Montreal is world-renowned for many things. Unfortunately, stunning modern architecture is not one.
The city has a dreary architectural landscape as of late. A building boom and demand for housing and services have inspired quick, cheap construction.
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I've heard so many anecdotes about the ugliest new buildings in the city that I decided to compile a list here. Brace yourselves:
Maison Manuvie
Work on this new block of glass on Ave. de Maisonneuve ended last year. Its monochrome, nondescript façade is an impediment to visual surveys of the downtown skyline. Moreover, the horizontal metal decorations that mark each floor make the structure seem squat.
Rocabella
These twins have little variation in their outward appearance. The pattern of uniform lines of windows, balconies, and concrete, repeat, is boring. They also appear to be wearing graduation caps?
Four Seasons Montreal
The luxury hotel and residence building is under construction near Concordia University. With a dark-tinted façade, the bulking mass seems completely out-of-place. It's a big, black box.
Tom Condos
The tower's many cantilevered balconies overhwlem the eyes. It is truly hard to focus on this building. Less is more.
McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)
The nausiating combination of colours on the new, sprawling health centre have inspired some to call it the "crayon box." It is also really unclear how its different structures connect, and why it has three stubby towers that rise from the main building.
Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM)
My friends and I call the new CHUM the "chum bucket" after the Spongebob restaurant it resembles. This is another big, dark box. Some of its walls are just featureless grey expanses. Architects attempted to preserve an adjoining church steeple but the two structures do almost nothing to complement each other. Its many wings are strikingly incongruous.
