A violin-shaped church, a ‘welcome to hell’ glass bridge and a 240ft-high babushka doll hotel are among bizarre designs in the running for ‘hall of shame’ top ten list of ugliest buildings in China
- Chinese architectural firm Archcy has launched its annual competition where the public get to vote for the country’s architectural horror shows
- Among the 87 questionable designs is the Inner Mongolia Manzhouli Matryoshka Hotel which features a 72-metre high babushka doll
- Another is a violin-shaped church in Yongping Village, Guangdong Province, which has a cross at the top
A violin-shaped church and a ‘welcome to hell’ glass bridge with two ‘very scary’ statues of people in traditional costumes at the end of it are among the contenders for China’s top 10 ugliest buildings.
Chinese architectural firm Archcy has launched its annual competition where the public get to vote for the country’s architectural horror shows.
Among the 87 questionable designs is the Inner Mongolia Manzhouli Matryoshka Hotel which is impossible to miss as it features a 240-foot high babushka doll – the world’s largest doll building.
Another is a church in Yongping Village, Guangdong Province, which is no ordinary building. On one side a white violin-shaped building topped with a cross towers rises up into the sky in a project which cost more than 2 million yuan (£226,500).
Currently ranked in second place is the Glass Bridge Tower of Jiuhuangshan Mountain in Mianyang, Sichuan, which features two enormous statues of men and women wearing traditional dress.
Speaking about the suspension bridge, one voter commented: ‘I have never seen such an ugly building.’
Another person who had walked over the bridge, said: ‘It’s really a ‘soul’ design. I walked through this bridge and my soul was frightened. The embroidered shoes looked creepy.’
Among the contenders for China’s ‘ugliest’ building is a church in Yongping Village, Guangdong Province, which is no ordinary building. On one side a white violin-shaped building topped with a cross towers rises up into the sky in a project which cost more than 2 million yuan (£226,500)
Among the 87 questionable designs is the Inner Mongolia Manzhouli Matryoshka Hotel which is impossible to miss as it features a 240-foot high babushka doll – the world’s largest doll building
Currently ranked in second place is the Glass Bridge Tower of Jiuhuangshan Mountain in Mianyang, Sichuan, which features two ‘very scary’ enormous statues of men and women wearing traditional dress
The building which is in the running to be named China’s ‘ugliest’ is the South Gate of Zijingang Campus of Zhejiang University, which was built with donations from alumni. The university gate, which comprises of six large double pillars engraved with the university’s motto and values, has been criticised by students for not being fit for purpose
The colourful Xi’an International Children’s Art Museum is currently ranked as the fourth ugliest building. The design, using colourful circlular holes, abandons the conventional elements of the adult world and instead is inspired by children
The building which is in the running to be named China’s ‘ugliest’ is the South Gate of Zijingang Campus of Zhejiang University, which was built with donations from alumni.
The university gate, which comprises of six large double pillars engraved with the university’s motto and values, has been criticised by students for not being fit for purpose.
One voter described it as a ‘nondescript and useless school gate’ while others said it was ‘extremely disharmonious’ with the surrounding environment.
The colourful Xi’an International Children’s Art Museum is currently ranked as the fourth ugliest building. The design, using colourful circlular holes, abandons the conventional elements of the adult world and instead is inspired by children.
But the comments by voters reveal their views on the building is mixed. While some said ‘the exterior is ugly, and the interior decoration is even simpler’, others said the design is ‘ingenious’.
Archcy says its competition, which is in its 12th year, aims to ‘arouse people’s thinking about the beauty and ugliness of architecture, and enhance the sense of social responsibility of practitioners in the construction industry’.
These bizarrely shaped pods – which have roofs which look like cowboy hats – are part of the Wild World Resort Hotel. The buildings, which are partly covered by the earth, are integrated within the landscape. As the first cave hotel in China, the project is located in the bamboo forest valley of Miaoshan Village, Miaoxi Town, Wuxing District
Hainan Danzhou Haihua Island is the world’s largest flower-shaped artificial tourist island. It consists of three independent offshore islands. The project covers 28 major formats such as the International Conference Center, International Convention and Exhibition Center, Seven-Star Island Hotel
This colorful ‘upside-down house’ in Chongqing is located at the Majiapu intersection next to Longhu Shidaitian Street in Daping. Voters in the competition have criticised the building for its plagiarism as a similar model, also called the Upside Down House, can be found in Taipei
Taiyuan Museum is one of the landmark buildings on the Cultural Island Grand Platform Plaza. The museum features five red cones, which are inspired by Chinese red lanterns. But voters have said they look more like ‘plastic red bowls’
The Ma Xu Wenbo Art Center’s design draws on the concepts of ancient Greek and Roman amphitheaters. But voters have criticised the building for being a ‘mishmash’ of elements
The Dongping Poly Plaza in Foshan, Guangdong, is a business centre with four skyscrapers which are integrated with outdoor space. While the developers aims to create a ‘fashionable and interesting life centre’ in Foshan, some voters described the building as ‘ugly’
The competition comes as China cracks down on the construction of ‘ugly buildings’.
In April this year, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced it would restrict developers from building skyscrapers over 500 metres and ‘ugly buildings’.
The authority claims the regulation was approved in line with the nation’s ‘new-era architectural principle’ which requires urban structures to be ‘practical, economical, ecological and beautiful’.
The Ministry vowed to clamp down on ‘huge, foreign-worshipping and wacky’ buildings. Copycat designs are strictly forbidden.
Officials also demand cities to come up with building designs that can ‘strengthen cultural confidence’ and ‘represent Chinese characteristics’.
Chaozhou Wanda City Exhibition Center is presented in the image of a ‘red-head boat’, covering an area of about 14,000 square meters. Based on the understanding of Chaozhou’s humanities and history, the design team extracted keywords such as ‘struggle and miss prospects’ as design elements
The Langham Place hotel in Dawangshan has a novel shape and appears to twist in the air. Standing in the hotel, you can overlook the entire Xiangjiang Happy City including Happy Snow Region, Happy Water Village, Tongxi Lake, Huayi Movie Town
The new Puyun Road Bridge project is located in Jiangpu Street, Pukou District, Nanjing. As a landmark building in the city, the bridge actively integrates into the landscape style of the surrounding neighborhoods and adopts a European style design. But voters criticised the design for following the European way rather than fitting with the Chinese style
If any city does need to erect new supertall skyscrapers, relevant officials must first pass ‘strict inspections’ from the firefighting, earthquake and energy-saving authorities.
Then, they will have their proposals assessed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development – and eventually by the National Development and Reform Commission.
The Ministry also instructed the local authorities to tighten the approval process for buildings taller than 100 metres (328 feet) and protect natural areas and historic buildings.
According to CTBUH, a Chicago-based organisation specialising in the design and construction of tall buildings, the new directive didn’t come as a surprise.
Daniel Safarik, a spokesperson for the group, told MailOnline: ‘For several years, China’s top leadership has been quoted in the media alluding to an opinion that there should be ‘no more weird or strange buildings.’
‘This appears to be the formalisation of that commentary.’
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