Cardiff's Ugliest Building?

The excreable Eastgate House has changed hands and I have to say that just looking at the photo in the news story made my eyes bleed and my stomach churn.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/private-equity-investment-firm-maya-9545788



That monstrosity has to be high on any list of Cardiff's worst buildings although it's not quite as horrid as this thing.



If you could demolish any building in Cardiff which would you choose?

Ty Pont Ugly gets my vote

All the above three are very good calls - if you going to build a brutal building then Brunel House should be your guide. I love it, I admire its unflinching, unapologetic & unconnected two finger salute to the city centre.

For me the ugliest building in Cardiff is the NCP on Westgate Street.

I second Brunel House as being a great building. It's monolithic and reeks of the beige and brown 1970s (in a good way) and, despite not being overly tall, looks impressive. Same goes for Capital Tower; it's pretty high-quality for a building of its era and looks a bit higher than it actually is from most angles.

Okay, the real reason for this thread: uglies.

Stadium House is just awful. I'd have honestly preferred it kept its original facade because the blue and white scheme looked dated and dirty within a year of the renovation. And that was before panels started to fall off. The spire works from a distance but it's still an awful building.

Ty Pont Haearn is hideous, that goes without saying. How it even got planning permission based on its aesthetics alone is baffling.

The Capitol complex is an exercise in early 90s red-brick cod Victoriana or whatever the hell it is, and is all the worse for it.

I fear St. Davids will also grow to look dated within a decade or two, along with the Radisson.

Landmark Place and Altolusso look pretty cheap, but aren't terrible as such.

The NCP carpark on Westgate Street, yes, it's awful if only for its bleakness. I remember going up to the roof with a friend on a very gloomy day to take in the view when I was 16. A person that young should never experience such despair.

CaVC's building on The Parade, known as The Gulag by some staff, is apocalyptic in its ugliness.

Pretty much any low-rise Major/Blair-era sterile corporate office block can be added to the clunkers list, simply for their banality, like something out of The Office.

And there's no forgetting the CIA/Motorpoint!

the ugliest buildings in Cardiff city centre for me are

the NCP car park on Westgate street,
the burger king on Westgate street,
the building on Westgate street that houses the probation office,
capitol centre,
the big sleep hotel,
the CIA,
Brunel house,
Ty Pont Hearn,
boots on queen street, they should do what they did to the old bhs store for this one.
the part of angel hotel thats not victorian where u see the stairs, on Westgate street.
the rapport site,
Marland house,
St. Davids house.

wow quite a lot really after i typed all that.

hopefully with central square redevelopment being carried out/completed it will have a knock on effect with Westgate street which houses so many of Cardiff's ugliest buildings nowadays.

All good suggestions and I won't reiterate ones already mentioned, but may I add:

HMRC - Llanishen!!!!!

It's about as subtle as a concrete block to the face!

the big sleep hotel,
Brunel house,
boots on queen street, they should do what they did to the old bhs store for this one.
The rapport site,

I agree with most of your list but disagree about the four above. They're all 1950s/1960s buildings, when an awful lot of very nasty stuff was built, but these four have merits.

The Big Sleep (originaly the HQ of Wales Gas) has a sort of "Thunderbirds" vibe with the way the whole block is elevated above the ground. You almost expect to see it slide to one side so a rocket can emerge.

As others have said Brunel House is a fantastic expample of brutalism. Now, brutalism was almost designed to be hated but the building speaks of its time as does...

THE BOOTS STORE - I love that mural! It's virtualy the only surviving piece of Festval of Britain architecture in Cardiff. Having lost the wonderful Empire Pool to make way for the What-Shall-We-Call-It-This-Week Plaza that frontage is an absolute gem.

The Rapport building is run down and very low-rise for a city centre site. It's almost certain to go sooner or later but look at it carefuly and you'll see it's quite nicely designed with a lot of the original finishings and features remaining. The main problem with it is that it looks out of place.

Funnily enough my wife were only talking about the Rapport building the other day and she loves it, other than the fact that it's run down. I'm not so keen myself but it's far from the worst building in the city.

I don't have an issue with the Big Sleep. It's a bit odd, but I like it because of that.

I really dislike the Capitol Centre. Horrible, cheap po-mo that replaced a collection of very interesting buildings and has turned Station Terrace into something dismal and windswept.

The NCP in Greyfriars Rd is awful. Ditto the NCP in Westgate Street.

Bank of Wales building in Kingsway looks like a childs drawing has been brought to life.

Calders in Duke Street is probably a reclad of a very old building. It looks so grotty and run down. Elsewhere it might not matter so much but opposite the castle it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Jury's Hotel.

Ty Pont Shite - goes without saying.

The Queen Street entrance of Queens arcade. The original entrance was at least visually interesting if a bit shit. The makeover is a bitter disappointment especially as you view it from the Friary.

the big sleep hotel,
Brunel house,
boots on queen street, they should do what they did to the old bhs store for this one.
The rapport site,

I agree with most of your list but disagree about the four above. They're all 1950s/1960s buildings, when an awful lot of very nasty stuff was built, but these four have merits.

The Big Sleep (originaly the HQ of Wales Gas) has a sort of "Thunderbirds" vibe with the way the whole block is elevated above the ground. You almost expect to see it slide to one side so a rocket can emerge.

As others have said Brunel House is a fantastic expample of brutalism. Now, brutalism was almost designed to be hated but the building speaks of its time as does...

THE BOOTS STORE - I love that mural! It's virtualy the only surviving piece of Festval of Britain architecture in Cardiff. Having lost the wonderful Empire Pool to make way for the What-Shall-We-Call-It-This-Week Plaza that frontage is an absolute gem.

The Rapport building is run down and very low-rise for a city centre site. It's almost certain to go sooner or later but look at it carefuly and you'll see it's quite nicely designed with a lot of the original finishings and features remaining. The main problem with it is that it looks out of place.

i suppose the rapport building does have some merit to be fair, but like you said it sticks out like a sore thumb, its the car park surrounding it that annoys me more, hence the rapport site i suppose. however i absolutely hate the big sleep especially as seen from the railway line, its a disgrace, and i would love it to be pulled down.

while boots does not fit in on queen street (maybe the mural could be saved and go to saint fagans, if some people like it, but im not bothered either way) and brunel house i just don't like, and you mention empire pool, well i'm glad thats gone as well. maybe its me but i just hate 1950's/60's architecture. demolish them all i say lol.