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Belgian Guy Documents Ugly Houses He Sees And They’re So Bad, It’s Hilarious (30 Pics)
Thanks to blogger Hannes Coudenys and, of course, the architects themselves, Belgium has become notorious for its quirky buildings. In 2012, Coudenys decided to begin documenting the peculiarities of Belgian architecture on an Instagram account called 'Ugly Belgian Houses,' and it has drawn the attention of architecture design enthusiasts from all over the world.
But really, how hideously bizarre can a house design really be? Scroll down to check out the list of outrageously weird houses below, and let us know what you think in the comments!
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"Architect: ‘What kind of windows would you like?’ Client: ‘Yes’"
Coudenys had noticed that for some reason, Belgians have a different understanding of what is good architecture and exterior design. So he decided that he had to share it with the world. "Normally, if you like architecture you like good houses, but in Belgium, there’s a lot of ugly houses. So I started taking pictures of it, " he told Bored Panda.
Coudenys explained that when it comes to house ideas, people in Belgium like to go against the flow. "Because regulations are quite liberal and we love to design our own quirky dreamhouse," he said.
"FELIX DA HOUSECAT"
Despite rapidly gaining attention online with so many people left in awe of the uniqueness of the buildings, Coudenys admits that many house-owners were not pleased about their bad design homes facing scrutiny online. "I received emails from lawyers and eventually gave in, stopping the blog altogether. I can understand the negative reactions in a way... It's the house of their dreams and I am demolishing it! " he explained.
Luckily, he decided to relaunch his blog in 2013, although this time he encourages people to contact him directly if they are not pleased with seeing their house on the blog. Scroll below for the design fails of Ugly Belgian Architecture!
"When u wanted to live in a fairytale but you chose to live in Shrek’s Swamp House"
"Textures loading"
"Say Cheese!"
"'No, your other left'"
"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who´s the fanciest house of them all??, Oh, me, me!"
"Windows not installed"
"Architect: what do you want
Guy: legs of a lego man
Architect: say no more fam"
Omg, this is in my hometown, the back of the other half goes into the air as well. They've been building this for years but are having problems and it's still not finished.
"When you have a beautiful Belgian House but you really want to be on my website"
Perfect contrast! - Beautiful old architecture Vs We just can't be bovvered 😂
"When you’re on a field trip and you loose the rest of your group"
"Looks like Frodo finally settled down in the suburbs"
That one looks actually pretty nice to me, except the stones taht look a bit dirty and could need a cleaning...It looks a bit sad like that
In Iowa, they would also use the part of the field on the right as the lawn and wouldn’t bother bringing the equipment in to cultivate such a small swatch. And the house would be twice as wide. ;)
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There's one thing I've always hated about Belgian houses. I seriously remember hating this as a little kid when we were driving through Belgium. THOSE FREAKING UGLY WHITE/GREY TILES ON ONE OR TWO SIDES OF THE HOUSE THAT ARE ALWAYS LOOKING DIRTY. UHGGG. x'D Someone once told me it's to protect the house from the rain, but it rains just as much in the neighbouring country where I live, and we don't need those freaking tiles. :P
It's made of Eternit (you know, this asbestos thing), and we had some huge asbestos plants in Belgium. So I guess those tiles were pretty cheap, and they are indeed all over everywhere, and ugly s can be. Very drab.
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I guess the farmes is swearing all the time when he has to go around it with his tractor
I wish someone would finish building these runways so I can get myself that Jumbo jet.
Looks like another cut-off house, but that doesn't make it ugly. I'm actually curious about its history.
I see the vehicle but where exactly does it go. Stuck in the middle with you.
Often w farmer building on his farmland. That's the only thing aloud in Belgium. A farmer building a home on farmland.
I am a bit concerned if they quite some pesticides! Else, that's the land you own!
I'd feel a bit desolate living in this house, in the middle of these flat fields. And imagine the mileage, when you have to mow the lawn!
An yet they still have a lawn they must mow! Can you imagine the dust when they cultivate the fields
This one does not belong on your page. A creative solution for a small island of space. Would suggest installing windows 0n rhe side walls.
they are homes like this in Ireland as well. I wonder if some of these homes are influenced by the last 2 world wars when so much was devastated...that would explain the half homes.
Just think of all that dust blowing in, and the pesticides and herbicides. I know, I live next to a farm field!
Think of all that dust from the fields! Not to mention pesticides and herbicides.
Okay I really feel the need to explain to non Belgians : there used to be a law that made building of houses in ribbonbuilding type cheaper. Hence any guy that had a small plot had this kind of house built (meant tho have other houses directly adjacent on both sides). Then came another law that forbid construction in certain zones but couldn't have previously build houses removed. Then... came this.... You can "admire" these all over the country.
I don't think the owner wasn't selling. It looks like he was the only one wanting to build there and somehow he got a permit.
ooo it looks like the house and garden and everything was nicely rolled up and then rolled out like a carpet in the middle of the field!
Just because someone refuses to sell their land to the big farming conglomerate eating up all the acreage, doesn't mean it's an ugly house. Maybe it's an ugly farm.
