The Ugly Canada Thread

[vid]

What is wrong you people? Why are you still building those things?

Why don't you join the rest of us and start building faux-rustic crap like this:



but taller???

Freaks!!!

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Wharn

I vote the entire Oxford/Wonderland intersection in London, Ontario. I'm out of the city right now, but Google Maps will gladly provide you a view of our urban planning mistakes.

Looking north on Wonderland Road:


Wonderland and Oxford, looking north by rising_sun_19, on Flickr

And to the south:


Wonderland and Oxford, looking south by rising_sun_19, on Flickr

There are also some god awful apartment buildings going up just south of me on Adelaide at Kipps Lane. I'll grab some photos when I'm back later this week.

As the Northern Pikes say, She ain't pretty; she just looks that way.

Fugly. Breznev would have felt right at home. A little Irkutsk in SW Ontario.

[BretttheRiderFan]

I nominate all of 111th Avenue in Edmonton

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_...jBToAdxNFUbr9y8lAi-w&cbp=12,67.28,,0,0.1

[240glt]

It's actually 112 and it is not ugly as it relates to this thread.... it is an example of the decay of a street that was once a busy commercial district.

Interesting to note that while 118th avenue was not in as bad a shape 6 years ago, it was plagued with problems related to the decline of an area. 112 ave between 95 & 86 has decayed far worse than 118th did before the reversal, yet 112 is really a bit of a nop-mans-land..... the issues of 118th never really showed up there.

[MolsonExport]

London's Oxfart/WonderUgly intersection (one of the most important junctions in the "Forest City") is an abomination of utterly terrible urban fabric. Further compounded by adjacent Proudfart lane's "Commie Slabs a la Communiste).

[AuxTown]

Ottawa has a new building to add to the list. Ottawa's Public Housing Corporation took one of their highrises that was ugly but acceptable and replaced much of the brick fascade with siding, creating this disgusting sidescraper in the background:


photo by me

Initially, I thought the siding was temporary but someone told me last week that it is for insulation purposes to save on heating costs. So apparently councillors, angry citizens, and old curmudgeons can fight new and modern proposals to the point of cancellation, but we can't do anything about this aweful reno

[NetMapel]

Oh God I used to live there at Wonderland buildings when I attended UWO there. What an ugly area.

[O-tacular]

Oh please... stop... stop it!!!!! The last 3 pages have made me laugh harder than Will Farrell has in 3 years. Good god there is some ugly shit in this country! Thank you all for showing me that Calgary isn't alone when it comes to ugliness and questionable developers. Wow, that Laval Residences Soleil takes my breath away. It's almost like an addition to the Reno Depot in the second last pic. Keep it up suburban Quebec. It's amazing how much you have in common with rural Alberta.

[O-tacular]

If you're brave enough check out this page on the city of Calgary's website dedicated to this city's ugliest affordable housing tower in Manchester. Only pics I can find are here and they're small. Perhaps they're so ashamed they want to keep it hidden from the general public.
http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server.pt/g...rdable+Housing+Project+Photo+Gallery.htm

[MrOilers]

Originally Posted by BretttheRiderFan

I nominate all of 111th Avenue in Edmonton

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_...jBToAdxNFUbr9y8lAi-w&cbp=12,67.28,,0,0.1

50% of the ugliness on that entire street shown in that link is due to that single pile of shit bottle depot.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by MrOilers

50% of the ugliness on that entire street shown in that link is due to that single pile of shit bottle depot.

In all fairness any bottle depot devalues its neighbourhood by at least 50%.

[Wharn]

Originally Posted by vid

What is wrong you people? Why are you still building those things?

Why don't you join the rest of us and start building faux-rustic crap like this:



but taller???

Freaks!!!

I would honestly prefer this style of building any day to the kind of garbage they're putting up now. I didn't have my good camera with me, but I still managed to capture some of the shittiness that is Kipps Lane:


IMG00023-20110117-1500 by rising_sun_19, on Flickr

This building is almost brand new, put up this past summer, but still using 60's styling. It's as if the planners put no thought into it. London, It is delicious stucco slab, YOU MUST EAT IT. But of course, if you thought this was bad...


IMG00022-20110117-1459 by rising_sun_19, on Flickr

This building tells us the story of its design: the architects procrastinated day after day, and then a few hours before the deadline, they said "You know what, f*ck it" and gave us this horrid eyesore. Right opposite to it are some apartments on the Thames River, which while not architectural marvels they are at least not painful to look at.

When there is better lighting tomorrow (not to mention when I have a better camera), I'll go out looking for more. London has no shortage of eyesores, although I may take a few photos of architecturally pleasing buildings just so people don't think this place is a total shithole.

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

London's Oxfart/WonderUgly intersection (one of the most important junctions in the "Forest City") is an abomination of utterly terrible urban fabric. Further compounded by adjacent Proudfart lane's "Commie Slabs a la Communiste).

