{"id":167342,"date":"2023-02-07T08:15:36","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T13:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/?p=167342"},"modified":"2023-02-01T04:47:57","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T09:47:57","slug":"ugliest-buildings-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/stories\/ugliest-buildings-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Icon or Eyesore: Are These the Ugliest Buildings in the World?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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What\u2019s scarier than your architectural peer disapproving of your design? A horde of social media critics. <\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to divisive architecture, it is the layperson that seems to carry the strongest option. They are, after all, the ones confronting our built environment on a daily basis. And while designers have always faced the unpredictable inundation of critiques, it appears today\u2019s architectural community arguably faces the toughest crowd to please:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>social media commentators.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some attribute this phenomenon of extreme frankness to the mask of anonymity one can wear via social media, while others believe such online rhetoric simply mirrors existing societal beliefs. Nonetheless, the architecture community has not been spared from divisive online debate, and polarizing conversations surrounding \u2018ugly\u2019 architecture fervently play out on social media. Twitter has become the modern-day stage for deliberation, and Buildworld<\/a> has rounded up some of the most maligned buildings in the UK and US. <\/span>The results? Both predictable and surprising.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this article, we highlight a few structures from the list of Global Eyesores<\/a> that caught our attention. In the name of healthy debate, let this list serve as the next topic of your dinner table dialogue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Scottish Parliament<\/h2>\n
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New Scottish Parliament<\/a> by RMJM<\/a> & Miralles Tagliabue<\/a>, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2004.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

First up on the firing line is the <\/span>Scottish Parliament<\/span><\/a>, designed back in 2004 by <\/span>Miralles Tagliabue<\/span> in partnership with <\/span>RMJM<\/span>, and has since become an infamous eyesore in the nation and abroad. The vision for this project was to erect a de-institutionalized and organic design that embraces Scotland\u2019s verdant landscape. The structure takes on a free-form shape that defies the canonical rules of architecture and embraces the region\u2019s greenery \u2014\u00a0an interesting approach towards the design of a legislative body. <\/span><\/p>\n

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New Scottish Parliament by RMJM & Miralles Tagliabue, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2004.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Despite its fresh take on governmental design, this project has remained unpopular since the get-go. It opened three years later than planned, was designed by a foreign architect and went wildly over budget. Local distaste for the building clearly existed from its inception, and it doesn\u2019t help that prominent voices, like a former MP, have coined this structure as unwelcoming and \u201cdark and gloomy.\u201d But the building\u2019s effort to steer clear of hierarchies and classical design, shouldn\u2019t that be celebrated?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Boston City Hall<\/h2>\n
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Boston City Hall<\/a> by Utile, Inc.<\/a>, Boston, MA, United States, 2018. Jury Winner, 2019 A+Awards, Concepts – Plus – Architecture +Preservation.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The <\/span>Boston City Hall<\/span><\/a> ranked #2 as top eyesores in the US, and ironically, despite being dubbed the world\u2019s ugliest building time and time again, this structure <\/span>won<\/span><\/a> a prestigious <\/span>A+Award<\/span><\/a> back in 2019. Designed by the Boston-based firm <\/span>Utile, Inc.<\/span><\/a>, this project was an immense undertaking by the design team and held great significance to local Bostonians, making it extra important to get it right. The original Brutalist structure was built in the 60s and underwent a massive recharacterization by Utile, Inc. in 2018. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Boston City Hall by Utile, Inc., Boston, MA, United States, 2018.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Among the major transformations were the main lobby, the public transaction windows and a new lighting scheme that leveraged LEDs and followed the city\u2019s sustainability goals. Utile\u2019s approach: to celebrate the original edifice by accentuating its existing features. Then why so much hate? Was it the preservation of such a polarizing Brutalist building? The obtrusive LEDs?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And while the case can be made for public disdain of civic structures \u2014 edifices meant to represent every and all citizens \u2014 it is fascinating how many utilitarian buildings also came under social media scrutiny.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Royal Liverpool Hospital<\/h2>\n