Largest building in the shape of a bird

A number of architects have taken inspiration from the avian world when designing buildings – the roof of the international airport in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, for example, is inspired by the lacyn (falcon), for example, while the railway station in Saint-Exupéry, France, is designed to look like a bird taking flight – but the largest building explicitly designed in the shape of bird is Gereja Ayam or Chicken Church in Kembanglimus, Magelang, Indonesia, which measures approximately 56.41 m (185 ft 1 in) from beak to tail. Constructed as a dove-shaped prayer house by Daniel Alamsjah between 1988 and 2000, the building has been described as looking more like a giant chicken.

The seven-storey, 15-room structure has functioned as a church, residence, film set, rehabilitation centre and, currently – being close to the Borobodur Temple UNESCO World Heritage Centre – a tourist attraction. Alamsjah, a Christian, was inspired to build his church after he received a message from God to build a non-denominational prayer house in the shape of snow-white dove resting atop a hill. The "chicken" nickname is credited to the crown that Alamsjah placed on top of the dove's head, giving it a more rooster-like appearance.