25 Ugliest Buildings In The World That You Have To See

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.