UK’s architectural eyesores: MI6 Building one of three London buildings ranked in top ten ‘eyesores’ - full list

London has the distinct dishonour of having three buildings included in a recent list of top ten eyesores in the UK.
Benjamin Jackson
By Benjamin Jackson
Published 21st Jan 2023, 15:58 BST
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London may be known as one of the cultural centres of the world, famous for its fine art, high fashion and historic architecture, but three buildings in particular in the capital have elicited the worst possible responses from Twitter users. That’s at least according to a study conducted by Buildworld, which looked at the top ten eyesores across the world, including the United Kingdom.

The construction merchants collated a list of buildings in the United States and at home, looking at the level of Tweets certain buildings received that were less than positive in their comments. The company then cross-referenced these tweets with HuggingFace, a sentiment analysis tool, to gather a percentage rating for those constructions that made the long list.

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Though not taking the top spot, London architectural ‘feats’ are featured prominently in both the UK and global list, with the MI6 Building charting the highest out of the three in the top ten. Despite its prominent appearance in the Daniel Craig-era of James Bond films, Twitter users felt it was a blot on the capital’s landscape earning a percentage of 14.11%. The fifth placing Bond HQ was followed immediately by One Hyde Park in sixth place, while Balfron Tower in the Tower Hamlets borough came ninth.

Taking the top spot in the UK was the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh, according to Twitter users, while Newport Station and Preston Train Station came in second and third in the local lists. In the United States, the researchers concluded that for many, the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington DC, home to the FBI, came first in their top ten, with Boston’s City Hall and New York’s Verizon Building in third.

Across the world, nine of the ten eyesores were either from the UK or the USA, with only one building outside of those countries making an appearance - that being The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea

Top ten eyesores in the UK, according to Buildworld

  1. Scottish Parliament Building, Edinburgh
  2. Newport Station, Newport
  3. Preston Train Station, Preston
  4. Royal Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool
  5. MI6 Building, London
  6. One Hyde Park, London
  7. Bridgewater Place, Leeds
  8. Redcar Beacon, Redcar
  9. Balfron Tower, London
  10. Shankly Hotel, Liverpool
The Ryugyong Hotel (Korean: 류경호텔) was the only building outside of the UK and the US to place on the world’s top ten eyesore list (Credit: Martin Cigler)The Ryugyong Hotel (Korean: 류경호텔) was the only building outside of the UK and the US to place on the world’s top ten eyesore list (Credit: Martin Cigler)
The Ryugyong Hotel (Korean: 류경호텔) was the only building outside of the UK and the US to place on the world’s top ten eyesore list (Credit: Martin Cigler)

Top ten eyesores around the world, according to Buildworld

  1. Scottish Parliament Building, Edinburgh
  2. J. Edgar Hoover Building, Washington D.C
  3. Newport Station, Newport
  4. Boston City Hall, Boston
  5. Preston Train Station, Preston
  6. Verizon Building, New York
  7. Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang
  8. Watergate complex, Washington D.C
  9. The Denver International Airport, Denver
  10. Trump Tower, Las Vegas
Related topics:LondonTwitterUnited States