What is the worst looking uni?

Reply 60

UWE

City University London, and i'm applying there |:

It acts as if it's all that with this at the front, but what's just the front, this is what it's really like |:

EDIT: someone want to tell me how to post images properly? :biggrin:

college.jpg31.9KB

CityUniversity.jpg523.1KB

Reply 62

Norfolkadam

18

I love Brutalism and concrete and all that brilliant 60s architecture that's just a little bit insane. Perhaps not the most practical buildings but tastes are all relative, I mean back in the 1960s they were going to tear down St Pancras Station and they did tear down Euston Station so when I see buildings like the Get Carter Car Park in Gateshead and Preston bus station being demolished I really do fear for our architectural heritage.

I have a Flickr gallery of some of my favourite concrete architecture here; http://www.flickr.com/photos/gingerblokey/galleries/72157624808385320/

Reply 63

domino0806

12

Warwick. Also, Bath, Sussex, York.

Reply 64

Mr. Orange

17

Humanities Building at University of Wisconsin

Reply 65

69Crazyfists

13

Essex is pretty ****e. Basically took a nice park and **** fugly 60s buildings on it.

At the open day, they actually seemed proud to call this the 'tin can'...

Reply 66

RamocitoMorales

21

Original post by 69Crazyfists

Essex is pretty ****e. Basically took a nice park and **** fugly 60s buildings on it.

At the open day, they actually seemed proud to call this the 'tin can'...

It looks like it's been wrapped in a huge sheet of tin foil. :toofunny:

Reply 67

Picnic1

19

Original post by Norfolkadam

I love Brutalism and concrete and all that brilliant 60s architecture that's just a little bit insane. Perhaps not the most practical buildings but tastes are all relative, I mean back in the 1960s they were going to tear down St Pancras Station and they did tear down Euston Station so when I see buildings like the Get Carter Car Park in Gateshead and Preston bus station being demolished I really do fear for our architectural heritage.

I have a Flickr gallery of some of my favourite concrete architecture here; http://www.flickr.com/photos/gingerblokey/galleries/72157624808385320/

The best of Brutalism is great. It's stark and there is sometimes some historical reference to it (like the Aztecs with the National Theatre). But the 60s campuses generally didn't get the best of Brutalism. They frequently got some watered down socialist version of it and, being in self contained campuses outside of the big cities, they had no older buildings to set them in to some historical context. So it became more drearily oppressive than imaginative. The likes of Leicester and Sheffield got the best stuff, set against older buildings. These buildings need to be in places where there are lots of people to use them otherwise they start to look like abandoned 60s follies, which are the worst kind.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 68

INTJ

11

Sheffield Hallam. Just search it on google!

Reply 69

TKC

14

Nothing says anonymous and uninspired like Mithras House at Brighton.

Reply 70

Norfolkadam

18

Oh I forgot to say. For me the ugliest I've visited is London Metropolitan University. It just looks like there wasn't any inspiration behind the bland, dull 1960s office blocks and like there was way too much inspiration behind the ill-fitting, alien modern nonsense;

Modern tat tacked on to ugly 1960s tat.

Dull, ugly 60s tat.

This doesn't even need explaining. How is your life that bad that you end up at Uni here?

Hideous late-80s reflective glass tat.

Eurgh.

It's literally like they went around East London buying up the ugliest buildings they could get their hands on. I think their property acquisition people were trying to play 'Terrible Architecture Top Trumps'.

Reply 71

username359983

Original post by 69Crazyfists

Essex is pretty ****e. Basically took a nice park and **** fugly 60s buildings on it.

At the open day, they actually seemed proud to call this the 'tin can'...

The reason that building is nicknamed 'the dustbin' is because Prince Charles dubbed it that when he gave a speech in it. Charles hates everything modern.

I like essex's buildings. The more I examine, the more I appreciate them.

Reply 72

Norfolkadam

18

Original post by Picnic1

The best of Brutalism is great. It's stark and there is sometimes some historical reference to it (like the Aztecs with the National Theatre). But the 60s campuses generally didn't get the best of Brutalism. They frequently got some watered down socialist version of it and, being in self contained campuses outside of the big cities, they had no older buildings to set them in to some historical context. So it became more drearily oppressive than imaginative. The likes of Leicester and Sheffield got the best stuff, set against older buildings. These buildings need to be in places where there are lots of people to use them otherwise they start to look like abandoned 60s follies, which are the worst kind.

