Prettiest and ugliest college building

College Search & Lists
21

<p>Wow, the Cornell building looks like it was made for a horror movie. But the UW building is worse, and ALMOST as gross as the Boston University law building from my post #4. The BU law building, besides being ugly, looks like it’s giving you the finger. I don’t know if I’m overreacting, but I think the designers and approvers of these bad buildings should be doing prison time. Like that one at UMass…beautiful mountains in the background, beautiful red brick buildings fore and aft, and they erect a building in the middle that even the Dubai zoning commission would have rejected as too garish.</p>

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<p>Pretty: Duke University Chapel [Duke</a> University Chapel Night Shot on Flickr - Photo Sharing!](<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/7372431@N05/425929495/]Duke”>Duke University Chapel Night Shot | Duke University Chapel, … | Flickr)</p>

<p>Ugly: The Entire Texas A&M Campus [Texas</a> A&M Campus on Flickr - Photo Sharing!](<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/brandonwardlaw/270957543/]Texas”>http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/brandonwardlaw/270957543/)</p>

23

<p>Two extremes at Georgetown:</p>

<p>Healy Hall: <a href=“http://farm1.static.■■■■■■■■■■/80/249130819_967cf23c7c.jpg?v=0[/url]”>http://farm1.static.■■■■■■■■■■/80/249130819_967cf23c7c.jpg?v=0&lt;/a&gt;
Lauinger Library: <a href=“http://www18.georgetown.edu/data/images/locations/location36.jpg[/url]”>http://www18.georgetown.edu/data/images/locations/location36.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Lauinger was meant to be a modern representation of Healy. Maybe if you squint really hard?</p>

24

<p>Bombshelter chic:</p>

<p>[Image</a> Viewer](<a href=“http://www.berkshireeagle.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1493474]Image”>http://www.berkshireeagle.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=1493474)</p>

<p>Alumni hated it so much, they raised $100 million in order to level it.</p>

25

<p>@ Case Western:</p>

<p>Pretty:
[Visiting</a> Case: Case Western Reserve University](<a href=“http://www.case.edu/visit/tours/casequad/14.html]Visiting”>http://www.case.edu/visit/tours/casequad/14.html)</p>

<p>[Visiting</a> Case: Case Western Reserve University](<a href=“http://www.case.edu/visit/tours/casequad/19.html]Visiting”>http://www.case.edu/visit/tours/casequad/19.html)</p>

<p>uggly:
[Visiting</a> Case: Case Western Reserve University](<a href=“http://www.case.edu/visit/tours/casequad/6.html]Visiting”>http://www.case.edu/visit/tours/casequad/6.html)</p>

26

<p>The ugliest building is Bunche Hall at UCLA. It looks like a giant waffle-iron.</p>

27

<p>JHU! :smiley: [Constantinos</a> Michael » Pictures of the Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus](<a href=“http://cmichae.acm.jhu.edu/blog/2006/11/06/johns-hopkins-homewood-campus-fall/]Constantinos”>http://cmichae.acm.jhu.edu/blog/2006/11/06/johns-hopkins-homewood-campus-fall/)
…
George Peabody Library of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins. (arguably one of the most beautiful library in America) </p>

<p><a href=“http://i159.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/t124/Angel5_022/GeorgePeabodyLibraryBaltimoreMaryla.jpg[/url]”>http://i159.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/t124/Angel5_022/GeorgePeabodyLibraryBaltimoreMaryla.jpg&lt;/a&gt; (People have their marriage ceremonies inside this library.)
<a href=“http://farm1.static.■■■■■■■■■■/76/172221499_39ab346ca3.jpg?v=0[/url]”>http://farm1.static.■■■■■■■■■■/76/172221499_39ab346ca3.jpg?v=0&lt;/a&gt;
…
The Johns Hopkins Hospital - Ranked 1st among US Hospitals for the 18th consecutive year in a row. </p>

<p><a href=“http://imri2008.com/Johns_Hopkins_HospitaL.jpg[/url]”>http://imri2008.com/Johns_Hopkins_HospitaL.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://farm3.static.■■■■■■■■■■/2318/2148329174_9f19f9be82.jpg[/url]”>http://farm3.static.■■■■■■■■■■/2318/2148329174_9f19f9be82.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<h2>:D :smiley: :D</h2>