Why they continue to allow these things to be put up, I do not know. Londoners can't be that poor, and the planning council can't be that morally bankrupt.

[Simpseatles]

Originally Posted by Wharn

Why they continue to allow these things to be put up, I do not know. Londoners can't be that poor, and the planning council can't be that morally bankrupt.

God I know, there just so ugly! It angers me to see some cities put up nice residential towers connected to the street, and we're still building stucco "towers in the park" like there's no tomorrow! When will the madness end!

[vid]

This is hilarious. It looks like the arches are all different sizes too!

[BretttheRiderFan]

Originally Posted by 240glt

It's actually 112 and it is not ugly as it relates to this thread.... it is an example of the decay of a street that was once a busy commercial district.

Interesting to note that while 118th avenue was not in as bad a shape 6 years ago, it was plagued with problems related to the decline of an area. 112 ave between 95 & 86 has decayed far worse than 118th did before the reversal, yet 112 is really a bit of a nop-mans-land..... the issues of 118th never really showed up there.

The thread just asks for ugly

[Wharn]

Originally Posted by Simpseatles

God I know, there just so ugly! It angers me to see some cities put up nice residential towers connected to the street, and we're still building stucco "towers in the park" like there's no tomorrow! When will the madness end!

Oh you haven't seen dick all yet. My eyes were burned earlier this morning when I set out to find all the ugly things I could along a single corridor. All this was captured in a little under 30 minutes, just driving along the route of the 2 Dundas...

First contestants, from Wharncliffe Road North:


IMG_2252 by rising_sun_19, on Flickr

This is a beautiful example of how NOT to do concrete. That textured brick looks more like an asbestos coating than a suitable building material. I think the Police Squad raiding these apartments (there were 2 black vans and about 4 cruisers that were not in this shot) adds a very nice touch.


IMG_2253 by rising_sun_19, on Flickr

I've always hated these buildings, ever since I first saw them during my undergrad O-week. I'm usually forced to glance at them out of the corner of my eye whenever I want to visit my friends living on Wharncliffe south of Riverside. They are unimaginative, cheap-looking and rather dirty, too.


IMG_2254 by rising_sun_19, on Flickr

I hate this building too. Maybe it's the satellite dish.

But really, Wharncliffe is smalltime. Prepare for Downtown.


IMG_2256 by rising_sun_19, on Flickr

You think the courthouse was bad, MolsonExport? At least it's somwhat unique! If there was ever a dull, ugly skyline killer contest, the Hilton London would be in the top 5, no question.


IMG_2257 by rising_sun_19, on Flickr

I firmly believe that George Orwell could see the future, he just mixed up London, England with London, Ontario. I actually did not know a view this unpleasant could exist; originally I was going to take pictures of the apartment towers on Colborne Street (Victory Mansions, to the right) as well as the abominations you see lining Dundas, but I managed to fit them all into one shot.


IMG_2260 by rising_sun_19, on Flickr

Now, despite all the shitty concrete monsters, there are some examples of concrete tower blocks that aren't terrible to look at. This one (1 of 3 buildings) behind my townhouse complex on Windermere Road was the inspiration for the Wonderland tower blocks (seriously, they are almost like carbon copies). But for some reason, be it the red brick townhouses, the abundance of trees, the use of glass instead of metal on the balconies, or maybe just the fact I've gotten used to them and there aren't 27 blocks crammed together, the Windermere ones somehow manage to look better.

[Highinthesky]

Considering when both the Hilton and London Tower were built they really aren't that bad. It is unrealistic to think everything is going to be on the level of One London Place.

[MolsonExport]

Words cannot describe the fugliness of the fuglies in this collection of fuglies.

[Wharn]

Originally Posted by Highinthesky

Considering when both the Hilton and London Tower were built they really aren't that bad. It is unrealistic to think everything is going to be on the level of One London Place.

I disagree. An earlier construction date is no excuse for lazy architects. Allow me to demonstrate why this holds true:

Exhibit A: The London Life Insurance Company.


London Life Building by Bun T. Pein Photography, on Flickr

Exhibit B: The Dominion Public Building.



Both of these were built much earlier than One London place, but an emphasis on aesthetics and design means they are very pleasing to the eye. All the concrete crap from North America's pre-1980 cultural dark age, however, is not.

[The_Architect]

Originally Posted by Wharn

I disagree. An earlier construction date is no excuse for lazy architects. Allow me to demonstrate why this holds true:

Both of these were built much earlier than One London place, but an emphasis on aesthetics and design means they are very pleasing to the eye. All the concrete crap from North America's pre-1980 cultural dark age, however, is not.

Art Deco can't be lumped in with 70's era concrete architecture though, completely different eras/focus.