michael william lester animates architectural landmarks with quirky personalities

michael william lester animates architectural landmarks with quirky personalities
(above) marina bay sands, singapore
it takes all three marina bay sands to lift the world’s longest elevated swimming pool.
all images courtesy of michael william lester

UK-based animator and illustrator michael william lester has developed a series of quirky personalities for some of the world’s most famous structures. the series ‘character building’ takes 20 well-known architectural examples from around the globe and brings them to life through animated gifs. ‘good architecture interacts with its surroundings,’ lester describes, ‘it gives off energy, sparks interaction and pulls so much life in that the building itself lives and breathes.’ from marina bay sands in singapore — whose three towers are seen lifting its elevated swimming pool — to the burj al arab in dubai — which swims in the arabian gulf — the quirky illustrations personify these landmark structures with humor and wit.

see a selection from the collection below, alongside clever scenarios describing the building’s personality, and the full series here. 

burj al arab — dubai, united arab emirates
the burj al arab dipped into the arabian gulf in 1999 and hasn’t left the water since.

brasília airport — brasília, brazil
brasília airport was updated with a more hands-on terminal for the 2014 world cup.

hallgrímskirkja — reykjavíc, iceland
hallgrímskirkja welcomes visitors with open arms, much like the rest of iceland.

one central park — sydney, australia
one central park’s east tower keeps its smaller sibling’s hair healthy.

proximus towers — brussels, belgium
the proximus towers are siblings and like most, never grew out of play fighting.

camp nou — barcelona, spain
the camp nou holds 99,000 passionate fans (and a handful of glory hunters).

ryugyong hotel — pyongyang, north korea
the ryugyong hotel has been peacefully waiting for completion since 1987.

bitexco financial tower — ho chi minh city, vietnam
the bitexco financial tower longs for a colder climate

the leadenhall building — london, united kingdom
while london is hard at work, the leadenhall building gets its afternoon nap.

petronas towers — kuala lumpur, malaysia
a firm handshake let the petronas towers put their differences behind them.

portland building — portland, united states
the portland building lives in a thriving creative community and fits right in.