# ugly building award **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209 "2003-09-23T00:45:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bojon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@bojon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bojon)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/1 "2003-09-23T00:45:22Z")
I wish to present to the members my personal nominee for the ugly building award. There has to be one, (right). Visit, and let’s see if you agree, or better yet you have a candidate. [http://wwwjohnmihelich.com/](http://wwwjohnmihelich.com/) ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/2 "2003-09-23T01:02:16Z")
Well, maybe you should get an “ugly url” or “ugly OP placement” award. (Just being a wiseass - you missed a period in your URL - [http://www.johnmihelich.com](http://www.johnmihelich.com) , and this sounds to me like IMHO material (a poll). Some mod may move it.) That aside, that’s ugly, but I’ve seen lots uglier. ---
**Author:** ![bojon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@bojon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bojon)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/3 "2003-09-23T01:04:04Z")
APOLOGY [http://www.johnmihelich.com/](http://www.johnmihelich.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/4 "2003-09-23T01:07:20Z")
There’s a building in London that appears to have the plumbing on the outside. I can’t recall the name, but it appears in the ELO video, “Calling America”. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/5 "2003-09-23T02:06:54Z")
**bojon** , opinions and polls belong in IMHO. Please read forum descriptions carefully before you post your next question. This is moved to IMHO. Thank you and welcome to the boards. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![rumraisin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@rumraisin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rumraisin)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/6 "2003-09-23T02:40:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*There’s a building in London that appears to have the plumbing on the outside. I can’t recall the name, but it appears in the ELO video, “Calling America”. \*\* Is it this one? [Lloyds of London](http://www.alovelyworld.com/webgb/htmgb/gb15.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/7 "2003-09-23T04:57:19Z")
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) Expansion: [http://www.timms.ca/pix/rom.html](http://www.timms.ca/pix/rom.html) It looks like someone took a crystal-shaped dump on the original building. I don’t think it gets any uglier. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/8 "2003-09-23T05:21:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*There’s a building in London that appears to have the plumbing on the outside. I can’t recall the name, but it appears in the ELO video, “Calling America”. \*\* Pah, certainly ugly but pales in comparison to the original and permanent champeen of the world: [http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Centre\_Pompidou.html](http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Centre_Pompidou.html) Other contenders include: [http://www.sydneymasoniccentre.com/](http://www.sydneymasoniccentre.com/) This actually looks like a huge concrete toilet bowl when viewed from street level. It is not nearly as colourful as portrayed here, just a dirty washed-out grey. And the award for world’s worst residential building, and most egregious insult to its immediate environment, goes to the Blues Point Tower on Sydney Harbour: [http://www.dinkumaussies.com/..%2FARCHITECTURE%2FHarry%20Seidler.htm](http://www.dinkumaussies.com/..%2FARCHITECTURE%2FHarry%20Seidler.htm) and [http://www.archsoc.com/kcas/Humour.html](http://www.archsoc.com/kcas/Humour.html) Imagine building on Sydney Harbour and putting in tiny little windows lik ethat. Apparently in some cases you have to stand on furniture to get a view. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/9 "2003-09-23T13:14:24Z")
If Lloyds and the Centre Pompidou are ugly, then I’ll take “ugly” over “boring” any day. At least those buildings are playful and fun to look at. I would nominate one of those dreadful mid-20th century buildings for the “ugliest” award. You know the kind: those concrete, characterless slabs erected during the 50s and 60s, under the principle of form following function. You can see a lot of these structures in London, especially in the City (which, of course, needed extensive rebuilding after the Second World War) and in complexes like[the South Bank Centre](http://architecture.about.com/library/ucsouthbank.htm). Such structures are depressing to look at, demoralizing to work in, and frustrating to walk around. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/10 "2003-09-23T14:34:49Z")
