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Disclaimer: I love Belgium. I love its vast fields, pleasant parks, and deep forests. I love its awesome playgrounds, playful ducks, and friendly people. I love its architecture, cozy buildings, and impressive castles. Having lived there for three years, during which I attended the Brussels American School (hi to all of my classmates; go Brigands!), I have a deep and nostalgic appreciation for the country. It’s the place that turned me into who I am today and the country where I learned my very first words in English.
So you can bet your bottom dollar that I turned my full attention to Hannes Coudenys when I heard that he posts pictures of ‘ugly’ Belgian houses on the internet. Now, Coudenys and I disagree about Belgian architecture: what he calls ‘ugly,’ I find to be ‘quaint.’ However, nobody can deny that he finds very intriguing examples of Belgian architecture.
Scroll down, upvote your fave ‘ugly’ buildings, and share them with your friends and family. Be sure to let us know in the comments if you’re on my or Coudenys’ side when it comes to Belgian buildings. Beautiful or horrifying? That’s for you to decide. After you’re done with this list, check out Bored Panda’s previous article about Coudenys and ‘ugly’ (aka misunderstood) Belgian houses.
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#1
Aah Weekend
Carol McLean 6 years ago
Check this one out. Here's a little piece of heaven in Pig Butt Wyoming. . And only $85,000. WHAT HAPPENED TO REAL ESTATE PRICES? They should be called GET REAL! estate prices www.haydenoutdoors.com/land-for-sale/medicine-bow-rustic-cabin
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#2
Angrytecture
Joseph rick 3 years ago
Simply looks like the stairs are situated in the front of the building and windows have been placed in-between the flights. The bottom left window is where the stairs begin hence the 1st angle facing forward.
QueenoftheSquids 6 years ago
You wanna fight?? You wanna fight?? Go ahead, punch me why doncha, your knuckles couldn'tmake a dent the size of a pin on me, I'd punch you with the force of a bag of bricks if I had arms!!
Shannel Grigsby 6 years ago
It needs to be painted black around the angry eye windows and a deep red around the yelling mouth. 😆😆😆😆
#3
Insane The Spain
In an interview, Coudenys told Bored Panda that his project is ‘loved’ and he joked that it has turned into a kind of a ‘cult.’ “We all love to hate ugly Belgian houses,” he said, drawing attention to the fact that “Poland has terrible architecture, as a lot of people have let me see.”
However, not all is grim in Coudenys’ world. He noted that there are examples of good architecture in Belgium: “I like the work of Gijs van Vaerenbergh, Vens-Vanbelle, De Vylder Vinck Taillieu, Vincent van Duysen.”
#4
When You’re Trying To Watch Something On Pornhub But Those Spam Windows Pop Up
Karen Fernley 6 years ago
Or which windows to use, as few of them actually match
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Monty Is Fiennes 6 years ago
when you're playing sims and the window placement looks great from inside.....then you go outside....
wandile dludlu 6 years ago
What people don't realise here is that the house might have the best internal layout with the window placement... they are not trying to be pretty for the world but just want to have a lovely interior
Karen Anspach 6 years ago
Well, the windows distract you from how ugly the rest of the house is!
#5
Mayday Mayday! The East Wall Is Sinking!
Blub Blub Blub 6 years ago
Yeah, I bet it would look straight and even if you were tripping & looking @ it lol
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Joseph rick 3 years ago
If those were actual solid bricks it would be a brickies nightmare to lay them. So it suffers from a double whammy - stick on fake facia and crap design skills.
#6
My House When You Came In The Backdoor
Vic 6 years ago
Someone entered from the back door.. And then there was trouble.. sorry couldn't resist this.. 🙈
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Coudenys’ hobby has grown into a phenomenon: he has more than 104,000 followers on Facebook and 76,800 fans on Instagram.
In a previous interview, Coudenys told Bored Panda that some Belgians have a peculiar understanding of what constitutes good architecture: "Normally, if you like architecture you like good houses, but in Belgium, there’s a lot of ugly architecture. So I started taking pictures of it.”
"Because regulations are quite liberal and we love to design our own quirky dreamhouse," Coudenys explained. He added that lots of home-owners were angry that their houses were being mocked online.
#7
The Sky Is Limited
Jjjane20 6 years ago
Maybe he just wanted to be very close to his neighbours.