"For that cosy under the bridge feeling"
"NEIN NEIN NEIN"
"When Belgians move"
There's always that one neighbor that must be different from the others, in a stupid kind of way.
"What did one pyramid say to the other?
– How’s your mummy!"
"Total eclipse of the house"
This is one of those "IS IT UGLY OR IS IT SO F*****G DEEPLY ARTISTIC THAT WE DONT GET IT..? SMILE AND PRETEND YOU GET IT HONEY.."
"Zaha Hadid from the Aldi"
I wouldn't say they're ALL ugly. ____ But they're certainly unique
I liked quite a few of them. Even ugly is better than cookie cutter boring. Plus they could be spectacular insir.
@Mascha Claessens, I bet you are Dutch and you don't like the Belgians. Right?
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Headed south on I-95, there was a shoe house on the right hand side in North Carolina, I think it was. It was locally famous and was lived in until the 70s or so by an old woman. It may have become a museum after that because I remember seeing it through the 80s and part of the 90s. I think it may be torn down by this point, but please don't hold me to that. I haven't driven south in years.
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I'm torn on that house that has few/no windows. On one hand, I want my home to have windows. On the other, I have black-out curtains on all my windows. ;-)
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It looks like they have a thing for houses with "expression" (eyes and mouth)...
There are a lot of ugly houses in Belgium du to lack of uniformity in the rules of building and due to the fact that a lot of Belgian wants to build "their house". But just type "House Belgium" on google and you'll see beautiful houses, we have talented architects don't worry
I love these houses. Much better than in my country where everything is regulated. When you want to build a house there are some lame civil servents that decide what you're allowed to build. Which kind of roof, the slope of the roof, the color of the roof, the bricks, the amount of windows, the size of the windows etc.etc. Just ridiculous.
We just love building houses :D there is a saying here in Belgium that translates to 'every Flemming is born with a brick in his stomach'. (Flemming: from Flandria, Dutch speaking part of Belgium) Keep in mind that our houses are a lot different than the average American house. We build mostly with bricks and/or concrete (even the interior walls), we use awesome foundations, etc. And we like to do it ourselves :) we built our own house too. Took up to almost 5 years to finish, but we love it!
The saying is "The Belgians have a brick in their stomach", it's not only related to Flemming, but also to Waloons ;)
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If they pass a law stating you can't build drunk, I think it would solve a lot of this.
I'm surprised you get permission to build houses that don't fit the surrounding houses. Especially when built next to historic looking houses.
That's one of the many beauties of Belgium. There is actually a term that has been coined in architecture called "Bruxellisation" that describes the total mayhem of Brussels architecture :)
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None of them are ugly. They are unique, special and beautiful
Some are truly idyllic.. skinny farm house plot is a dream to me
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i think the Belgians put weed in their hot chocolate or whatever they were imbibing.
I'm not sure what the problem is, here. Most of these are just unusual. If you want to see ugly, boring architecture come to Berlin and look at all the new builds: one grey, boring box after the other.
They definitely have a thing against windows. I'd love to see them from the inside.
Some of these houses would be great as settings for mysterious supernatural fantasy type novels.
Wow these are amazingly weird! I love them, it's good to see such unique buildings. You would never get away with anything like them here in Britain, everyone is so uptight and boring, generally speaking that is..... The local council planning departments. ;-)
I had to ask for a freaking permit just to change the COLOR or my house when they did the insulation, so no, we don't have "liberal regulations", it's actually the opposite :/
Let's not forget that Belgium lacks architectural supervising (like the Netherlands for instance), so you may build (more or less) whatever you want. You can see almost everywhere the lack of harmony between stiles of close buildings and, not seldom, the complete lack of good taste.
Well, taste is questionable, right? And we do have areas where all the houses are built in the same style. But most regulations are about height, type of roof, slope of the roof, ... not about the style you choose.
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I'm from the Netherlands, travel to Belgium almost every day (by train). And, especially if you're travelling by car, you always just know when you have crossed the border: A) the roads are way more crappy, B) the houses are UGLY AS HELL (most of these are kinda funny, but most houses are just plain ugly and depressing), and C) 70 km/h roads right through towns, like right in front of people's front doors. But it's a nice country anyway. Especially the cities (AND BEER) are nice :)
I agree with you on the crappy roads thing :p but we have some of the worlds best architecture and interior design, so I definitly wouldn't call all our houses ugly :D and most of all, we put a lot of love into building it...
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Why would you call them ugly ? Just because it's a different style of architecture than what you have in the US ? These are just Belgian style houses. Educate yourself.
Euhm, Bored Panda didn't name them that. The Belgian guy who started the series did...
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Where in Belgium where those pics taken? I'm in West-Vlaanderen and haven't seen any of those whack houses yet. Some are normal like pic 2 (really old houses), but aside from that.... nope
They are atrocious. All of them. They are ugly and out of place and is it the same 'architect'. Arrest him or her.
