Boston City Hall -- World's Ugliest?

We're number 1!

It's pretty ugly - the Russians would have built something like that concrete
monstrosity.

What was wrong with this one?

This should become our new city hall, but luckily the city is bankrupt.

Nothing at all wrong with that one, Calam. The building's still there, looking impressive as ever. It used to have an excellent French restaurant on the lower level; probably still does. Maison Robert, if I remember correctly.

sorry, i'm not interested in joining that particular forum...

Me either.. but I looked the article up by google - it was one of Reuter's picks yesterday, for example. (sorry, no link).

I rather like Boston City hall in the photo, however over the top of something it is. It's a keeper to me.

Ugly-assed buildings, I could do my own list, and might, but it would take a while.

The immediate one that comes to mind is the one on Carlisle where I get my eyeglasses from the grey bearded character of much charm. White stucco with great big ugly brown rocks fastened to the facade and much of the interior in various formations; low ceilings, and a central staircase that takes up most of the small lobby area. When I first went there, I told Dys and Diane I'd like to bomb it. That's a little aggressive as a descriptive for me.

I saw that article, too. I read all the way through it, expecting to see my pick for Ugliest Building Ever, but it wasn't there...

The de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

Truly, it's in a class all it's own.



The architect should be shot.

I think that N°4, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, isn't bad at all, too.

(But designs by Gibbert are generally not everyone's cup of tea.)

It doesn't exclaim "welcome."

If that's the place I'm thinking of, I liked some of it. Obviously not that face of it, though.

But that reminds me, I semi-hate the new Denver art museum addition by Libeskind, though that has at least partly to do with function. I can see it as a giant sculpture relating to the rocky mountains, not as a great place for art display. Reactionary of me, and I might change my mind if I ever see it in person.

Well, here's the Denver Art Museum and already I'm changing my mind, and think it's beautiful. From this view I can see it can have some room inside it where seeing art is a possibility. I was put off by accounts of people getting dizzy, as the walls cant at different angles, and maybe the floors and ceilings do too, I forget right now.
A lot of the new sculptural buildings at least partly work as "decorated sheds", a phrase by Venturi a few decades ago, and we're seeing more of them because of the new design freedom with computers (though Gehry's Bilbao was not worked out on computer), and great structural engineers like Arup's key guy.

On the de Young, I've hated that inverted chimney thing, for sure... but looking at this photo, it's not so much the inverted chimney shape in its lightest form, but that flat heavy hat it has...



What I must have liked before, was the copper facade part --
oh, and I still do, in this photo..

link -- www.haas-architecture.com/ deYoung.html

How the hell did that happen???

The link is virtualtourist.com

I agree, Eva. The inside is quite maneuverable, but the facade is the pits.

That made me think of the Modern Art Museum in St. Paul. They don't really look anything alike, but the basic concept is the same -- make it stand out like a sore thumb. Last time I was in Minnesota I took a cab from downtown Minneapolis to the museum in St. Paul. The driver, a young guy, didn't seem sure of just where the museum was, so he called his dispatcher on the two-way radio. The dispatcher said: "You know. That new really weird looking building? Can't miss it."

denver art museum;

I remember this (the declaration of Bosotn's Ugliest building) from a couple years ago. <bookmark>

I gave up on the de Young link I gave. Too bad, as it showed the proportions best.
I'll try another one that shows more of the copper exterior..

ooh-fa...