Ugly Canada 2 (Only architecture, planning and design faux pas)

[esquire]

^ Cold war era DIY home radar station by a military enthusiast?

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

One of these days I need to go for a drive south of the city and see this in person:



Geodesic house.

That is painful.

[stevanford1]

The back end of Montreal's Hudson's Bay Store.
https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.50493...7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.50526...7i16384!8i8192

The sad part is the front is amazing!
https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.50411...7i16384!8i8192

[isaidso]

Is the original facade still there or did they destroy it while the back end under went modernization?

[O-tacular]

The window covered over with The Bay sign on the front is ugly. Almost as disrespectful to the building as the infamous CIBC sign.

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Is the original facade still there or did they destroy it while the back end under went modernization?

Nothing in the two historic original buildings were demolished. The latest addition was build on a surface parking lot facing a blind wall. It’s a brutalist building, easy to hate, but it’s fine.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/montr...347/story.html

[DancingDuck]

A new 16 story student housing building under construction in Winnipeg. Not nearly as bad as some of the others posted in here and it will be great for the area, but I'm still not crazy about the design...

2525 Pembina Highway

[stevanford1]

Originally Posted by DancingDuck

A new 16 story student housing building under construction in Winnipeg. Not nearly as bad as some of the others posted in here and it will be great for the area, but I'm still not crazy about the design...

2525 Pembina Highway

I actually kind of like it, most definitely would take it over the crap in Waterloo or the Borg Cube in Toronto.

[someone123]

Progression of ugliness of military facilities in Halifax:

Wellington Gate and barracks, built around 1850-1860:


1940's era replacement of barracks. Gate and fence are still intact circa 1970:


New drill hall:


(More details here)

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by someone123

Progression of ugliness of military facilities in Halifax:

Wellington Gate and barracks, built around 1850-1860:


1940's era replacement of barracks. Gate and fence are still intact circa 1970:


New drill hall:


(More details here)

Wow. a real architectural potato jesus job they did there.

[stevanford1]

Times Sqaure Condos in Burlington isn’t the ugliest building in Burlington by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s still pretty bad.

[Spocket]

I honestly don't understand how people decide that some things are ugly. About the only thing I would consider absolute defilement of viewing space would be the Dungeon in Laval and that thing near what I'm assuming is Calgary since I have no idea about where it is other than the poster's location.

To me, anything that's old and run down is ugly. I don't see the beauty in "grit" like some people do. A building can be old and still beautiful if it's taken care of but that's not the norm.

I honestly don't understand how somebody can even consider that Winnipeg tower under construction or that building in Burlington to be on the ugly side. Memorable? Maybe not but also not ugly.

I can only think of a few buildings in the world that are fairly new that I would consider ugly. That monstrosity somewhere in the Nordic countries (you know it. I can't remember where it is exactly. Copenhagen? Okay, not Nordic but close. Somewhere in that region, anyway) that afterbirth in Yugoslavia (which I honestly think would look fine with a reclad) or the elephant in Bangkok (which isn't ugly so much as stupid looking)

Anyway, the point here is that I'd like to understand how some people define a building's beauty. Mish mash of architectural styles? Okay, I can agree that that's not attractive most of the time, I suppose. Imitations of neo-classical design? I don't think they're ugly at all to be honest. Not what I'd want for myself, I guess but not ugly IMO. But, with that said, I don't like them for the same reason I don't like the "originals". Brutalism,...that's what I have no love for. No color, imposing and monolithic, and just horrible in my opinion. However, there are always people to defend them despite how depressing I find them to be.

So how? How do some you determine what you find ugly? And why?

[esquire]

To me, the cheap, low effort, disposable shit with no regard for the urban landscape epitomizes "ugly Canada".

Think along the lines of the junky beige 90s strip mall "power centres", sort of like this:



Some multistorey buildings are less attractive than others (thinking of that Ft. Mac hotel posted in another thread), but really, no urban tower belongs in this thread IMO.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^You've basically damned every municipality over 3,000 people.

As bad as stripmallopia is, there are plenty of towers deserving to be in this thread.

Canadian International Grains Institute, Winnipeg MB. It's a giant gas pump.

[esquire]

^ Ha, I never looked at it that way before

But I still wouldn't consider it ugly.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^Good lord, apparently the malaise of sprawlopia has dulled your sense of aesthetic to the point where poorly massed zero street interaction buildings with windswept public areas of little value are not ugly.

• Video Link

[stevanford1]

how about the BC Law Courts Building? Dystopian is to kind a word.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by esquire

Some multistorey buildings are less attractive than others, but really, no urban tower belongs in this thread IMO.

Ummmmmm...

[HomeInMyShoes]

L'horloge n'est pas si terrible.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by stevanford1

how about the BC Law Courts Building? Dystopian is to kind a word.

Ugh. Who thought that that much concrete in a climate with a distinct rainy season was a good idea? Oh yeah, as much as I love a lot of his work, this is not part of that pile.