# Ugly, ridiculous, impractical buildings that you still think are awesome **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877 "2014-08-29T16:16:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/61 "2014-09-08T15:27:53Z")
Coventry is a bit of a shit hole. It was bombed to buggery and back in WW2 and then rebuilt out of concrete in the 50s and 60s. There’s a lot of ugliness there. But I do have a real soft spot for the Sports and Leisure Centre: [![](http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/75/41/2754199_0c1eb341.jpg) ](http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/75/41/2754199_0c1eb341.jpg) Basically, Coventry’s [coat of arms](http://forum.historiccoventry.co.uk/resource/coa.png) has, for reasons lost in the mists of time (although there are theories relating to dragons), got an elephant on it. That’s why Coventry City’s mascot, [Sky Blue Sam](http://www.ccfpa.co.uk/wp-content/gallery/legends-day-2007/12r-legends-2007-willie-carr-s-b-sam-ernie-hunt.jpg) is an elephant. It also explains why their sports centre looks an elephant, in a weird sixties architecture sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/62 "2022-02-15T06:49:35Z")
This thread needs to be zombied for its absolutely egregious omission of the Geisel Library at the University of San Diego. (heh - essentially the first building you see when entering “brutalist architecture” in google) > **[Geisel Library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisel_Library)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Geisel Library is the main library building of the University of California, San Diego. It is named in honor of Audrey and Theodor Seuss Geisel. Theodor is better known as children's author Dr. Seuss. The building's distinctive architecture, described as occupying "a fascinating nexus between brutalism and futurism", has resulted in its being featured in the UC San Diego logo and becoming the most recognizable building on campus. > The library was ... Especially some of the earlier photos where the concrete is more pronounced - oh to see that on a totally cloudy day. (heh - a guy can dream, can’t he?) That is architectural bliss to the max for me (albeit also a big [moderne](https://www.google.com/search?q=moderne+architecture&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj0qem2h4H2AhX-BTQIHdDEDjIQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=moderne+architecture&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgQIABAeMgQIABAeMgQIABAeMgQIABAeMgYIABAFEB4yBggAEAUQHjIGCAAQBRAeMgYIABAFEB46BwgjEO8DECdQughYnkhgilpoAHAAeACAAZUBiAHmBJIBAzguMZgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=FEULYvTPN_6L0PEP0Im7kAM&bih=571&biw=850&rlz=1C1CHBD_enCA835CA835) fan). The Casa Del Portuale in Naples… > **[The abandoned brutalist Casa Del Portuale, a building for "Social Services...](https://purple.fr/diary/the-abandoned-brutalist-casa-del-portuale-a-building-for-social-services-for-workers-in-the-port-of-naples-by-architect-aldo-loris-rossi-naples/)** > > An immersion in the most iconic building from the port of Naples. Casa Del Portuale by Aldo Loris Rossi is an example of architect's fascination with Technically the CCTV building is “deconstructivist”, but I like to think there are easily enough brutalist characteristics to it to warrant a place here… > **[The CCTV Headquarters by OMA Squashes Exhausted Skyscraper Typology - Archute](https://www.archute.com/cctv-headquarters-oma/)** > > A 75-metre cantilever is the defining feature of the CCTV headquarters by OMA , designed with lead architect Rem Koolhaas. The following link is, for me, sheer residential pornography: > **[51 Brutalist House Exteriors That Will Make You Love Concrete Architecture](http://www.home-designing.com/brutalist-concrete-house-exterior-facade-design-inspiration-photos)** > > Inspirational Brutalist house exteriors, featuring reinforced concrete and steel architecture, geometric modern homes, and ultra minimalist house designs. And finally, the Hotel du Lac in Tunis… [[Album] Hotel du Lac, Tunis ![](https://i.imgur.com/475Cqs6.jpeg?fb "Hotel du Lac, Tunis") ](https://imgur.com/gallery/ViEhPJu) ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/63 "2022-02-15T07:06:33Z")
