Saudi Arabia to build mile high building called "OK, knock that down motherf*cker"

How high does a tower need to reach before it's considered too high? If you think relaxing up on top of the Burj Khalifa's At.mosphere won't give you vertigo, try Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Tower — a structure that will extend one mile upwards — almost twice the height of Dubai's tallest.

Read more here.

Ryerson and Toronto plan to erect city's ugliest building

Remember the source of this is BlogTO, so they're all gaga over it.

While it won't necessarily make up for the loss of the former Empress Hotel, the northeast corner of Yonge and Gould will be a lot prettier by 2015, when construction is slated to be finished on Ryerson's new Student Learning Centre. Although the project has been in the works for years, new renderings reveal what should be a stunning addition to downtown Yonge Street and the university's campus.

Read more here, but beware of a whole heep of hideous.

Drew Adams and his nightmarish plans for suburbia

How nightmarish you ask? Observe:

The most contentious is probably a rezoning that would allow a new layer of housing in spaces now occupied by front yards.

“Front setback policies create a lot of space that is never used,” Adams says. “These allowances are really problematic.”

In his thesis, Adams starts with a typical subdivision from Richmond Hill. Houses are set well back from the sidewalk, even further from the street. It’s clear that the space in between could be put to many other uses. In his scheme, Adams imagines a row of small houses, maybe two storeys, that fill these spaces and form a high-density, mixed-use, streetscape.

Mr. Adams, go back to your Lego, this is more suited to your skill set.

Read more here.

Why Toronto continues to be hideous

Toronto is not a beautiful city. There may be some interesting architectural pieces here and there, but they are rare. Much like spotting a flower in a field of weeds.

Torontonians are notoriously clueless in matters of taste. World Class Clueless.

So when the winners of this years Pug Awards [Self-described as the "People's Choice Awards for Architecture," the Pug Awards were started in 2004 to give the public a voice about the various projects that are being built in the city.] were announced, it should come as no surprise that the good people of Toronto would consider this:



With its innovative design, the Teeple-designed building was the definite favorite to win.

The voters are nuts and quite probably blind.

Read more here.

ArcelorMittal Orbit: World's ugliest tower to be built in London

I know I know, they said the same thing about the Eiffel Tower when it was built, but the difference is this new one really *is* ugly.

London Mayor London Mayor Boris Johnson has revealed a model of the spiralling sculpture which Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor has designed to mark the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The 115m tall piece, named the ArcelorMittal Orbit, will be placed in the Olympic Park and will be 22m higher than New York's Statue of Liberty.

The £19.1m design incorporates the five Olympic rings and will offer visitors panoramic views of London.

Read more here.

Not everyone agrees of course. Listen to this panel of "art experts" have a communal orgasm over an exhibition of Kapoor's work.

"I can't trust my senses cause they've been deregulated in some way..."

Read more here.

One Bloor: Hideous mock ups unveiled

In what will surly give Tocondo's Condo Sheep an instant hard on, the mock ups of the 2nd version of the One Bloor project have been unveiled.

With the usual modest “This is the most important corner in the GTA, and possibly in all of Canada,” style of announcement, at street level it's actually just another glass retail box that Bloor is festooned with all the way to the University.

But, but, there's green space

Yeah, 7 stories up and only for the condos denizens.

I know, to some this is urban renewal, densification and world classiness all in one.

Round about 2050, there will be a joyous architectural revival, which will begin with tearing all the early century monstrosities down.

Btw, the guy in the mockup texting while crossing the intersection is up for a Darwin Award...

Read more here.

ROM's Crystal makes list of world's ugliest buildings

From the merely unpleasant to the borderline criminal, ugly buildings somehow manage to pop up even in the prettiest cities.

On the second annual list of the World's Top 10 Ugly Buildings, as decided by the members and editors at VirtualTourist.com, the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum ranks as No. 8.

Read more here.

The Cloud: Broadcasting the climate of pretension

Maybe it is the future. Shame it's so damn ugly.

Is this the ugliest building in Toronto?

Without a doubt, it's Toronto Life Square. Its exterior is only matched in awfulness by its interior...

Read more here.

Mayor Tremblay's architectural boot stamps down hard

If you can't beat them, drive them out with ugly architecture.

Make no mistake about it: The 2-22 is not trying to fit in with its neighbours. It is not trying to respect the existing usage and urban form, nor is it attempting to respond to local needs. Its explicit goal is just the opposite: it aims to carve out a space for a whole new demographic of consumers to make themselves comfortable in the Quartier des Spectacles.

Read more here.

Dynamic Architecture

It's so...big

Foster + Partners have released designs for the biggest building ever built: Crystal Island in Moscow will be 450m high, cover an area of almost half a million square metres and contain a total floor area of 2.5 million square metres.

Read more here.