# World's Ugliest Buildings **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830 "2009-10-14T20:36:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/1 "2009-10-14T20:36:42Z")
Portland is Number One! W00t! In your FACE, Seattle! [Travel & Leisure: The World’s Ugliest Buildings](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-worlds-ugliest-buildings/1/?label=the-worlds-ugliest-buildings) ---
**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:** [October 15, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/2 "2009-10-15T03:34:11Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Portland is Number One! W00t! In your FACE, Seattle! > > [Travel & Leisure: The World’s Ugliest Buildings](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-worlds-ugliest-buildings/1/?label=the-worlds-ugliest-buildings) I think the Harold Washington Library is pretty cool looking. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/3 "2009-10-15T03:48:54Z")
I think a lot of those look cool. But what gives with that building in Portland? It’s #1 AND #7? 😕 The Ryugyong Hotel has been called the [worst building in the history of mankind](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=532600&highlight=Pyongyang). ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/4 "2009-10-15T04:07:14Z")
I think a lot of those buildings are pretty spiffy. And only ONE was in Eastern Europe? That’s how I know this list is bullshit. Eastern Europe is chock full of buildings a hundred times uglier than anything on this list. Communists were _shitty_ architects. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/5 "2009-10-15T04:11:22Z")
I vote for the PG&E building in Sacramento, CA, on Marconi and Watt. I’m looking for a photo but failing to find one. Tolman Hall on the campus of UC Berkeley is also pretty dang ugly. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/6 "2009-10-15T04:12:28Z")
I kinda like some of those. I’d be interested in seeing a corresponding “prettiest buildings” list for comparison. I’ve read that Trinity Church in Boston is quite well thought of. (Of course, I saw those surveys at the church, so it may not be an unbiased sample.) To me, it’s nice, but not spectacularly so. The ugliest list really ought to include Boston City Hall. > [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > I think the Harold Washington Library is pretty cool looking. I remember an episode of _Nova_ (or something, pretty sure it was on PBS) about the competition to design that library. I think it came down to 4 finalists. There was one that I really liked, but it didn’t win. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/7 "2009-10-15T04:50:42Z")
I’ve seen the Longaberger “basket” building. Even knowing that I was near it, it was still rather off-putting to actually see it looming over the horizon. Even stranger was the entire town that’s dedicated to baskets. There were baskets and flowers and cutesy things everywhere; I felt like skipping through town. Too bad the site included only one Frank Gehry building. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/8 "2009-10-15T05:11:54Z")
Frank Gehry is in a category all his own. I don’t understand how anybody can think any of his buildings are good. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/9 "2009-10-15T05:21:51Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > I think the Harold Washington Library is pretty cool looking. Yeah, that’s a really odd choice. It not even close to being one of the ugliest buildings in Chicago. In fact, I’d say it’s certainly above average. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/10 "2009-10-15T05:28:26Z")
There are definitely some ugly-ass buildings there, but I thought the Secret Service bulding, the round ball-houses, the national library in Minsk, the bright yellow UFO houses and the palace some guy carved himself were pretty damn neat. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/11 "2009-10-15T05:46:03Z")
I’ve always wanted to level Georgetown University’s [Lauinger Library](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lauinger_Library.jpg)with a large bomb. It’s right on the main quad, too, not tucked away out of sight. The horrible irony is that it was supposed to be a modernist interpretation of (and sits right next to) the lovely [Healy Hall](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Healy_hall_gtu.JPG). ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/12 "2009-10-15T06:10:09Z")