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Michael Morgan 6 years ago
The house is not ugly, but because sitting next to the new house....... ends up ugly. 🙄😜
#8
If Snake And Tetris Made A Baby
Daja Lindeman 6 years ago
There used to be a garage, and a normal door where the red brick is now. They repurposed the building
Nadine Francis 6 years ago
A local hospital had an over abundance of operating room tiles leftover after the remodel!
#9
When Your House Tried To Be Beautiful
A B C 6 years ago (edited)
Yep, same here. Except that part of the house would be near collapsing.
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Shayne O'Neill 6 years ago
I can tell you what this is. Theres a thing that developers sometimes do where they want to demolish a building but the heratige authorities say no. So the developers offer to keep the fascade while demolishing anything behind it. Well money talks and so they do this. And what you see in the photo is the end result. My home town is filled with these monstrosities
Andy Hinds 6 years ago
This is actually a rebuilt house with the old fascia preserved. They did this to the old Ovaltine factory in King's Langley, England. The factory closed and the front fascia was clssed as a losted building so they knocked the factory down and built flats in its place but the building retained the old facia, complete with the Ovaltine logo.
Stannous Flouride 6 years ago
This was common in Britain in days past. Time Team did couple of excavations on Elizabethan and Victorian houses that had been "touched up" after the owners came into wealth.
Andy Hinds 6 years ago
They did this to the old Ovaltine factory in King's Langley, England. The factory closed and was demolished but the front wall is classed as a listed building so they built new flats on the old factory floor area whilst eaving the front of the building untouched.
“I received emails from lawyers and eventually gave in, stopping the blog altogether. I can understand the negative reactions in a way... It's the house of their dreams and I am demolishing it!" the Belgian revealed.
#10
Even The Neighbours Are Scared
Stannous Flouride 6 years ago
Even cooler if there's a cauldron of oil on top of the turret for dissuading unwanted visitors.
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Michelle Chevalier 6 years ago
All this house needs is a drawbridge and a moat...and maybe a dragon
#11
D. I. Why?
Joseph rick 3 years ago
Its a dutch hat design obviously not a house in the french part of Belgium whom tend to have a totally different cultural/design/artistic flair/clothing/housing/cuisine/sophistication aspect to the Dutch descent part.
Joanne Hudson 6 years ago
It wouldn't have taken all that much to fix it; just add a window; carefully.
#12
Pablo Picasa
Bettye McKee 6 years ago
You're right. I thought that was the nose, but it's that exquisite mustache.
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Coudenys isn’t the only critic of Belgium’s architecture. According to Culture Trip, if you’re in Belgium and want to see the country’s ugliest buildings, you would do well to visit the Ghent Market Hall, the Wiels Museum in Brussels, and the Tour Paradis in Liège.
Also be sure to see the ‘Book Tower’ in Gent, Leuven’s Sint-Maartensdal Towers, the seat of the Humanist Democratic Center in Brussels, the Radisson Blu Astrid Hotel in Antwerp, and The Water Tower in Ghent. Even I have to say that a few of these buildings make my inner artist cringe.
#13
‘Make It Look Like A Sad Elephant’ Said No One Ever. Oh Wait A Belgian Did
#14
Please Explain
Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch 6 years ago
I think this is cool. It opens up into a open-air deck on warm days and closes for a solarium / sun room on cooler days.
#15
Why Carve Pumpkins For Halloween?
#16
What The Flying Duck
Elida Lechuga 6 years ago
Wouldn't it have been so cool if the neighbors continued with the scenery on their homes too.
Danno Person 6 years ago
You wouldn't be able to stop me from slapping a decal of the snickering "duck hunt dog" on this house.
#17
Mohawkitecture
Nathalie Langevin 6 years ago
You can touch both sides of your living room at the same time...
#18
Hiding An Ugly Belgian House Are We?
ivan bolitekurac 6 years ago
you must like a shitload of bugs every day 😁
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#19
When You’ve Got The Cheapest Street In Monopoly But You Bought Two Hotels
#20
When Windows 10 Keeps Randomly Crashing And Freezing
Stijn Cornelis 6 years ago
Fun fact: till the end of the second world war you had to pay taxes acording to the number of windows and doors your house had (pretty common in Europe). With bricked off windows as a result.
Uwe Theiss 6 years ago
@Marcellus the Wrong: "It was a significant social, cultural, and architectural force in England, France, Ireland and Scotland during the 18th and 19th centuries. To avoid the tax some houses from the period can be seen to have bricked-up window-spaces" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_tax
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Christina Gude 6 years ago
If you have OCD the way I do...nothing about this house makes me feel good!
