Who said buildings should be pretty? Nobody probably, but some architects seem to be petulantly fighting that suggestion anyway. Here are some famously ugly(?) buildings that leave us wondering why they weren’t left alone at the blueprint stage.
First World Hotel – Pahang, Malaysia
This bright and colourful (gaudy?) building in the Genting resort was the largest hotel in the world for a while.
Fortunately, the resort is tucked away up a mountain, so unless you’re visiting one of the nearby theme parks or the casino, most people won’t have to lay eyes upon these nightmarish rainbow walls.
Zizkov TV Tower – Prague, Czech Republic
Prague is an immensely beautiful city, except for this ludicrous Soviet-era protrusion ten minutes from the centre. Czech artist David Černý tried to improve it a few years ago by adding sculptures of babies crawling up and down it. We’re not sure that helped. What do you think?
Palace of Culture and Science – Warsaw, Poland
The drab Soviet mindset was also forced upon most of Warsaw’s rebuild after it was nearly completely destroyed during World War II.
The city’s tallest eyesore was installed as a “gift” from Russian Communist-in-Chief Josef Stalin after he had Poland’s elections rigged to install a Communist regime. Rest assured the art-deco interior is equally overblown and silly.
