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

[Xelebes]

Time to create a new thread for Ugly Canada. Thought I would start this off with some clear direction of how this thread will proceed.

This thread is not for pointing out offensive opinions outside of architecture, planning and design. This thread is not for pointing out people in poor health or people with limited design choices.

This thread is about pointing towards things we build that are shoddy, not prepared for display, or misguided theories of form or function.

Proceed.

[O-tacular]

So was the last thread closed because of supposed ageism and so-called 'poverty shaming' then? One too many Depends jokes? It seems more likely that the whole Faith Goldy debate between me and lio was responsible for its demise. Now we have nothing to look back on for posterity. Pages and pages of Clockzilla and The Rooms and The Venetian and Chad Kroeger lost like dust in the wind. A wind that carried a faint tune of "Look at this FRODOgraph" and the stench of Depends.

No more of this guy:



Or Don Cherry. Or Dog Fart. OR Chad Kroeger.


Well here's my contribution of the ugly building variety. I drove by this on Saturday and couldn't figure out WTF that stack jutting out of the centre of the roof of this condo was. Was it originally intended as a chimney? Or was it always destined to be an anchor for ugly cellphone antennas?

https://www.google.ca/maps/@51.12637...7i13312!8i6656

[TorontoDrew]

That's and Baddington, and Beddington. What strange street names to intersect.

[MonkeyRonin]

Here's a new one for us. This building in Chinatown went from this...




...to this:


https://twitter.com/heychristofur/st...ly-makeover%2F

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Here's a new one for us. This building in Chinatown went from this...




...to this:


https://twitter.com/heychristofur/st...ly-makeover%2F

I raise you:

One of the oldest houses still standing in Calgary's Beltline community

From this (on the right)



To this...

[esquire]

Originally Posted by dizzyedge

i raise you:

One of the oldest houses still standing in calgary's beltline community

from this (on the right)



to this...

Good Lord

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

I raise you:

One of the oldest houses still standing in Calgary's Beltline community

All I can think of is this.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

I raise you:

One of the oldest houses still standing in Calgary's Beltline community

From this (on the right)



To this...

Looks like the bones of the original house are still there; so restoring it back to the original porch and balcony look is probably doable if someone wanted to.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

I raise you:

One of the oldest houses still standing in Calgary's Beltline community

From this (on the right)



To this...

What in the actual fuck?!? How was that allowed? Did it not have heritage protection?

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

What in the actual fuck?!? How was that allowed? Did it not have heritage protection?

It hasn't even had it's turn being considered to be evaluated for historic inventory inclusion, which doesn't actually have protection.

Just a note, historical buildings can only get protection in Calgary if the owner applies to the city to implement it.

Even half of the buildings on Stephen Ave have no protection and could be torn down with no notice in theory, although one would hope there would be enough outrage to stop it.

[Pavlov]

^ Ugh. That is truly terrible.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by Pavlov

^ Ugh. That is truly terrible.

I'd say it's just a terrible match for that setting. Spadina is an eclectic mix of colourful, quirky, kitschy, grand, but that's just conservative contemporary.

[TorontoDrew]

Ha, I walked past that last week and couldn't remember what was there before. I have no ill feelings for it, they replaced tacky with bland. I only hope that a decent Chinese restaurant occupies the space one the ground floor.

[O-tacular]

That’s not really ugly, just bland.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

Ha, I walked past that last week and couldn't remember what was there before. I have no ill feelings for it, they replaced tacky with bland. I only hope that a decent Chinese restaurant occupies the space one the ground floor.

I worry that most Canadian cities are getting blander. So much new construction has a modernist suburban shopping mall aesthetic. The acceptable colours are black, white, grey, and blue. The acceptable decorations are horizontal/vertical slats or that fake "framing" (the seemingly pointless white boxes in the example above).

[s211]

Originally Posted by someone123

I worry that most Canadian cities are getting blander. So much new construction has a modernist suburban shopping mall aesthetic. The acceptable colours are black, white, grey, and blue. The acceptable decorations are horizontal/vertical slats or that fake "framing" (the seemingly pointless white boxes in the example above).

I would contend that the latest generation of bland office towers started in Toronto. That design ethic then got pushed out by institutional owners to the rest of the country.

[TorontoDrew]

I Submit the Hotel Intercontinental on Front Street. Since Oxford now owns it it's living on borrowed time.


Built: 1984
Floors: 25
Use: Hotel


[IMG]Intercontinental, Toronto, Ontario by Duane Schermerhorn, on Flickr[/IMG]

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

I Submit the Hotel Intercontinental on Front Street. Since Oxford now owns it it's living on borrowed time.


Built: 1984
Floors: 25
Use: Hotel


[IMG]Intercontinental, Toronto, Ontario by Duane Schermerhorn, on Flickr[/IMG]

The fact that '80s architecture is no longer in fashion does not render it "ugly".

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

The fact that '80s architecture is no longer in fashion does not render it "ugly".

I agree but even as a child I found it ugly. We have plenty of great 80's buildings like One University across the street from it. It just looks like no thought was put into it and the biege concrete has never looked flattering imo.

[esquire]

.