Appreciating the beauty of magnificent architecture of tall towering buildings is not at all difficult to do. While most people find modern buildings with the latest design trends attractive, there are still a remaining few who find beauty in the old and massive structures.
Atlas Obscura has recently asked its community members about buildings they adore that are usually perceived by others as “ugly”. Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of these misunderstood architectural designs. It is also quite interesting that most of the responses were architectures that adhered to brutalism, mostly institutional buildings from universities.
The way the respondents cherish these uncommonly designed buildings is very inspiring; we think that finding beauty in the unconventional is truly wonderful. Here are some of the most noteworthy responses from the survey. If you are interested in reading more responses, check out Atlas Obscura’s Community forums and add in your inputs.
Hilton San Francisco Financial District
San Francisco, California Formerly the Holiday Inn, Chinatown, the Hilton San Francisco Financial District is a massive concrete building that soars to the sky.
There is something absolutely appealing about this structure, perhaps the neat and innovative bridge that you can cross to get to the park across the road.
University of Colorado Engineering Center
Boulder, Colorado Many people see the Engineering Center campus building at the University of Colorado, Boulder as the most unattractive building in the whole school. I, however, find it beautiful.
Its look may be different from the rest of the buildings who follow a ‘Tuscan’ design, but I enjoyed hanging out here even though I was not an Engineering major. I spent many hours in the building, just exploring its interesting interior.
Boston City Hall
Boston, Massachusetts The hall was built in the year 1968 and was created in order to assume the function of the Old City Hall. It’s brutalist architecture was rather controversial.
It was designed by architects Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles with Campbell, Aldrich & Nulty, engineers LeMessurier Consultant. The City Hall is part of the Government Center complex and was made to modernize the surrounding plaza in the 1960s.
Wescoe Hall at the University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas There is something about Wescoe Hall on the University of Kansas campus. It is true that the exterior is not at all that desirable, but I like it nonetheless. The interior is also quite underwhelming and a little bit dated. It is filled with maze-like hallways, always winding and looping.
Many people claim that the building was originally created as a parking lot, but was then transformed into the English department. This story has not yet been proven, however.