We have this hideous peice of poop as our cultural centre [http://www.queenstreet.co.nz/queenstreet/history/buildings/aotea.asp](http://www.queenstreet.co.nz/queenstreet/history/buildings/aotea.asp) and the pic on that site is a truly flattering one. I think the talents that designed this would be best served designing public loos. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/11 "2003-09-23T14:40:01Z")
I’ve already noted the **Ray and Maria Stata Center** at MIT, designed by Frank Gehry: [http://web.mit.edu/buildings/statacenter/](http://web.mit.edu/buildings/statacenter/) [http://www.cdm.lcs.mit.edu/people/psz/stata/Default.html](http://www.cdm.lcs.mit.edu/people/psz/stata/Default.html) I go past this once every week or two, and I’m still amazed at it. It’s still under construction, and is currently late. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/12 "2003-09-23T14:53:53Z")
Busáras, the coach station in Dublin. For some reason it’s hailed as an architectural marvel. It is [in me arse](http://www.irish-architecture.com/busaras/). ---
**Author:** ![rumraisin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@rumraisin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rumraisin)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/13 "2003-09-23T15:11:58Z")
The Asahi Beer Hall in Tokyo, otherwise known as the golden turd: [http://jeremy.zawodny.com/pics/jp-golden-turd/](http://jeremy.zawodny.com/pics/jp-golden-turd/) ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/14 "2003-09-23T15:20:40Z")
The U.S. [embassy](http://iaan.indiana.edu/ottawa2001/alanwelch/1945%20US%20Embassy.JPG) in Ottawa (Not the best picture of it, either). It looks like a battleship, and its among several other very beautiful buildings, including parlement. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/15 "2003-09-23T15:48:36Z")
This thread is going to give me nightmares, but I have to say, **CalMeacham** , that … structure … at MIT looks like Tokyo after leaving Godzilla’s bowels. Lord, that’s hidious. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/16 "2003-09-23T15:59:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AndrewT \* > \*\*[http://www.sydneymasoniccentre.com/](http://www.sydneymasoniccentre.com/) > > This actually looks like a huge concrete toilet bowl when viewed from street level. It is not nearly as colourful as portrayed here, just a dirty washed-out grey.\*\* Oh yeah. I used to pass this building frequently, and it never ceased to amaze me how completely devoid of aesthetic merit it was. I also agree with you about Blue’s Point Tower. I particularly love the way that Seidler gets all huffy when anyone criticizes it, and calls them stupid or uneducated. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/17 "2003-09-23T16:00:15Z")
Before anyone says “oh those wacky Japanese”, that golden turd is the work of Philippe Starck, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/18 "2003-09-23T16:49:36Z")
Here’s some pretty good candidates: [http://www.indiablox.com/ugliestbuilding.htm](http://www.indiablox.com/ugliestbuilding.htm) And the Pro Football Hall of Fame is probably one of the ugliest building’s I’ve personally seen: [http://www.profootballhof.com/index.cfm?section=info&cont\_id=182109](http://www.profootballhof.com/index.cfm?section=info&cont_id=182109) ---
**Author:** ![criminalcatalog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@criminalcatalog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminalcatalog)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/19 "2003-09-23T17:02:52Z")
[**Experience Music Project**](http://www.architectureweek.com/cgi-bin/supporting_architectureweek.cgi?dir=2000/0712&article=design_1-1.html&image=11070_image_2.jpg) in Seattle is the conception of ass-architecture, I’ve always thought. Interesting textures aside\*, the whole building is like a random blob of various materials. From above, it looks like a guitar (the monorail track is the neck). This doesn’t excuse the “papier mache” effect of the main building. \*that metallic-purple wall is all neat and shiny ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209/20 "2003-09-23T17:52:42Z")
Hell, that’s not even the ugliest _library_ in your own state! That award goes to [Denver Public Library](http://www.wbdg.org/design/index.php?cn=1.5&cx=0), AKA Moscow Apartment Block circa 1978, with Heliport. I cant wait until they plop [this](http://news4colorado.com/dam/) down right next to it. I think I saw this on the cover of a Jefferson Starship album once. Or maybe on Battlestar Galactica. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-building-award/203209.md?page=2)