• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Ugly Buildings

Nogbad

Master Poster
Nogbad
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
2,566
I see Yahoo had a travellers piece on ugly buildings and our own Parliament (Scotland) came 7th in the list. I was mildly surprised to be honest. The building is strange certainly but ugly?

This is the list

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081114/lf_nm_life/us_travel_picks_ugly

pics of the Parliament building.

SPInterior.jpg


http://edsphotoblog.com/wp-content/photos/800px/scottish_parliament_edinburgh.jpg

I know architecture generates some passions and there are buildings that I dislike - especially some of the fairly brutal 60s/70s concrete jobs. Is this list fair or is it missing the real culprits?
 
No ugly building (skyscraper) list is complete without the Conde Nast Building in NYC, and the monolithic mistake in North Korea, the deteriorating Ryugyong Hotel. I always wondered what an isolationist state would need a 105 story hotel for, *slaps forehead*.

I can't yet post pictures or websites, so you must Google those two and see if you agree.

I much prefer to discuss the most interesting or beautiful architectural marvels around the world than dwell on seemingly endless aesthetic blunders, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or fuels the purpose of the owner.
 
Nogbad said:
I see Yahoo had a travellers piece on ugly buildings and our own Parliament (Scotland) came 7th in the list. I was mildly surprised to be honest. The building is strange certainly but ugly?

This is the list

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081114/lf_nm_life/us_travel_picks_ugly

pics of the Parliament building.

[qimg]http://www.lib.gla.ac.uk/Subject/Law/ULPS%20and%20Database%20Guides/SPInterior.jpg[/qimg]

http://edsphotoblog.com/wp-content/photos/800px/scottish_parliament_edinburgh.jpg

I know architecture generates some passions and there are buildings that I dislike - especially some of the fairly brutal 60s/70s concrete jobs. Is this list fair or is it missing the real culprits?
Click to expand...

The article doesn't include photos of the buildings (quite annoying), but I've seen the City Hall in Boston, and can attest to it's ugliness.
 
Illustronic said:
No ugly building (skyscraper) list is complete without the Conde Nast Building in NYC, and the monolithic mistake in North Korea, the deteriorating Ryugyong Hotel. I always wondered what an isolationist state would need a 105 story hotel for, *slaps forehead*.

I can't yet post pictures or websites, so you must Google those two and see if you agree.

I much prefer to discuss the most interesting or beautiful architectural marvels around the world than dwell on seemingly endless aesthetic blunders, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or fuels the purpose of the owner.
Click to expand...

So they can put numbers on how many people don't want to go there?


A fair point on the buildings - I quite like our Parliament building albeit it is a tad eccentric.
 
IchabodPlain said:
The article doesn't include photos of the buildings (quite annoying), but I've seen the City Hall in Boston, and can attest to it's ugliness.
Click to expand...


I thought it was a bit mental to not have photos of the buildings too.
 
Illustronic said:
No ugly building (skyscraper) list is complete without the Conde Nast Building in NYC, and the monolithic mistake in North Korea, the deteriorating Ryugyong Hotel. I always wondered what an isolationist state would need a 105 story hotel for, *slaps forehead*.

I can't yet post pictures or websites, so you must Google those two and see if you agree.

I much prefer to discuss the most interesting or beautiful architectural marvels around the world than dwell on seemingly endless aesthetic blunders, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or fuels the purpose of the owner.
Click to expand...

Disagree about the Ryugyong Hotel - I think a finished version of that would be fantastic, see: http://www.urbandesign.it/news/immagini_news/Ryugyong_Hotel.jpg it's like a building from a 1950s book of the future. Just needs a few flying cars circling it.


As for ugly buildings - well I have to say the monstrosity of the Arndale Centre in Manchester before it was improved by being blown-up by the IRA (and I am not kidding).
 
Darat said:
Disagree about the Ryugyong Hotel - I think a finished version of that would be fantastic, see: http://www.urbandesign.it/news/immagini_news/Ryugyong_Hotel.jpg it's like a building from a 1950s book of the future. Just needs a few flying cars circling it.


As for ugly buildings - well I have to say the monstrosity of the Arndale Centre in Manchester before it was improved by being blown-up by the IRA (and I am not kidding).
Click to expand...

That is pretty amazing - if a trifle out of scale with the other buildings.

I recall seeing a programme about ugly buildings in the UK and one of them was Council Offices down South somewhere. Built in the 60s in the style of Mordor during one of Sauren's gloomier phases.
 
Nogbad said:
So they can put numbers on how many people don't want to go there?


A fair point on the buildings - I quite like our Parliament building albeit it is a tad eccentric.
Click to expand...

I think that lobby photo is quite beautiful, though I can understand how some folks view visible support structures. I have seen better marriages of organic and structuralism forms though. I do find it hard to view ultra organic architecture that tries to hide all of the structural support.

In the early 80's a mall and street overpasses here in Columbus went up with visible support and building infrastructure that met with public disapproval. I found it fascinatingly beautiful, and photographed many of the various structures for painting ideas.
 
NotJesus said:
That interior photo of the Scottish Parliament is interesting but the exterior is a mess.
Click to expand...

Complicated is perhaps a kinder word

2403745492_a2d715ba0b.jpg


It looks small initially but it isn't and there is a hell of a lot going on.
 
gtc said:
Yeah, it doesn't strike me as being particularly ugly.
Click to expand...

No - most of them are different but not ugly.

Birmingham, Boston and the Bus Terminal are the only classically ugly ones.

I think Birmingham has the edge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom