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Someone Asked “What Is The Ugliest Building In Your Country?” And 50 People Didn’t Hold Back
A good building is one that finds the right synthesis between aesthetics on the one hand and functionality on the other. But, truth be told, far from every architect, designer, or urban planner can get this balance right. Some of their projects turn out to be so divisive that they’re both criticized and lauded by locals.
Design-savvy internet users with good taste took to a thread on ‘AskTheWorld’ to call out what they believe are the quirkiest and ugliest buildings in their home countries. They’re the type of architectural projects that you might love to hate or hate to love. Scroll down to check out the pics, and don’t forget to share your opinions.
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#2
Museum Of Pop Culture In Seattle
I think it was voted one of the ugliest buildings in the US a while back.
#3
Instead Of Showing Actually Cool Building I'll Follow The Task, Mexico
Teutonic Disaster 1 week ago
Question: How many building permits were violated during the erection of this monstrosity?
According to CNN, truly ugly buildings tend to have some things in common.
They tend to divide the general public, local residents, and architects. They are so controversial that people protest against them.
These projects usually have very big budgets associated with them. And they’re often attempts by architects to create contemporary or futuristic styling.
#4
Weymouth Street Student Accommodation (Australia). This Is The Ugliest Building In My City
#5
Maybe Not The Whole Country, But This Building In Calgary Makes Me Irrationally Mad
#6
A Lot Of The Mixed Commercial-Residential Complexes In Taiwan Are Such Eye Sores
Balance is everything. A building that is aesthetic but not functional will be beautiful to look at, but it will be a waste of space and a drain on resources. On the other end of the scale, a fully functional building that has no real architectural identity, and is bland or even ugly to look at, might push the locals away and harm the city’s reputation.
You need a symbiosis between beauty and function to bring out the full potential of any building. And while we can’t expect anything close to perfection from any random project, when you’re talking about massive budgets and world-renowned architects, you tend to expect, well, quality.
#7
Home Of The Richest Man In India, This Architectural Malpractice Cost 1 Billion Dollars By The Way
Teutonic Disaster 1 week ago
This looks like it is one medium strength earthquake away from toppeling over.
#8
Boston City Hall Looks Like A Prison
Teutonic Disaster 1 week ago (edited)
Would've expected such a brutalist klotz in places like North Korea or somewhere in the Balkans, but not anywhere in the USA. Yikes 😵💫
#9
For Me Is This One In Buenos Aires City
It makes me think about the panopticon. Was showcase in the Eternaut TV show on Netflix.
What you find beautiful is a matter of taste, sure. But that’s only true to a certain extent. Objectively speaking, there are obvious things not to do when it comes to architecture and design. Like making it clash with the architectural style and legacy of the area surrounding it. Or using overly risky designs or cheap materials that won’t stand the test of time.
Yes, it’s likely that no building will ever be universally praised, and there will always be critics. But intentionally creating divisive designs isn’t a good approach. That being said, you also don’t want to steer clear in the opposite direction with bland, boring, soulless designs that aren’t even a tiny bit memorable. Ideally, as a designer, you want to be bold without being brash.
#10
You Might Think This Is An Ugly Apartment Or Government Building. But In Fact It's A Pig Farm. A 26 Storey Pig Farm. Outputs 1 Million Pigs A Year
This one is ugly outside and also incredibly ugly and smelly inside. (China)
#11
North China University Of Water Resources And Electric Power Has Them Beat
Stucklikegluetomyfry:
Was designing it to look like a giant toilet intentional?
#12
This Building In São Paulo. I Worked In It For A Month. It's Also Ugly Inside. It Just Looks... Wrong
Toika Gao 1 week ago
Just what my mother says about me: "Would be so handsome if he were straight"
Which of the buildings featured here do you personally think are the worst of the bunch? Or, were there any buildings that you genuinely liked due to how unique and quirky they were, despite them being divisive and controversial?
What, in your opinion, is the very worst architectural project in your hometown? What’s the best? Let us know! We’d love to hear your perspective in the comments.
#13
These Student Housing Appartments In The Netherlands Are Quite Insulting
They look like the letters L U and L and spell literally the Dutch word for the male genitals.
#14
This Is The Town Hall Of The City That I Went To High School In, We Nicknamed It “The Pimple”
It’s in the Netherlands and actually got voted ugliest building in the country for a while.
#15
Tokyo. I Think It's Pretty Ugly
Ellinor she/they/elle 1 week ago (edited)
It would be a bit nicer if all the rectangles were colorful.
#16
Wyndham Court, Southampton, England
Actually won an award, too.
#17
The Ugliest Building In The Us Is Probably Simmons Hall, A Dormitory Building At The Massachusetts Institute Of Technology
#18
Nevigeser Wallfahrtsdom, Germany
Yes, it's a church, or more precisely, a pilgrimage church - built in 1968, in glorious concrete.
It's hard to find a good picture of it because it doesn't really have any photogenic angle to it.
persephone134 1 week ago (edited)
I do wonder what the people were thinking who waived the building of this monstrosity through.
#19
I Don't Know About The Rest Of The Country But Brisbane's Ugliest Is Probably The Parliamentary Annex
#20
The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) Headquarters In Hyderabad, India
It's kinda ugly, kinda cute?
#21
Hotel In Edinburgh, Scotland
For some reason someone approved this design and it’s visible to anyone in the city centre, the hot spot for every single tourist that visits the city. Looks like a massive jobby making its way up to the heavens.
#22
Fanum House In Belfast
You all are just pessimistic, image walking past this unimaginative mess everyday, sits empty and city won’t tear it down because of historical significance from what was told.
Colleen Glim 1 week ago
The problem with designating buildings as historical is that they stand empty because very few people want to take on the headache that is restoring them. The problem with not designating buildings historical is that they are torn down and we lose the history. It’s a difficult situation
#23
Elephant Building In Bangkok, Thailand
...it has three legs.
#24
The New Embassy Here In The City Has To Be One Of The Single Ugliest Buildings I’ve Seen Built In Recent Years (Mexico)
Idk what’s worse, the brutalist aesthetic, the rusted metal decorations, or the fact that the architects had every tree on that street cut down and never replanted like they said they would.
#25
Blues Point Tower In Sydney Is Generally Regarded As One Of The Ugliest In Australia
Some people will say the UTS Tower, but they just don’t know how to appreciate brutalist architecture.
#26
The Hq Of The People Liberation Army, Hong Kong
#27
Crack Stacks. Minneapolis, MN
#28
The Wrapper Office Building In Culver City, CA, Gets My Vote. It Looks Even Worse Close Up
#29
This Building Trump Tower In New York City Is The Ugliest Building And Not Only Because Of The Owner
#30
What Could Be Worse Than A Grey Cube? A Grey Cube With Ugly Windows. Embassy Of The United States, London
#31
The Jiangsu Hairy Crab Building Refers To The "Hairy Crab Ecological Museum" Located On The Shore Of Yangcheng Lake In Kunshan, Suzhou, China
This building is known for its giant stainless steel "hairy crab" image, which is 75 meters long and 16 meters high. Its appearance is lifelike. It was originally planned as a crab-themed commercial complex to showcase crab culture, but due to controversies over its design and construction, part of it has been demolished and rebuilt. However, it has left a deep impression on people as a unique landmark.
#32
This Example Of High Australian Architecture Is Up For Sale
#33
The North Dakota State Capitol
#34
The Beehive, Wellington, New Zealand
Actually kinda hard to find a photo that does it justice, all the other photos don’t seem to capture the off yellow aged worn out artistic brutalist vibes.
It’s even worse because Wellington is such a pretty city next to the ocean, cradled by lush hills, with lots of quirky buildings. And then in the middle our parliament building is… this. And man, it wasn’t until I saw a thread like this that I found out other countries have impressive, aesthetically pleasing parliament buildings, tourist destinations! Tourists come to look at this, but I doubt they’d recommend it to their friends.
#35
In Sweden, The Station Building Next To The Train Station
#36
It'll Be A Contest Between All The Different Telstra Phone Exchanges In Our Major Cities. Here's The One On Kent Street In Sydney, Although The One On Exhibition Street In Melbourne Isn't Much Better
#37
The Tour Montparnasse Is Ugly As Sin
Vivian McBride 1 week ago
My French cousin says that it's the box that the Eiffel Tower came in.
#38
World Toilet Association, Located In Suwon, South Korea
#39
A Building At The Wellington International Airport Called The Rock
#40
Salesforce Tower Is A Disgrace To The San Francisco Skyline
Impressive-Time8150:
Idk abt ugly... boring, definitely. That is just a shampoo bottle.
Oliver 1 week ago
SFer here. It’s actually not that bad. This photo is from a weird angle, it’s taller than the Transamerica pyramid in reality. I prefer the pyramid personally but salesforce tower isn’t a blight on the skyline at all. The top section with the lights changes color and looks pretty slick.
#41
We Did Have These Big Wool Bales In A Sheep Industry Heavy Town But They Got Demolished Due To Termite Damage (Australia)
#42
In Japan, We Have The Asahi Buildings Which House The Asahi Breweries HQ
Next to the Asahi Beer Tower (which represents a tall glass of beer with white foam at the top) is Asahi Beer Hall.
The buildings were designed by the French architect Philippe Starck, and the golden thing atop the beer hall is supposed to be a golden flame (it’s official name is “Flamme d’Or” which is French for “Golden Flame.”)
#43
Burj Al Babas Is An Abandoned Residential Development In Mudurnu, Turkey
#44
River North One In Denver, Colorado
The concept proposed a huge green space through the splits in a building. Might have worked if they didn't build it in a high desert.
#45
I Despise The Thompson Center, Tennessee, USA
#46
The Toilet Bowl Building, Virginia. USA
#47
The Orthodox Cathedral In Bucharest, Romania Fits Here
Why? It dwarfes everything around, it is disproportional and has been innaugurated in 2025 - so it just looks old, but isn’t. Also having golden shiny roofs makes my eyes hurt. Made out of tax / public funds.
#48
I Bike Past These Every Day. Bjarke Ingels. The Idea On The Drawing With Turning Squares Seemed Great. But In Reality (Denmark)
#49
The Longanberger Basket Building Near Dresden, OH, USA
#50
The Domenig-House In Vienna, Austria
#51
This Abhorrent Attempt To Look Modern Is Where Our Congressmen Meet To Decide Our Future, Brazil
#52
All Of Those New Towers In Helsinki, Finland
#53
The Swan Bells Tower, Australia
Absolute meme of a building even though it's one of the few bell towers to have a complete set.
#54
Bloor Dundas Square In Toronto
#55
The Queens Wharf Tower In Newcastle Australia
Not necessarily ugly but hilarious nonetheless, the Queens Wharf Tower in Newcastle Australia, and as you can see, why it's hilarious.
#56
This Is The Pentagon. It’s The Headquarters Of The US Department Of Defense
Oliver 1 week ago
Fun facts: 1) it has twice as many bathrooms as it needs due to segregation even though Roosevelt ordered the bathrooms to be integrated when it finally opened. The plans were made long before that order so the extra bathrooms had already been planned for and built.. 2) it was meant to be temporary and demolished after WWII ended because nobody thought such a large building would be needed for the military. If they only knew…
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What do you think ?
Oskar vanZandt 1 week ago
There's a fair few interesting architectural exemplars in this list but there are also more than a few monstrosities...
Huddo's sister 1 week ago
I agree, and the paving is uneven and terrible for people with mobility needs.
Load More Replies...
NJP 1 week ago
Makes you wonder who thoght they looked good in the design phase.
Load More Replies...
Serena Myers 1 week ago
Have a word with BP, Jonas. Smeghead's pic of Newcastle Uni, Newcastle, Australia, that is, is hidden and cannot be replied to. On the other paw, lakshmi whatever 'is face's scam bot post about making money is not hidden and can be replied to. Sort it! Please.
Serena Myers 1 week ago
Might as well save my breath to cool my porridge, as the saying goes. Nobody seems to do anything about these scam bots.
Load More Replies...
Seadog 6 days ago
While a certain level of style is desirable, straying form straight simple construction drives prices up and often results in a less than desirable building. Where I live, they built a new courthouse. Has a round face in front at and above the main entrance. The second floor of this is where the waiting room for jury selection is. This faces south resulting in the entire thing being an oven in the summer. So not only is it not attractive, more expensive to build, it also makes it impossible to cool. And trust me, not one single taxpayer thinks looks over function is important.
Charles Sonnabend 1 week ago
Some of these are at least interesting. I think a list of non-historical buildings that people voted as most beautiful would likely be depressing to anyone who’s given architecture much thought.
WindySwede 1 week ago
The KTH Royal Institute of Technology 's architectural building in Stockholm.. 🤦♂️ Pic below!
Rick Murray 1 week ago
It's been nearly a quarter of a century since I've been resident in England, but I understand there are big tower blocks in the middle of Woking now...
Oskar vanZandt 1 week ago
There's a fair few interesting architectural exemplars in this list but there are also more than a few monstrosities...
Huddo's sister 1 week ago
I agree, and the paving is uneven and terrible for people with mobility needs.
Load More Replies... NJP 1 week ago
Makes you wonder who thoght they looked good in the design phase.
Load More Replies... Serena Myers 1 week ago
Have a word with BP, Jonas. Smeghead's pic of Newcastle Uni, Newcastle, Australia, that is, is hidden and cannot be replied to. On the other paw, lakshmi whatever 'is face's scam bot post about making money is not hidden and can be replied to. Sort it! Please.
Serena Myers 1 week ago
Might as well save my breath to cool my porridge, as the saying goes. Nobody seems to do anything about these scam bots.
Load More Replies... Seadog 6 days ago
While a certain level of style is desirable, straying form straight simple construction drives prices up and often results in a less than desirable building. Where I live, they built a new courthouse. Has a round face in front at and above the main entrance. The second floor of this is where the waiting room for jury selection is. This faces south resulting in the entire thing being an oven in the summer. So not only is it not attractive, more expensive to build, it also makes it impossible to cool. And trust me, not one single taxpayer thinks looks over function is important.
Charles Sonnabend 1 week ago
Some of these are at least interesting. I think a list of non-historical buildings that people voted as most beautiful would likely be depressing to anyone who’s given architecture much thought.
WindySwede 1 week ago
The KTH Royal Institute of Technology 's architectural building in Stockholm.. 🤦♂️ Pic below!
Rick Murray 1 week ago
It's been nearly a quarter of a century since I've been resident in England, but I understand there are big tower blocks in the middle of Woking now...
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