Guys, don't downvote him. It's TJler's new account because he was banned from the last two//three. He's just asking for downvotes. Remember, upvote
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I wouldn't say they're ALL ugly. ____ But they're certainly unique
I liked quite a few of them. Even ugly is better than cookie cutter boring. Plus they could be spectacular insir.
@Mascha Claessens, I bet you are Dutch and you don't like the Belgians. Right?
Load More Replies... Headed south on I-95, there was a shoe house on the right hand side in North Carolina, I think it was. It was locally famous and was lived in until the 70s or so by an old woman. It may have become a museum after that because I remember seeing it through the 80s and part of the 90s. I think it may be torn down by this point, but please don't hold me to that. I haven't driven south in years.
Load More Replies... I'm torn on that house that has few/no windows. On one hand, I want my home to have windows. On the other, I have black-out curtains on all my windows. ;-)
Load More Replies... It looks like they have a thing for houses with "expression" (eyes and mouth)...
There are a lot of ugly houses in Belgium du to lack of uniformity in the rules of building and due to the fact that a lot of Belgian wants to build "their house". But just type "House Belgium" on google and you'll see beautiful houses, we have talented architects don't worry
I love these houses. Much better than in my country where everything is regulated. When you want to build a house there are some lame civil servents that decide what you're allowed to build. Which kind of roof, the slope of the roof, the color of the roof, the bricks, the amount of windows, the size of the windows etc.etc. Just ridiculous.
We just love building houses :D there is a saying here in Belgium that translates to 'every Flemming is born with a brick in his stomach'. (Flemming: from Flandria, Dutch speaking part of Belgium) Keep in mind that our houses are a lot different than the average American house. We build mostly with bricks and/or concrete (even the interior walls), we use awesome foundations, etc. And we like to do it ourselves :) we built our own house too. Took up to almost 5 years to finish, but we love it!
The saying is "The Belgians have a brick in their stomach", it's not only related to Flemming, but also to Waloons ;)
Load More Replies... If they pass a law stating you can't build drunk, I think it would solve a lot of this.
I'm surprised you get permission to build houses that don't fit the surrounding houses. Especially when built next to historic looking houses.
That's one of the many beauties of Belgium. There is actually a term that has been coined in architecture called "Bruxellisation" that describes the total mayhem of Brussels architecture :)
Load More Replies... None of them are ugly. They are unique, special and beautiful
Some are truly idyllic.. skinny farm house plot is a dream to me
if you need fast financial help kindly contact Mr Paolo a private lender in USA contact email: paolodevera770@gmail.com welcome and note that this is a genuine offer.
if you need fast financial help kindly contact Mr Paolo a private lender in USA contact email: paolodevera770@gmail.com welcome
i think the Belgians put weed in their hot chocolate or whatever they were imbibing.
I'm not sure what the problem is, here. Most of these are just unusual. If you want to see ugly, boring architecture come to Berlin and look at all the new builds: one grey, boring box after the other.
They definitely have a thing against windows. I'd love to see them from the inside.
Some of these houses would be great as settings for mysterious supernatural fantasy type novels.
Wow these are amazingly weird! I love them, it's good to see such unique buildings. You would never get away with anything like them here in Britain, everyone is so uptight and boring, generally speaking that is..... The local council planning departments. ;-)
I had to ask for a freaking permit just to change the COLOR or my house when they did the insulation, so no, we don't have "liberal regulations", it's actually the opposite :/
Let's not forget that Belgium lacks architectural supervising (like the Netherlands for instance), so you may build (more or less) whatever you want. You can see almost everywhere the lack of harmony between stiles of close buildings and, not seldom, the complete lack of good taste.
Well, taste is questionable, right? And we do have areas where all the houses are built in the same style. But most regulations are about height, type of roof, slope of the roof, ... not about the style you choose.
Load More Replies... I'm from the Netherlands, travel to Belgium almost every day (by train). And, especially if you're travelling by car, you always just know when you have crossed the border: A) the roads are way more crappy, B) the houses are UGLY AS HELL (most of these are kinda funny, but most houses are just plain ugly and depressing), and C) 70 km/h roads right through towns, like right in front of people's front doors. But it's a nice country anyway. Especially the cities (AND BEER) are nice :)
I agree with you on the crappy roads thing :p but we have some of the worlds best architecture and interior design, so I definitly wouldn't call all our houses ugly :D and most of all, we put a lot of love into building it...
Load More Replies... Why would you call them ugly ? Just because it's a different style of architecture than what you have in the US ? These are just Belgian style houses. Educate yourself.
Euhm, Bored Panda didn't name them that. The Belgian guy who started the series did...
Load More Replies... Where in Belgium where those pics taken? I'm in West-Vlaanderen and haven't seen any of those whack houses yet. Some are normal like pic 2 (really old houses), but aside from that.... nope
They are atrocious. All of them. They are ugly and out of place and is it the same 'architect'. Arrest him or her.
Guys, don't downvote him. It's TJler's new account because he was banned from the last two//three. He's just asking for downvotes. Remember, upvote
Load More Replies...