Wooden Skyscraper

Nikolai Sutyagin, a former gangster, began building this wooden skyscraper in Arkhangelsk, Russia with the intention of it being only a two-story building. But, a trip to see wooden houses in Japan and Norway convinced him that he hadnt used roof space efficiently enough, so he kept building. First I added three floors but then the house looked ungainly, like a mushroom, he said. So I added another and it still didnt look right so I kept going. What you see today is a happy accident. The multimillionaire became a pauper after his possessions were destroyed during a stint in prison, and the house is now decaying around him, but he still lives in the bottom floor with his wife.