the Toronto School of Arts and Design is a building so ugly (and out of place for its surroundings) that only a School of Design could create it. Bizarre as hell, and I wouldn’t wanna be associated with the place. But it is kinda cool. (sorry about the funny-looking link, but it works. Just click on it, and be ready to cringe. Or else wait for the aliens to emerge.) 🙂 [https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikiarquitectura.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F01%2FSharp\_17-500x335.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikiarquitectura.com%2Fbuilding%2Fsharpe-centre-for-design-ontario-college-of-art-and-design%2F&tbnid=kXrABFB\_4Nfg1M&vet=12ahUKEwjs3ebTkYH2AhVJtyoKHX2\_DVsQMygIegUIARC\_AQ..i&docid=C1GW\_Gy-qgBaEM&w=500&h=335&q=toronto%20school%20of%20arts%20and%20design%20building&ved=2ahUKEwjs3ebTkYH2AhVJtyoKHX2\_DVsQMygIegUIARC\_AQ](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikiarquitectura.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F01%2FSharp_17-500x335.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikiarquitectura.com%2Fbuilding%2Fsharpe-centre-for-design-ontario-college-of-art-and-design%2F&tbnid=kXrABFB_4Nfg1M&vet=12ahUKEwjs3ebTkYH2AhVJtyoKHX2_DVsQMygIegUIARC_AQ..i&docid=C1GW_Gy-qgBaEM&w=500&h=335&q=toronto%20school%20of%20arts%20and%20design%20building&ved=2ahUKEwjs3ebTkYH2AhVJtyoKHX2_DVsQMygIegUIARC_AQ) ---
**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 15, 2022, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/64 "2022-02-15T07:33:30Z")
Ah yes, the Tabletop at OCAD U. Ever since they built it, I’ve wanted to build a gigantic teapot and set of teacups on top. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/65 "2022-02-15T08:46:46Z")
@Sunspace, you should pitch that idea to OCAD! I’ve walked by it many times, and had the same thought. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/66 "2022-02-15T15:28:31Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > [Do oil refineries count?](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Anacortes_Refinery_31911.JPG) They should. Back when we lived in eastern Kentucky, we frequently drove past the Catlettsburg Refinery just off I-64. We used to call it “Christmas in Hell”. [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f9/f1/2e/f9f12ee6ca052eaeda7816240e41e8f5.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f9/f1/2e/f9f12ee6ca052eaeda7816240e41e8f5.jpg) ---
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/67 "2022-02-15T16:04:42Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > This thread needs to be zombied for its absolutely egregious omission of the Geisel Library at the University of San Diego. (heh - essentially the first building you see when entering “brutalist architecture” in google) That building looks like nothing Dr. Seuss ever drew. If they’re going to name it after him it ought to be rounded, sloppy, and organic-looking, as if it _grew_ somehow and then got left out in the sun and softened and melted. > **[The Architecture of Dr. Seuss, a Brief History - Architizer Journal](https://architizer.com/blog/practice/details/the-architecture-of-dr-seuss/)** > > Theodor Seuss Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, was a prolific architectural thinker. His experimental drawings show speculative domestic architectures: houses and pueblo-like villages with oddly sloped roofs, multiple off-set levels and wild color... [https://www.blendspace.com/lessons/zIuShJdN-oks5w/dr-seuss-houses](https://www.blendspace.com/lessons/zIuShJdN-oks5w/dr-seuss-houses) ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/68 "2022-02-15T16:32:01Z")
This is too small and local to be of broad interest but I submit the Lorain County (Ohio) Visitor’s Center. It won the most beautiful new building award (or some such award) the year it was dedicated. The award was given by - the Lorain County Visitor’s Center. > **[Ohio Lorain County,Amherst,Visitors Center,centre,modern...](https://www.alamy.com/ohio-lorain-countyamherstvisitors-centercentremodern-architectureoh0617040043-image1847678.html)** > > Download this stock image: Ohio Lorain County,Amherst,Visitors Center,centre,modern architecture,OH0617040043 - A0K17F from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/69 "2022-02-15T16:44:25Z")
I’m not sure how much activity is left at that building. An Internet search turns up a photo of the building and that the “Lorain County Visitors Bureau” is permanently closed. More embarrassingly, the county missed a deadline to make a $17.99 payment to maintain the domain name for [VisitLorainCounty.com](http://VisitLorainCounty.com), leading to it being cybersquatted by an Indonesian poker website. > **[Former Lorain County Visitors Bureau website now in use by Indonesian online...](https://chroniclet.com/news/257609/former-lorain-county-visitors-bureau-website-now-in-use-by-indonesian-online-poker/)** > > By not spending $17.99, Lorain County lost its .com website for potential tourists. Commissioners disagree about whether the old site should have been left to expire before a new site was launched. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/70 "2022-02-15T17:01:25Z")
Looks like they got it back. It once again leads to Lorain County. Crappy design and poor fiscal management, we have it all. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/71 "2022-02-15T17:32:51Z")
Universities have a history of adding modern additions to the old libraries. [The Suzzallo Library](https://www.lib.washington.edu/suzzallo/visit/about) at the University of Washington is a stupendously ugly building built in 1923 but looking like it plopped down out of the 14th century. Naturally they immediately needed more space and built a modernistic addition off the back. (Scroll down the linked page to Suzzallo 1961-63 Addition.) When I spent a summer there we called it the cyborg library. ---
**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:** [February 15, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/72 "2022-02-15T17:44:55Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > This is too small and local to be of broad interest but I submit the Lorain County (Ohio) Visitor’s Center. It won the most beautiful new building award (or some such award) the year it was dedicated. The award was given by - the Lorain County Visitor’s Center. That looks like Lorain county’s Dad got the building unassembled in a box on Christmas Eve and had to put it together in a hurry while recovering from the office Christmas Party, and finally said “The Hell with it. It’s all together in one piece. Who cares if I got it right?” ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/73 "2022-02-27T19:59:29Z")
Heh, watching Bochum in the Bundesliga today, and their stadium, to my pleasant surprise, was totally right up my alley! [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhrstadion#/media/File:Vonovia_Ruhrstadion_12a.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhrstadion#/media/File:Vonovia_Ruhrstadion_12a.jpg) Impractical - probably not. Probably perfectly suits its use. Beautiful - yes. 😍 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/74 "2022-02-27T20:10:10Z")
Ponte City, Johannesburg. > **[Inside Johannesburg's Infamous Ponte City Tower](https://www.archdaily.com/493877/inside-johannesburg-s-infamous-ponte-city-tower)** > > The history of Johannesburg's Ponte City Apartments is a provocative one: built in 1975 and designed by Manfred Herme... That place has potential to be absolutely amazing if and when it’s completely restored. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/75 "2022-02-27T20:16:50Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > > [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > > > This thread needs to be zombied for its absolutely egregious omission of the Geisel Library at the University of San Diego. (heh - essentially the first building you see when entering “brutalist architecture” in google) > > That building looks like nothing Dr. Seuss ever drew. If they’re going to name it after him it ought to be rounded, sloppy, and organic-looking, as if it _grew_ somehow and then got left out in the sun and softened and melted. Perhaps the best example of real life Seussian architecture is at Las Pozas: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dnhtxvGmaI0/hqdefault.jpg "Xilitla: The Surreal Gardens of Las Pozas") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnhtxvGmaI0) > **[Las Pozas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Pozas)** > > Las Pozas ("the Pools") is a surrealistic group of structures created by Edward James, more than 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level, in a subtropical rainforest in the Sierra Gorda mountains of Mexico. It includes more than 80 acres (32 ha) of natural waterfalls and pools interlaced with towering surrealist sculptures in concrete. Las Pozas is near the village of Xilitla, San Luis Potosí, a seven-hour drive north of Mexico City. In the early 1940s, James went to Los Angeles, California, and then ... ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/76 "2022-02-27T20:26:01Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > [The CN tower](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CN_Tower) is essentially a monument to cement. It might have been a good idea in a place where there is actually something worth seeing from such a high vantage point. The CN Tower wasn’t built as a viewing station. It’s a huge antenna. Until it was built, tv, radio and other communications in Toronto were not good, which is a bit of a drawback for a city that bills itself as the commercial and banking centre of Canada, with the country’s major stock exchange. As an antenna, it’s purely practical. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877/77 "2022-02-27T23:30:37Z")
As long as we’re on the topic of hideous university libraries, I nominate Northwestern’s: > **[Northwestern University Library Building (Evanston, 1970) | Structurae](https://structurae.net/fr/ouvrages/northwestern-university-library-building)** > > Northwestern University Library Building est une bibliothèque universitaire et structure en béton armé qui a été construit de 1966 à 1970. Le projet est situé à/en Evanston, Cook County, Illinois, Etats-Unis, USA, Amérique du Nord.Le style... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugly-ridiculous-impractical-buildings-that-you-still-think-are-awesome/696877.md?page=3)