28

<p>The good: Even if Notre Dame’s football team isn’t great, this building is tough to beat:</p>

<p>[Google</a> Image Result for <a href=“http://www.mathnet.ru/OrgLogos/3533/3533.jpg[/url]”>http://www.mathnet.ru/OrgLogos/3533/3533.jpg](<a href=“http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mathnet.ru/OrgLogos/3533/3533.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mathnet.ru/php/organisation.phtml%3Foption_lang%3Deng%26orgid%3D3533&h=440&w=600&sz=50&hl=en&start=28&um=1&usg=__Rciiknt7uZsVdPVrsJa2qOWQzEs=&tbnid=vHDCOh3OdgwUiM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Duniversity%2Bof%2BNotre%2BDame%26start%3D21%26ndsp%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1T4HPIA_en___US247%26sa%3DN]Google”>http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mathnet.ru/OrgLogos/3533/3533.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mathnet.ru/php/organisation.phtml%3Foption_lang%3Deng%26orgid%3D3533&h=440&w=600&sz=50&hl=en&start=28&um=1&usg=__Rciiknt7uZsVdPVrsJa2qOWQzEs=&tbnid=vHDCOh3OdgwUiM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Duniversity%2Bof%2BNotre%2BDame%26start%3D21%26ndsp%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1T4HPIA_en___US247%26sa%3DN)</a></p>

<p>The ugly: The main library at the U of Toronto INTENTIONALLY looks like a peacock or turkey:
[Google</a> Image Result for <a href=“http://bp2.blogger.com/_eBu3LzghZ9I/Rv2dLZLa0MI/AAAAAAAAAF0/8I1fsHvbHiM/s320/robarts+library.jpg[/url]”>http://bp2.blogger.com/_eBu3LzghZ9I/Rv2dLZLa0MI/AAAAAAAAAF0/8I1fsHvbHiM/s320/robarts+library.jpg](<a href=“http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://bp2.blogger.com/_eBu3LzghZ9I/Rv2dLZLa0MI/AAAAAAAAAF0/8I1fsHvbHiM/s320/robarts%2Blibrary.jpg&imgrefurl=http://diogenesborealis.blogspot.com/2007/09/rom-crystal-ugliest-building-in-toronto.html&h=214&w=320&sz=21&hl=en&start=11&um=1&usg=__zqLYENccZmBtod1BA-IN9hnF7Co=&tbnid=AxQxlk84HzpjgM:&tbnh=79&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRobarts%2Blibrary%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1T4HPIA_en___US247%26sa%3DN]Google”>http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://bp2.blogger.com/_eBu3LzghZ9I/Rv2dLZLa0MI/AAAAAAAAAF0/8I1fsHvbHiM/s320/robarts%2Blibrary.jpg&imgrefurl=http://diogenesborealis.blogspot.com/2007/09/rom-crystal-ugliest-building-in-toronto.html&h=214&w=320&sz=21&hl=en&start=11&um=1&usg=__zqLYENccZmBtod1BA-IN9hnF7Co=&tbnid=AxQxlk84HzpjgM:&tbnh=79&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRobarts%2Blibrary%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1T4HPIA_en___US247%26sa%3DN)</a></p>

29

<p>“Widely loathed,” “UW building stirs contempt.” "They should call it the “Inhumanities’ Building,”</p>

<p>I give you the Mosse Humanities Building–one of the best examples of brutalist architecture on any American campus. Legend has it that the building was designed to thwart attempts by student leftists to take it over.</p>

<p>Google Image Result for <a href=“http://lh3.ggpht.com/_jip359L6j0s/R7p-wx3JstI/AAAAAAAAAxE/mWcNHntmMt4/009.JPG[/url]”>http://lh3.ggpht.com/_jip359L6j0s/R7p-wx3JstI/AAAAAAAAAxE/mWcNHntmMt4/009.JPG&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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30

<p>anything and everything at princeton is beautiful</p>

31

<p>

That looks AWFULLY familiar like the Johns Hopkins Hospital!!!</p>

<p><a href=“http://imri2008.com/Johns_Hopkins_HospitaL.jpg[/url]”>http://imri2008.com/Johns_Hopkins_HospitaL.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

