diary of my architectural imaginations and non-materialized ideas aiming to stimulate recipients’ imaginations.”