The cement concrete exterior of Boston City Hall helped it land as number 4 on Buildworld’s list of the ugliest buildings in the world -- and as the second ugliest building in America. [Keith Bedford/Globe Staff/Getty Images]
Buildworld, a go-to source for building materials in the United Kingdom, has ranked the ugliest buildings in the world with help from Twitter.
Nine of the 10 ugliest buildings were found to be in the U.S. or UK, according to Buildworld’s research. They compiled a list of buildings known to be unpopular and used a tool called HuggingFace to analyze just how often people tweeted negative thoughts about each building’s design.
Their analysis found the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh gets the most negative chatter online — making it the world's ugliest building.
Top 5 ugliest buildings in the world
Ranking in at number 1 on Buildworld’s list of the ugliest buildings in the world, the Scottish Parliament building is pictured in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh, on September 30, 2008. [ED Jones/AFP via Getty Images]
- Scottish Parliament Building: Edinburgh, Scotland [42% of tweets criticizing building’s design]
- J. Edgar Hoover Building: Washington, D.C., USA [38%]
- Newport Station: Newport, Wales [25.73%]
- Boston City Hall Boston, USA [25%]
- Preston Train Station: Preston, England [20%] [not pictured]
A list of the 10 ugliest buildings in the U.S. is below.
The Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh: 2004
The branch-shaped design of the building is said to reference Scottish architectural history and mirrors the landscape. [Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images]
The branch-shaped design is said to have references to Scottish architectural history and was created to mirror the landscape. The building was opened by Her Majesty The Queen in 2004.
The design is said to mimic the founding principles of the Scottish Parliament itself: openness, accessibility, sharing power and equal opportunity.
It’s made from a mixture of steel, oak, and granite.
J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C.: 1975
The J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington, D.C. ranked as the ugliest building in the U.S. and the second ugliest building in the world, according to Buildworld. [Photo by Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images]
The building that houses the FBI headquarters is the least-loved building in America, Buildworld found.
The building was approved in the early 1960s and wasn’t dedicated until 1975.
For economic reasons at the time, poured concrete was insisted to be the major outside building material, contrasting with the traditional marble, granite, or limestone government buildings — though poured concrete was a major architectural style of the ‘60s.
The building has an open mezzanine and courtyard, but access to the courtyard is limited, and most of the first floor is closed to facilitate security.
Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang: Unopened
North Korea's tallest structure, the Ryugyong Hotel, ranked as the seventh ugliest building in the world, according to Buildworld. It is shown here in 2011. [Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images]
The Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea’s capital, nicknamed the "Hotel of Doom," is notable because it’s the only building outside of the U.S. and U.K. to make the top 10 list. It ranked at number 7.
The pyramid-shaped 105-story building has towered over the skyline since 1987 and is still unfinished, with no public date for when, or if, it will host guests. It has gone through several phases of design changes.
Questions remain over whether the glass-and-concrete hotel is structurally sound, according to a report from Associated Press in 2018.
Top 10 ugliest buildings in the U.S.
Number 10 - The Florida State Capitol building in Tallahassee. [Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images
What’s the ugliest building you’ve ever seen? Is it in your city? Maybe you’ve see it on TV or on social media. It can be downright frightening as to how ugly some buildings can be [what the heck are these architects thinking?]. Now, we have already published several posts dedicated to architecture such as these 25 Modern Architects Whose Works Are Truly Inspiring, these 25 unknown architectural wonders or these 25 amazing examples of Baroque architecture. However, on today´s post we will focus on buildings so unattractive and ugly you will wonder how they could ever get built. On the other hand, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so there might some people who find these buildings attractive.
At any rate, these are 25 Ugliest Buildings In The World That You Have To See To Believe.
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Located south of the Loop ‘L’, at 400 S. State Street in Chicago, Illinois, the Harold Washington Library is a weird mixture of Neoclassical features and glass-and-steel Mannerism.
An unfinished 105-story pyramid-shaped skyscraper, the Ryugyong Hotel is a pathetic, concrete memento of former North Korea´s government´s ambitions to build the world´s tallest hotel.
Completed in 1997, the Elephant Building in Bangkok is one of the most iconic features of the city but it also ranks among the ugliest structures in the world. It is supposed to resemble an elephant but… can you really see it here?
The capital of the Czech Republic, Prague is full of amazing architectural jewels but the Zizkov Television Tower is definitely not one of them. Yes, those little things are sculptures of babies crawling up the tower.