32

<p>Yeah, they do look alike. </p>

<p>Can anybody here with an architecture background explain what’s going through the minds of the people who design or choose to build the “ugly” buildings like the ones shown here? Some are almost painful to look at (eg. the Wisconsin building that looks like a fruitcake), while others (like the Williams College library) are boring and deflating when they could be inspiring. </p>

<p>I only wish Boston College had the cash to do like Williams is doing and replace the hideous O’Neill Library ( [Google</a> Image Result for <a href=“http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper144/stills/11231c94.jpg[/url]”>http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper144/stills/11231c94.jpg](<a href=“http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper144/stills/11231c94.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bcheights.com/news/2006/01/23/Features/The-Name.Behind.The.Buildings.Oneill.Library-1493471.shtml&h=153&w=230&sz=12&hl=en&start=8&um=1&usg=__RqbxvivQyDOt15ytovA5C-u1x3g=&tbnid=HqIwWO7x4rojsM:&tbnh=72&tbnw=108&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtip%2Bo%2527neill%2Blibrary%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1T4HPIA_en___US247%26sa%3DN]Google”>http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper144/stills/11231c94.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bcheights.com/news/2006/01/23/Features/The-Name.Behind.The.Buildings.Oneill.Library-1493471.shtml&h=153&w=230&sz=12&hl=en&start=8&um=1&usg=__RqbxvivQyDOt15ytovA5C-u1x3g=&tbnid=HqIwWO7x4rojsM:&tbnh=72&tbnw=108&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtip%2Bo%2527neill%2Blibrary%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1T4HPIA_en___US247%26sa%3DN)</a> ) with something that fits in with the rest of the campus better. Are there any pictures of the proposed replacement library at Williams?</p>

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<p>Especially in the fall when the leaves have turned.</p>

34

<p>[New</a> Sawyer Library, DD drawings, May 2008](<a href=“http://www.williams.edu/go/stetsonsawyer/NewSawyer_DDpage.htm]New”>Stetson-Sawyer Building Project, Williams College)</p>

35

<p>gd016, you are so right!<br>
The NU library bears a striking resemblance to the UChicago library. That neo-Brutalist is just ugly!</p>

<p>I don’t know if you are counting dorms or just classroom buildings, but these dorms at Tulane were depressing as can be in real life. They looked like a cheap, no-tell motel, and I really disliked the room doors opening to the outside, motel-style.</p>

<p>[Irby</a> and Phelps Halls](<a href=“http://housing.tulane.edu/buildings/IrbyandPhelpsHalls.php]Irby”>http://housing.tulane.edu/buildings/IrbyandPhelpsHalls.php)</p>

36

<p>I would argue that Mosse building is the coolest thing ever. If a building alone can reduce a man to tears it should be legendary.</p>

<p>Also, how could I forget about Wean Hall at CMU? It’s one of the largest poured concrete structures in the world. In the pictures you’re only looking at it from the fifth floor and up. On the other side of the building is a cliff and a blank concrete wall with a few windows in it.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~kedar/imgs/cmu/wean.jpg[/url]”>http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~kedar/imgs/cmu/wean.jpg&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.weblo.com/asset_images/large/46169a586b178.jpg[/url]”>http://www.weblo.com/asset_images/large/46169a586b178.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And that weird thing sticking out over the entrance? It’s a lecture hall used almost exclusively by the CS department. Even if you didn’t know that prior to walking in, you’d be able to guess by the smell. :(</p>

37

<p>Pizzagirl, could you rent those Tulane dorm rooms by the hour, and did they have a big neon sign advertising in-room jacuzzis?</p>

<p>I think it should be mandatory for Joe Pesci to sit in on every college planning committee meeting, and when some bright young cutting-edge architect mentions the word “brutalist,” Joe would be required to hit him over the head with a wine bottle and tell him “get the f&%# outta here!!!”</p>

38

<p>I always thought Humanities looked OK from the outside. Finding anything was another story.
And Princeton does have some very average buildings. The “modern” design dorms just shout “state school.”</p>

39

<p>"And Princeton does have some very average buildings. The “modern” design dorms just shout “state school.”</p>

<p>I don’t think so. Every single ranking of campus beauty that I’ve ever seen ranks Princeton in the top 10. Many times, it’s in the top 3. Have you ever been to Princeton? The buildings here are by no means average. In fact, we just finished a library designed by Frank Gehry.</p>

40

<p>I love how it says ‘SORRY WORLD’ on the top of Wean Hall XD</p>