In search of Ottawa's ugliest buildings
Phil Jenkins, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: September 7, 2014, Last Updated: September 7, 2014 10:37 AM EDT
The list I produced previously, of the six buildings I considered the most beautiful in our infrastructure stock, caused the old email inbox to swell like a hot air balloon. Most of the e-missives involved gentle chastisement (plus the odd thunderbolt) informing me that I had overlooked this or that – this being the Cattle Castle, that being the old Normal School that is now part of City Hall and so on.
Everyone was right, of course, as was I, and it was all a lesson in the subjectivity of awarding beauty to a building. The common denominator in all the selections I received was that they were pre-1950. This was to be expected. Except in youth-obsessed cultures, aging is a component of beauty. The glowing example of this is barn board, which starts out life keeping rain off hay, and ends up on the walls of cashed-out dot commers in Manotick to make the mansion more beautiful.
Now for the six ugliest buildings in our unfair city. As many of my friends said, when challenged to pick six carbuncles on the streetscape, “Heck, that’s a hard one. So many to choose from.” In our local architecture, the absence of even the attempt in the design at beauty, the inevitable ugliness produced by developers placing the profit motive above all else, has taken to the streets with gusto. It’s as though the box labeled “redeeming features” is empty. I’m not sure I’ll get the same e-response to this list, but here goes.
Top of the list, and let’s get it out of the way, are the condos on the LeBreton Flats. You know what I’m talking about. And now the next phase, the siblings of the ones already built, are underway. It’s getting worse.
The police station on Elgin Street, presumably built as in bunker form to withstand rioting mobs when taxes get too high, is as unwelcoming a place as could be. A distressing place to enter if you are distressed.
The luxury condos at 700 Sussex, the prison wing for rich people, hurts my eyes every time I try not to look at them. Being next to the Chateau Laurier and across from the old train station (Note to Stephen Harper: Can we have that back, please?) doesn’t help.
Name your own shopping mall, but my retail atrocity of choice is St. Laurent. But then, who looks at the surroundings when you are staring down at a screen asking for your PIN number?
A last minute inclusion on the list as I was compiling it came about when I recently walked down Albert Street. In the 200 block there is large puce box without a single redeeming feature. What happens in there?
And last and among the least, I’ll leave the sixth spot blank for readers to fill in. You will no doubt appreciate the chance to vent.
I propose that this column hands out two annual awards, to be dubbed the Edies, after the word edifice; one for the most beautiful building erected that year, one for the ugliest. The Edies are not to expected to dramatically alter the future streetscape, but they may add a redeeming feature or two. And talking of buildings, beautiful and otherwise, let me quickly mention a chance for you to visit and discuss several of Ottawa’s 19th century belles that fall under the title of “domestic Gothic.” There’s a conference about them (Earnscliffe is the jewel in the crown) on September 26 and 27. Contact
Bruce.Elliott@carleton.ca to get on the list for the limited tours.
Phil Jenkins is an Ottawa writer. Email
phil@philjenkins.ca.
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...iest-buildings
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