World's ugliest buildings

Poor old Federation Square in Melbourne has made it onto VirtualTourist's annual list of the ‘World's Top 10 Ugly Buildings,' alongside New Zealand's Parliament building ‘The Beehive' and Center Georges Pompidou in Paris...

The thing with these buildings is that they have always generated a good deal of controversy - some love their quirky design whilst others loathe them and see them as a blot on the landscape of an otherwise beautiful city.

VirtualTourist.com has released its second annual list of the ‘World's Top 10 Ugly Buildings,' as decided by its members and editors.

"Many of these buildings don't have the warmth of an ice cube while others don't even seem completed. Either way, they make for very interesting conversation," said VirtualTourist.com general manager Giampiero Ambrosi.

Virtual Tourist's list:

1. Morris A. Mechanic Theater; Baltimore, Maryland, USA

This theatre once hosted famous faces such as Katherine Hepburn and George C. Scott. It is now closed, and many local residents feel that it should be pulled down altogether to make way for something new.

2. Zizkov Television Tower; Prague, Czech Republic

As if the building itself wasn't ugly enough, creative artist David Cerny added statues of small, climbing babies to the tower, turning it into a true monstrosity.

3. ‘The Beehive,' Wellington, New Zealand

The New Zealand Parliament Building doesn't help itself by having a very attractive neighbour - the Edwardian neo-classical Parliament House only accentuates the Beehive's unattractiveness.

Other inclusions on the list were Center Georges Pompidou, Paris; Federation Square; Melbourne; Petrobras Headquarters, Rio de Janeiro; Markel Building; Richmond, Virginia; Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, Royal Ontario Museum; Toronto, Canada; National Library; Pristina, Kosovo; and Ryugyong Hotel; Pyongyang, North Korea.

Picture of Federation Square, Melbourne by Melodi2