# The Worst Building in the History of Mankind **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 1, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829 "2008-02-01T05:51:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/141 "2008-02-12T07:26:54Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] Incidentally, [this](http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=53400) is the most phallic tower in the world. Knowing what I know about the architect, it was intended that way. [/QUOTE] Oddly enough, it doesn’t appear to have been circumcised. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/142 "2008-02-12T07:36:34Z")
The Leacock Building at McGill wins this hands down. OH MY GODS. If you people could even see it. It’s some batshit combination of the worst o’ medieval architecture seen through the modern lens of 60s cinderblock architecture. I particularly adore the nasty dirty slitty little windows that turn it from completely 60s cinderblock to 60s cinderblock “keep”. Hid city. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/143 "2008-02-12T07:40:47Z")
[QUOTE=JoseB] Whoa, this has been threadspotted! Eccellente… 🙂 And, to contribute another building to the list of horridities… Here I introduce to you all the “WALDEN 7” complex, brainchild (or perhaps “brainfart”) of Ricardo Bofill. These buildings stand proud not far away from Barcelona; you can see them from the A7 highway as you drive by. I imagine that they are the logical counterpart to all those phallic towers we’ve seen before (the Agbar building, the Gherkin…). [Judge by yourselves…](http://www.bofill.com/website-ingles/proyectos/walden7-ampl3.htm). Just my 2 eurocent! JoseB [/QUOTE] No shit, it’s like the Lego Testicle Twin Buildings! ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/144 "2008-02-12T10:31:07Z")
[QUOTE=anu-la1979] The Leacock Building at McGill wins this hands down. OH MY GODS. If you people could even see it. It’s some batshit combination of the worst o’ medieval architecture seen through the modern lens of 60s cinderblock architecture. I particularly adore the nasty dirty slitty little windows that turn it from completely 60s cinderblock to 60s cinderblock “keep”. Hid city. [/QUOTE] Photo please! Photo please! Photo please! Yes, we are **that** masochistic. JoseB ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/145 "2008-02-12T10:37:01Z")
[QUOTE=SmartAleq] No shit, it’s like the Lego Testicle Twin Buildings! [/QUOTE] Actually, SmartAleq, I was thinking of _some other_ counterpart… JoseB ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/146 "2008-02-12T12:57:03Z")
If they ever finish the Ryugyong Hotel, they should make it into into a condominium. Their key selling point: It’s the only building in Pyongyang that doesn’t have a view of the Ryugyong building! ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/147 "2008-02-12T15:54:31Z")
What I’ve noticed from the various discussions is that some people seem to go gung-ho for striking buildings, and any aesthetic considerations are, well, not considered. Other people are more interested in the building’s personal beauty, and some are concerned with the building’s relationship to its surroundings (which is why, for ewxample, Liebeskind is Satan incarnate to some and not others). ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/148 "2008-02-12T16:34:57Z")
[QUOTE=Max the Immortal] If they ever finish the Ryugyong Hotel, they should make it into into a condominium. Their key selling point: It’s the only building in Pyongyang that doesn’t have a view of the Ryugyong building! [/QUOTE] Echoes of Guy de Maupassant… 🙂 It is said that he _ **hated** _ the Eiffel Tower with a passion, but went very often for lunch to the restaurant that was located at the tower itself. When asked why, he supposedly answered: “It’s the only place in Paris where you cannot see the tower”. Just my 2 eurocent! JoseB ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/149 "2008-02-12T16:47:10Z")
[QUOTE=anu-la1979] The Leacock Building at McGill wins this hands down. [/QUOTE] [This](http://cac.mcgill.ca/campus/Buildings/Stephen_Leacock.html) Leacock Building? I’m surprised. I was expecting something a lot more hideous. It looks fairly normal for 1960s-style university architecture. I was expecting something like the dreary fake-castle houses and restaurants made of concrete block that I’ve seen around Ontario. There’s one such house visible from the 115 southwest of Peterborough. There’s a similar restaurant on the outskirts of Meaford. Og help me, I’m trying to find pictures of them. Edit" [Here’s one (lower left).](http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-housing-commercial-Meaford-Castle-Restaurant-and-Banquet-Hall-W0QQAdIdZ33259282) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/150 "2008-02-12T16:54:27Z")
