Toronto makes "Top 10 Ugliest Buildings List"

The Michael-Lee Crystal exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum [ROM] has made the second annual VirtualTourist.com top 10 list of ugliest buildings in the world.

There were only four buildings from North America included on the 2009 list, all others were located in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North Korea.

Opened on June 2, 2007, the crystal exhibit was named after Michael Lee-Chin, a Jamaican-Canadian investor who contributed $30 million dollars to its construction.

The actual design came from famed architect Daniel Libeskind and his Berlin-based Studio. Libeskind sketched a conceptual drawing while at a wedding ceremony at the ROM.

The addition was “inspired by the ROM’s gem and mineral collection,” the ROM says.

The exterior consists of 25% glass and 75% “extruded-brushed, aluminium-cladding strips.”

This is the first time a building in Toronto has received the dubious honour. It was ranked 8th place on this years list.

“From the merely unpleasant to the borderline criminal, ugly buildings somehow manage to pop up in even the prettiest cities,” a short introduction paragraph on VirtualTourist.com said.

Following are excerpts from VirtualTourist.com’s “Worlds Ugliest Buildings” list:

1: Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Balitimore, Maryland.

“Looking at the grim, impersonal façade of this once-thriving theater, it’s hard to believe its stage once hosted the likes of Katherine Hepburn and George C. Scott. Although it would be ugly without them, the windows boarded up with wood certainly don’t help matters.”

2: Zizkov TV Tower in Prague, Czech Republic.

“While its ugliness could easily stand on its own, the installation of small, climbing babies by the artist David Cerny transformed this tower from an eyesore to a head-shaker. Originally meant to be temporary, the unusual infant sculptures were re-installed due to popularity!!!”

3: Parliament Building in Wellington, New Zealand.

“A slide projector that fell on a wedding cake that fell on a waterwheel is one description of this building known as “The Beehive.” Built primarily during the ‘70s, its proximity to the neighboring Edwardian neo-classical Parliament House only accentuates its unattractiveness.”

4: Centre Pompidou in Paris, France.

“When looking at the primary color-coded ducts constructed on the outside of this world-famous museum, one quickly sees why these elements are usually hidden. The result of a world-wide competition, this design makes one afraid to fathom what the losing sketches looked like.”

5: Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia.

“Billed as “Melbourne’s Meeting Place,” we’re guessing that this is where city residents meet…to go somewhere else. Frenzied and overly complicated, the chaotic feel of the complex is made worse by a web of unsightly wires from which overhead lights dangle.”

6: Petrobas Headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“A cross between a penitentiary and an unfinished Lego creation is one member’s description of this dreary, block-like structure which occupies a regrettably prominent place in the city’s downtown area.”

7: Markel Building in Richmond, Virginia.

“Although it sounds like urban legend, this futuristic building was in fact inspired by a baked potato served to the architect during a dinner for the American Institute of Architects. If only he’d been served fries instead.”

8: Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Ontario.

“What I.M. Pei’s pyramid is to the Louvre, so is the relatively new Michael Lee-Chin Crystal to the Royal Ontario Museum. While many praise the glass structure, just as many are troubled by the incongruity to the original, more traditional museum that still sits directly beside it.”

9: National Library in Pristina, Kosovo.

“It’s hard to know whether the honeycomb-pattern mesh that coats the outside of this library enhances or worsens this bizarre structure. It’s been said that when the building first opened, some thought the giant net-like feature was actually scaffolding.”

10: Ryungyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea.

“Riddled with issues that range from lack of money to poor construction to rumored collapse, this still unfinished nightmare has been under some form of construction for over 20 years. Started in 1987, construction was halted a few years later and left untouched until fairly recently.”