Anyway..this seems to have originated in the Telegraph there
Britain's ugliest buildings: your picks
Readers responded to the Carbuncle Cup shortlist of Britain's ugly buildings with a few suggestions of their own.
The Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth: "Now mercifully razed, Google it if you don't believe me.."
3:31PM BST 20 Aug 2013
22 Comments
The shortlist for the Carbuncle Cup, an annual prize that recognises the very
worst in modern British architecture, was
unveiled yesterday.
The six listed designs were The Premier Inn, Lambeth; The Port Eirias
Watersports Centre in Colwyn Bay (above); Redcar Beacon, a “vertical pier”
in Cleveland (below); the Avant Garde residential tower in Bethnal Green;
Castle Mill Housing in Oxford; and the redevelopment of 465 Caledonian Road
in King's Cross.
Readers had their own views, however. Redcar resident Amy Roo Wells leapt to
the defence of the much-maligned beacon – or at least claimed "there
are much worse [buildings] nearby". She added that "I've been up
the beacon and there was a lovely view over the beach".
There were few apologists for the other items on the shortlist, but plenty of suggestions for even more unattractive constructions, and not just in Britain.
One reader going by the website user name 'Skiptheburntkangaroo' insisted that the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre is the world's biggest eyesore. "An absolute disgrace," they said. "The residents of Perth would gladly fund its demolition." The building has previously been described as a "Soviet-era mausoleum" and a "giant grey cockroach". (Make up your own mind here). 'Tonye', meanwhile, nominated the Torre Agbar in Barcelona.
Back on British shores, 'Carljung' plumped for St John's Precinct in Liverpool (above; "Built right next to the Victorian splendour of St George's Hall, the William Brown Library and Museum, the Picton Reading Room and Hornby Library... without a doubt the most inappropriately placed piece of council agreed crap in planning history"), while 'Cardinal_Hildebrand' highlighted the aesthetic inferiority of several city shopping centres, including the Arndale in Manchester (below) and the Cumbernauld in Scotland.
'Madoldbat' was unerring in their distaste for the late Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth: "Now mercifully razed, Google it if you don't believe me..." Many of you did, including 'FruitcakeTheClown': "It certainly was rather brutal. An oppressed Eastern Europe meets Stingray kinda vibe."
'Jimmy P' had little positive to say about Preston Bus Station, and 'sothcoastreader' chose Splashpoint, on the seafront in Worthing.
"I always maintained that Britain's ugliest building was the Floatel in Northwich," said 'Skullpit'. "Sadly it burned down in mysterious circumstances a few years ago leaving what would normally be considered a burnt eyesore, but in the case of the Floatel counted as an urban regeneration scheme."
For costly blights, look no further than the capital. The "Walkie Talkie" is particularly shocking, according to 'Imposter', as is Baynard House; 'Philogenes' and 'madoldbat' had little time for the Arcelor Mittal Orbit (above); and 'Vics_toew' can't abide Canada House.
Britain's second city fares little better. "The new Birmingham Central Library is almost as hideous as the old Birmingham Central Library (below)," insisted 'Tim539', while the city's Debenhams wins/loses "hands down, year in, year out", said 'ggraham'.
The Midlands seemed to struggle in general: "Any large commercial building in Nottingham in the last 25 years," should also be avoided, claimed 'Denc', while Northampton Bus Station received the ire of 'Cransley'.
So why all the ugliness? 'Dodgy_jammer' has one theory: "To be approved by a planning committee in Britain, a design for a public building must be considered exciting and progressive. Aesthetic beauty isn't a major consideration."
So is imitation the key? "Anything built after WW2 is ugly," claimed 'Two Bob'. "Unless it has copied the architecture of previous centuries."
But some of us will never be happy. 'Bondi1000' couldn't even offer praise for Parisian architecture: "All those monochrome, repetitive Haussmann boulevards strike me as deathly dull."
Read more
Britain's ugliest new buildings named
The world's ugliest hotels
London's ugliest buildings
There were few apologists for the other items on the shortlist, but plenty of suggestions for even more unattractive constructions, and not just in Britain.
One reader going by the website user name 'Skiptheburntkangaroo' insisted that the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre is the world's biggest eyesore. "An absolute disgrace," they said. "The residents of Perth would gladly fund its demolition." The building has previously been described as a "Soviet-era mausoleum" and a "giant grey cockroach". (Make up your own mind here). 'Tonye', meanwhile, nominated the Torre Agbar in Barcelona.
Back on British shores, 'Carljung' plumped for St John's Precinct in Liverpool (above; "Built right next to the Victorian splendour of St George's Hall, the William Brown Library and Museum, the Picton Reading Room and Hornby Library... without a doubt the most inappropriately placed piece of council agreed crap in planning history"), while 'Cardinal_Hildebrand' highlighted the aesthetic inferiority of several city shopping centres, including the Arndale in Manchester (below) and the Cumbernauld in Scotland.
'Madoldbat' was unerring in their distaste for the late Tricorn Centre in Portsmouth: "Now mercifully razed, Google it if you don't believe me..." Many of you did, including 'FruitcakeTheClown': "It certainly was rather brutal. An oppressed Eastern Europe meets Stingray kinda vibe."
'Jimmy P' had little positive to say about Preston Bus Station, and 'sothcoastreader' chose Splashpoint, on the seafront in Worthing.
"I always maintained that Britain's ugliest building was the Floatel in Northwich," said 'Skullpit'. "Sadly it burned down in mysterious circumstances a few years ago leaving what would normally be considered a burnt eyesore, but in the case of the Floatel counted as an urban regeneration scheme."
For costly blights, look no further than the capital. The "Walkie Talkie" is particularly shocking, according to 'Imposter', as is Baynard House; 'Philogenes' and 'madoldbat' had little time for the Arcelor Mittal Orbit (above); and 'Vics_toew' can't abide Canada House.
Britain's second city fares little better. "The new Birmingham Central Library is almost as hideous as the old Birmingham Central Library (below)," insisted 'Tim539', while the city's Debenhams wins/loses "hands down, year in, year out", said 'ggraham'.
The Midlands seemed to struggle in general: "Any large commercial building in Nottingham in the last 25 years," should also be avoided, claimed 'Denc', while Northampton Bus Station received the ire of 'Cransley'.
So why all the ugliness? 'Dodgy_jammer' has one theory: "To be approved by a planning committee in Britain, a design for a public building must be considered exciting and progressive. Aesthetic beauty isn't a major consideration."
So is imitation the key? "Anything built after WW2 is ugly," claimed 'Two Bob'. "Unless it has copied the architecture of previous centuries."
But some of us will never be happy. 'Bondi1000' couldn't even offer praise for Parisian architecture: "All those monochrome, repetitive Haussmann boulevards strike me as deathly dull."
Read more
Britain's ugliest new buildings named
The world's ugliest hotels
London's ugliest buildings