Too late to catch the edit window: The Meaford Castle restaurant, linked in my previous post, is for sale. What a surprise. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/151 "2008-02-12T19:22:56Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] Heck, even here in Alberta, we’ve got a [flying saucer landing port](http://www.abheritage.ca/stvincent-stpaul/st_paul/community_UFO_en.html). Doesn’t everybody? 😉 [/QUOTE] Unfortunately no. Some cities still have to put up with flying saucers crashing into [malls](http://www.lasvegas-hotel-casino-reviews.com/fashion-show-mall-1.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/152 "2008-02-12T21:17:14Z")
I nominate: [Tennessee’s Tallest Building](http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=bellsouthbuilding-nashville-tn-usa). It’s bad enough to make one leave Nashville. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/153 "2008-02-12T21:59:59Z")
[QUOTE=Will Repair] I nominate: [Tennessee’s Tallest Building](http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=bellsouthbuilding-nashville-tn-usa). It’s bad enough to make one leave Nashville. [/QUOTE] Or indeed, never go there in the first place. It doesn’t look that tall in the picture, although saying that the design makes scale hard to judge. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/154 "2008-02-12T23:05:45Z")
[QUOTE=Desert Nomad] Tbilisi has some real gems. “Andropov’s Ears” [http://www.travel-images.com/georgia40.jpg](http://www.travel-images.com/georgia40.jpg) [/QUOTE] I think that’s really quite beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/155 "2008-02-13T06:16:32Z")
You can’t really see the medieval elements in those pictures. The whole thing is built like a very weird keep. There are these really narrow slitty windows all over the place (much like a mouldering castle), like the McGillians needed to pour boiling oil on invading hordes and keep out such dangerous elements as light and fresh air. Strange narrow staircases abound. You really have to see it in person to appreciate the fugly. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/156 "2008-02-13T06:35:09Z")
[QUOTE=JoseB] Actually, SmartAleq, I was thinking of _some other_ counterpart… JoseB [/QUOTE] Hmmm, in that case it’d be a threesome! ---
**Author:** ![Radegast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@Radegast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Radegast)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/157 "2008-02-13T15:07:08Z")
Several folks have nominated “Stalinist stacking” type buildings. Here’s a link to a Holiday Inn in Prague: [http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/prgcs?rpb=hotel&crUrl=/h/d/hi/1/en/hotelsearchresults](http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/prgcs?rpb=hotel&crUrl=/h/d/hi/1/en/hotelsearchresults). They photographed the building from the only semi-flattering angle possible. From the front, it is a truly hideous Stalinist pile. Despite the ugliness I love this building because of the supreme irony. It was orignally the Hotel Internationale and was built for the communist party apparatchiks. It had its own miniature golf course so the good party members wouldn’t be bored. The fact that it is now a Holiday Inn is almost too rich to believe. In its heyday, the Czechs referred to it as “Stalin’s Wedding Cake,” which was a pretty accurate description. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/158 "2008-02-13T17:07:31Z")
[QUOTE=Radegast] Here’s a link to a Holiday Inn in Prague: [http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/prgcs?rpb=hotel&crUrl=/h/d/hi/1/en/hotelsearchresults](http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hotel/prgcs?rpb=hotel&crUrl=/h/d/hi/1/en/hotelsearchresults). [/QUOTE] “Comfort in exceptional architectural style” eh? I’ll bet. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/159 "2008-02-13T18:00:35Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] I think the Pyongyang Hotel and the Ministry of Roads buildings are both badass. The triangular tower can be destroyed with a nuclear bomb in the video game Mercenaries. [/QUOTE] Hell, it probably is a nuclear bomb (or the rocket which carries it). ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829/160 "2008-02-13T18:19:17Z")
[QUOTE=Will Repair] I nominate: [Tennessee’s Tallest Building](http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=bellsouthbuilding-nashville-tn-usa). [/QUOTE] Albino Batman! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-building-in-the-history-of-mankind/435829.md?page=9)