> [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](#): > > I’ve always wanted to level Georgetown University’s [Lauinger Library](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lauinger_Library.jpg)with a large bomb. It’s right on the main quad, too, not tucked away out of sight. The horrible irony is that it was supposed to be a modernist interpretation of (and sits right next to) the lovely [Healy Hall](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Healy_hall_gtu.JPG). God, I’m pretty sure 95% of all college libraries can be on a “world’s ugliest building” list. They’re all modernistic, Frank Lloyd Wright wanna-be pieces of ass. [The Folsom library at my alma mater, RPI.](http://www.lib.rpi.edu/dept/library/html/Archives/buildings/images/folsom_library.jpg) Ironically enough, it’s right next to what is easily the most beautiful building on campus, the [Voorhees Computer Center.](http://www.rpi.edu/tour/vcc/vcc-snapshot.jpg) As you can see, it used to be a chapel. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/13 "2009-10-15T06:23:12Z")
The palais ideal? C’mon that’s… that’s not a building, it’s a sculpture. It’s one of those things that are so totally kitsch they’re cool, specially when you know its story. ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/14 "2009-10-15T06:45:06Z")
I thought the Chinese coin building was kind of neat. I can think of like, 10 buildings off the top of my head much uglier than that. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/15 "2009-10-15T06:45:53Z")
I thought a lot of those buildings looked good, or at least interesting, too. I probably would have put more brutalist buildings on the list—which is a little odd itself, as I actually _like_ quite a few brutalist structures. Maybe half. The rest look like rats nests, or places where I’m going to get murdered by droogs. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/16 "2009-10-15T06:55:41Z")
I was wondering why the infamous Czech National Library wasn’t included but apparently it got [scrapped](http://aktualne.centrum.cz/czechnews/clanek.phtml?id=625166). Good to know that common sense can sometimes prevail over “avant-garde” lunacy. ---
**Author:** ![Neverending\_Elbow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/17 "2009-10-15T06:58:59Z")
Some of those are both ugly and neat at the same time. A lot of buildings are uglier, but these here are ugly in such an unusual way. Plus they are landmarks and important buildings, where at some level of the whole process somebody may have noticed something. I do agree with **bouv** about uni and college libraries being ugly, and am glad he showed me one uglier than the one of my uni. We laugh about how those jet engines are there to be able to take the library to safety with all the precious knowledge in times of turmoil. ([http://www.zgapa.pl/zgapedia/data\_pictures/\_uploads\_wiki/b/Biblioteka\_UG\_30-04-2007.jpg](http://www.zgapa.pl/zgapedia/data_pictures/_uploads_wiki/b/Biblioteka_UG_30-04-2007.jpg)) That said, that secret service building looks like something from Atlantis. I can just imagine it being used in some sci-fi flick. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/18 "2009-10-15T07:12:00Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > I vote for the PG&E building in Sacramento, CA, on Marconi and Watt. I’m looking for a photo but failing to find one. > > Tolman Hall on the campus of UC Berkeley is also pretty dang ugly. [Tolman Hall](http://l.yimg.com/g/images/spaceball.gif) is uninspired and a little hard on the eyes, but it’s far from the ugliest building on campus. That honor is claimed by the Brutalist [Wurster Hall](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wurster_Hall_SW.jpg), which of course houses the architecture department. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/19 "2009-10-15T07:41:12Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > I vote for the PG&E building in Sacramento, CA, on Marconi and Watt. I’m looking for a photo but failing to find one. You mean the [AT&T building](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=2700+Watt+Ave,+Sacramento,+California+95821&sll=38.616049,-121.382897&sspn=0.011149,0.014892&gl=us&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FW04TQIdgt_D-A&split=0&hq=&hnear=2700+Watt+Ave,+Sacramento,+California+95821&ll=38.615424,-121.382906&spn=0.001394,0.001861&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=38.615613,-121.382905&panoid=xsJIFXvQoclvvl-MDI2m8g&cbp=12,131.57,,0,-0.84)? That’s not even close to ugly. Just dated. (Be patient, and a street view will appear.) ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830/20 "2009-10-15T07:44:00Z")
I now present you a candidate for #1… from the days when I lived in Tbilisi and actually knew a guy that worked in this place: [Georgian Ministry of Roads](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lego_building.jpg) (The roads are about as nice as the building). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-ugliest-buildings/513830.md?page=2)