This creepy bubble-like complex was built as experimental houses in the Dutch town of Den Bosch, the hometown of Hieronymus Bosch, the 15th-century painter known for his nightmarish paintings. Makes sense.
Located in Al Raha, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, this unusually shaped structure is the first circular building of its kind in the Middle East but its attractiveness is, to put it mildly, debatable.
In spite of the intricate detail and effort put into decorating this building in downtown Louisville, it hasn’t stopped it from consistently being rated as one of the ugliest buildings in the world.
This bizarre building was designed with the aim “to break the excessive uniformity”. Obviously, it met this goal but we think it broke much more than just uniformity.
Located in Belarus´ capital Minsk, the National Library of Belarus has the shape of a rhombicuboctahedron. Yes, a rhombicuboctahedron.
No, these are not nuclear reactors, nor it is a giant bra sculpture. It is the Landmark Theatre in Devon, Southern England.
Another architectural “jewel” built in England, the Selfridges Building is a shopping centre and the iconic landmark of Birmingham. Completed in 2003 at a cost of £60 million [$75 million], the building leaves some people swooning and others cringing.
The Longaberger Company, an American manufacturer and distributor of handcrafted maple wood baskets, had its Ohio headquarters designed as a 9,000-ton copy of a woven-wood basket.
Located in Barcelona, Spain, the Agbar Tower is a 38-story skyscraper that is supposed to recall the shape of a geyser rising into the air. Needless to say its shape reminds most people of something completely different.
A 15-story municipal office building located in downtown Portland, Oregon, the Portland Building looks like an unappealing, random mixture of unsuitable colors, shapes and designs.
Shaped like an inverted pyramid, the Slovak Radio Building is widely considered one of the ugliest buildings in the world. Nevertheless, Slovak architects continue to defend the design.
Although it may have been considered hip and cool for its time, the building is often criticized today for its dreariness and out-of-place architecture. Built in 1968, it is a prominent example of the brutalist architectural style.
Even Paris, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, has some buildings that are actually not so beautiful. The Pompidou Center, a public library and museum of modern art, looks as if it was still under construction.
Located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Petrobras Building is the headquarters of Petrobras, a semi-public Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry. The uninspiring design of the building resembles a blend of Tetris and game of Jenga.
Colorful buildings are usually perceived as cheerful and optimistic but this giant Malaysian hotel [with over 6,100 rooms] is a perfect example of how a paint job can just ruin everything.
The Federation Square is a mixed-use development in the inner city of Melbourne, Australia. Its disconcerted design is made worse by the web of wires which hang above the structures.
Serving as headquarters to China Central Television, this interestingly shaped, 44-story building located in downtown Beijing is also known as the “squatting man”. A very apt nickname indeed.
The design of this Japanese college is – according to their web sites – supposed to represent a new order achieved through tolerance of chaos. We think they totally succeeded in the chaos department.
Designed by the renowned Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, the Museum of Pop Culture is located on the campus of Seattle Center in Washington. The building is undoubtedly interesting but not very pleasing to the eye.
There are many things that the National Library of Kosovo resembles but none of them are beautiful.
Located in the Miramar District of Havana, the Embassy of Russia is a striking constructivist building that was completed in 1987. With its bizarre shape of a syringe, it probably is the ugliest embassy building in the world.
What is the ugliest building in the world?
Key Findings.
The Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh is the world's ugliest building, according to Twitter users..
The J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, D.C., is America's ugliest building..
The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, is the ugliest building outside of the UK and U.S..
Where is the 2nd ugliest building in the world?
The Žižkov Television Tower in Prague has been called "the second-ugliest building in the world" and is said to evoke the country's communist past.
What is the ugliest building in New York City?
That hideous Verizon building. The building has long been known as a “blight” to the NYC skyline, according to 6sqft.com. The building was erected in 1975 and reaches 540 feet into the sky. It's no longer owned by Verizon, but by Sabey Data Center Properties, which calls it “iconic architecture” on its website.
What is the ugliest building in Kentucky?
The Ugliest Building in the United States Well, it's home to Louisville's Ruth Chris Steakhouse. The Kaden Tower landed at number one on this ranking. Here's what Travel A Lot had to say about the Kaden Tower: The Kaden Tower in Louisville was apparently designed by a student of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.