In reality, most of us probably don’t go around appreciating architecture the way that we should. Their work can be interesting and innovative, of course, but we should be most thankful that it’s sound and you know, doesn’t regularly collapse and kill us.

But these 16 architects have gone above and beyond, not only giving us safe and pretty buildings, but creating designs that truly are stunning, too.

16. How delightfully creepy.

This should be the setting for every scary movie ever.

Sumela Monastery, a Greek Orthodox monastery originally established around AD 386 nestled in a steep cliff at an altitude of 1200 meters, Trabzon Province, Turkey.
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15. This looks absolutely magical.

Those are actual trees, y’all!

This vertical garden located in Madrid, Spain
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14. I would visit every day.

Imagine the stories we could write at those tables!

This cafe in Czech Republic
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13. It blows your mind, right?

How were they able to do this?

Gloucester cathedral
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12. Those colors are stunning.

They compliment the design so well.

Entrance gate of the St. Petersburg Mosque, Russia. Designed by architect Nikolai Vasilyev.
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11. It’s like a big hug from nature.

I approve this message.

Apartment building in Turin holds 150 trees
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10. It took six hundred years.

It honestly looks as if it might have taken longer.

Cologne Cathedral. Masterpiece of gothic architecture. Years build : 1248 – 1880
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9. Absolutely unreal.

It takes your breath away.

8. Beautiful colors.

It just makes you happy, right?

Arnavutköy, a neighborhood away from Istanbul’s touristic hustle.
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7. I definitely want to visit.

I do not want to live here, though.

Eltz Castle is located in Wierschem, Germany and has been owned and occupied by the same family for over 850 years…
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6. I feel like Scotland always has fog.

They must design around it.

Writer’s Museum, Edinburgh, in the fog
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5. This must have been really hard to do.

You wouldn’t know if you got it right until you nabbed a drone.

Fort Bourtange, Netherlands
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4. I want to meet this person.

So s/he can design my entire life.

Buildings by Freddy Mamani in El Alto, Bolivia
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3. The lighting in this shot makes it look even more gorgeous.

I didn’t think that was even really possible.

Mont Saint Michel in France
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2. The red and the the brown/black.

Feels very classically Russian, no?

Ryazan, Russia (photo credit : Vadim Sherbakov)
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1. I cannot even imagine how this was managed.

I would have lost my mind.

The 17th century Shah Jahan Mosque in Pakistan, notable for its geometric brick work
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I’m going to need to look around a little more carefully, I think. I might be missing something super cool!

What’s your favorite building in your hometown? Tell us what it is in the comments so we can Google!