Wild, weird, wonderful... there are plenty of ways to describe the Crazy House (also known as Hang Nga Guesthouse) in Dalat, a laid-back mountain resort town in southern Vietnam.
One thing is certain: this "crazy" complex is truly one of a kind.
In sharp contrast to Dalat's French colonial villas, the quirky, avant-garde guesthouse is a maze of spiral staircases, sculpted bedrooms, undulating surfaces, swirls of vivid color, narrow bridges and hidden nooks.
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The artist who created this structure, 79-year-old Dang Viet Nga, says it is the fullest expression of her imagination.
"The Crazy House is the culmination of my life and my art. It all came together in this building," says Dang, daughter of Vietnam's former general secretary Truong Chinh.
"I wanted to create something original, groundbreaking, unlike anything else in the world."
An exercise in creativity
After earning a doctorate in architecture in Moscow, Dang spent several years working in Russia, then moved to Hanoi, where she worked on state projects.
During a business trip to Dalat, Dang says, she fell in love with the lush landscape, the cool climate and the kind people, and hoped to move there one day.
In 1983, she relocated to Dalat with her 8-year-old son, Nguyen Viet Thang.
After years of working for state enterprises that left no room for creativity, she felt a need to give her imagination free rein.
In February 1990, she sketched out plans for the Crazy House. But instead of blueprints, she produced a series of paintings to convey her fantastical vision.
The house, a form of expressionist architecture, has no straight angles. Instead there are organic shapes meant to echo natural elements such as mushrooms, shells, caves and spider webs.
The Crazy House will never be finished. It is like a living creature. It is constantly changing.
"With this form, you have to work at freeing your mind," she says. "There are no rules here, apart from the basic structural principles [to make sure the house is safe and stable]. It's all about self-expression."
When it came time to build, Dang used a variety of materials, including steel, wood and concrete.
"My mother used a lot of concrete because it's cheap and very easy to play with," says her son, Nguyen, now 44.
"Because she can create any shape, they reflect exactly what she pictures in her imagination."
In less than a year, the guesthouse opened for business and welcomed its first guests.
Closer to nature
Today, the Crazy House feels like a forest fantasy come to life.
"I felt that over the past century, people have truly destroyed nature. Not just in Vietnam, but all over the world," says Dang. "So I wanted to create a structure that would bring people closer to nature."
The raised main house, which looks like it belongs in "Hansel and Gretel," stands at the center of an open courtyard surrounded by four enormous treehouses.
Winding cement "branches," which serve as bridges, twist and loop between the different buildings so people can cross from one to another.
At first glance, these surreal structures recall the strange scenes of Salvador Dali's paintings, or perhaps even the organic works of the modernist Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.
The playful style continues in the treehouses, where 10 guest rooms, each named after an animal or a plant species, are filled with organic shapes, cave-like beds and wooden seating areas.
"A connection with nature is one of the messages I want to convey with this house," says Dang.
"But it's also a call for other people to think outside the box. Don't limit yourself with rules and expectations: free your mind and let your imagination run wild."
Taking her own advice, Dang keeps dreaming up new additions to the property, while Nguyen now runs the business.
These days she is imagining two new gardens, one on the ground and one in the sky, to add more greenery and flowers, along with yet another treehouse.
"I'd say the Crazy House will never be finished," says Nguyen. "It's like a living creature. It's always changing."
How to visit
Besides staying in one of the Crazy House's guest rooms, visitors can tour this Dalat landmark for a separate fee. Although there's no restaurant on site, guests can buy drinks and snacks from a kiosk in the garden.