I think I'm inclined to agree with you. Brutalism by it's very nature has to be shocking and exciting in order to work. I've never been to Sheffield or Leicester but I'm guessing they have campuses which fall under some of the later guises of Brutalism where it's merged with some pretty shoddy urban planning ideas and more practical office design.

At the UEA you've got the amazing ziggurats which are still a shock today and then at Brunel you've got the lecture theatre which is just an incredibly stark use of concrete. They're not hugely practical buildings in the long term; concrete doesn't weather overly well nor does it look good after a lot of rain but you can see the intent in the design and they've been adapted internally to work for the 21st century. I think my favourite example of Brutalism is at Barbican where it's so pleasant to walk around yet when you look at the buildings you feel intrigued and shocked by the angular and crass forms.

Brutalism is perfectly defined by the term "hit and miss" but then that's part of it's charm. When it works it's cracking and when it doesn't then it's depressing. It's a shame there's a general consensus that all 1960s concrete architecture is bad because it's really not, it's just the majority.

Reply 73

RamocitoMorales

21

Gothic architecture all the way!

Reply 74

ilickbatteries

15

Original post by RamocitoMorales

Go on then, show us how pretty your university is you hypocrite...

Nice architecture doesn't make up for being 44th in the league table and being in the arse end of nowhere.

Fortunately, employers don't often judge your degree on how pretty your university looks.

Reply 75

RNB1993

Original post by Killsworth

City University London, and i'm applying there |:

It acts as if it's all that with this at the front, but what's just the front, this is what it's really like |:

EDIT: someone want to tell me how to post images properly? :biggrin:

Showing this image for demonstration reasons only.

I'm also applying to City and you upload images by clicking on the small mountain icon ( 6th from the right) and past the location of your image.
Just like ive done above.

Also you are right about how they present there institution, ONE BIG LIEEEE!!! :P

Reply 76

Picnic1

19

Original post by Norfolkadam

I think I'm inclined to agree with you. Brutalism by it's very nature has to be shocking and exciting in order to work. I've never been to Sheffield or Leicester but I'm guessing they have campuses which fall under some of the later guises of Brutalism where it's merged with some pretty shoddy urban planning ideas and more practical office design.

Leicester was relatively early on for Brutalism (1963):
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/picturedisplay.php?ref=6113&idi=The+Charles+Wilson+Building&self=nse&selfidi=6113TheCharlesWilsonBuilding_pic1.jpg&no=1
Charles Wilson building (perhaps the only well known building on campus that is truly Brutalist).

Separated only by the Attenborough Tower, the adjacent Engineering Building (also from 1963) maybe owes its style to 1920s/1930s modernism as well as a Victorian style. An unusual 60s building by Stirling and Gowan:
http://www.odonnell-tuomey.ie/webpage/images/news/newsstirling.jpg
Looks functional but is not described by the university as especially practical.

The University of Cambridge actually has some of the best 60s buildings itself, including their History Building, also by James Stirling, very much looking like a direct successor to his Engineering building at Leicester, only not as celebrated for some reason.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 77

RamocitoMorales

21

Original post by ilickbatteries

Nice architecture doesn't make up for being 44th in the league table and being in the arse end of nowhere.

Fortunately, employers don't often judge your degree on how pretty your university looks.

What a hypocrite. :hahaha:

So you think employers look at league tables? :rofl2:

Reply 78

cymraesfach

Sheffield Hallam is horrible

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Fulton_House_Swansea_University.jpg
Ditto Swansea

Reply 79

ilickbatteries

15

Original post by RamocitoMorales

What a hypocrite. :hahaha:

So you think employers look at league tables? :rofl2:

They wouldn't use them as the entire basis for the how much your degree is really worth, but I'm sure they have a clear indication of where universities are in the tables. After all, there is no parity of esteem between institutions at degree level.

Since it's often argued on there that a degree in X subject is easier at a uni ranked 70th than a university ranked 20th, it appears they would at least pay some attention to them.

Aberdeen doesn't have a fantastic reputation, nor is it considered really prestigious, despite it's considerable age. 5th oldest in the UK is it? Looks like a lovely place, mind.

What is the worst looking uni?

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