#21
What Is That Thing?
Norma Williamson 6 years ago
Spiral staircase - art deco style, bit odd for the rest of building
#22
Pytagorage
QueenoftheSquids 6 years ago
See, this is what happens when a Young goomba gets a dental job and is henceforth declared to ugly to be in Mario and is reincarnated as a home to angrily live out it's days
#23
The Floor Is Lava
Ricky Moore 6 years ago
I love how the highest window on the gable has a roll down shutters to keep the intruders out......when granny cant even get in the front door when she's invited over!! Lol
#24
When You See Yourself In The Mirror
Lisa Tetlow 6 years ago
When you have that nagging feeling that your neighbors are watching you.
#25
Ceci N’est Pas Une Fermette
Nathalie Langevin 6 years ago
Holy cow! Who the hell attributes the building permits in that town???
#26
Belgium Is A Work Of Art
Pittsburgh rare 6 years ago
I like it! The chapel has some charm and you can go there for time alone
Croline Lason 6 years ago
The one on the left is an old chapel (we have many of those in Belgium, randomly found in the countryside), you can see the profile of the cross at the top.
#27
When Your Architect Needs An Adblocker
#28
When You Go Back To The Future
#29
This Is An Emergency, Somebody Call The Akropolice
#30
Facade So Ugly The Tree Died
Joanne Hudson 6 years ago
What bothers me is how narrow all the doors and windows are. I never thought of Belgians as being bean poles.
#31
Close But No Cigar. Or Is It?
Let’s All Just Try And Be Decent 6 years ago
When the downstairs needs metals shutters, that's never a good sign
white widow 6 years ago
I have shutters like that, they really keep the sun and the heat out during the summer, it is quite good.
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Eleanor Green 6 years ago
Something oddly romantic about it. Like someone tried to make a nice place amongst the dingy city?
#32
Windows Paint
#33
Shades Don’t Always Make You Look Cool
#34
When You Stop Halfway The Reveal Because You’ve Seen Enough
Troy Currie 6 years ago
I was about to say, All it needs is a power washing.
Load More Replies... #35
Not Sure If Roof Or Tiny Hat
Magpie 6 years ago
.... after younger brother threw it in the hot water and shrunk it for you.
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#36
When Your Architect Has A Black Out
Jean-Francois Brisson 6 years ago
We have some of these here sometimes, it has water pipes inside that absorb solar radiation to heat your floors or whatever.
#37
You Cant Leave Your Hat On
Jane Alexander 6 years ago
I asked if it was 'pun intended', but nobody's got it yet.
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#38
I’m Out
Uwe Theiss 6 years ago
A kiosk loaded onto a truck happens also in other countries all the time.
#39
When Your Keyhole Is Swollen And Red, You Better Go See A Doctor
#40
When You Don’t Know What Hit You
#41
It Must Have Cost An Arm And A Leg
Chicago Kitty 6 years ago
None of the neighbors were surprised to learn that John was a serial killer....
Lindy Mac 6 years ago
or any where in a two block radius for that matter.
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Must Be Really Into Garage Sales
Kathy Baylis 6 years ago
The lower one is for the hovercar and the upper for when the Jetsons visit.
Magpie 6 years ago
The sort of porch floor on the right looks like it was the loading bay for a factory. Which explains the lower right door. I got nothing for the upper right door.
Lindy Mac 6 years ago
For the upper door, in summer, it would be great ventilation when opened. They could set some chairs up and watch the world go by in shady comfort.
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🌓
Lindy Mac 6 years ago
You'd be speechless too, after seeing this is real life
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Nikki Ching 6 years ago
Oh for a second I thought it was made of minecraft wood blocks xD and the other one could be cobblestone
#44
So, Who Was Ugly First?
FreakOfArt 6 years ago
Eeeeeehhhh I feel like if they could go with just one style I wouldn't mind it. It would look normal, maybe pretty even, if they did something to it.
#45
When Your Architect Was Thinking Outside The Xbox
#46
What If The Acropolis And The Great Pyramids Had An Ugly Belgian Baby
#47
Building Ugly Houses Since 1302
Stijn Cornelis 6 years ago
I don't see how that's ugly... I find it quite charming. It clearly used to be an old windmill (on the right) with the owner's house stuck on the left.
#49
So, Who Was Ugly First?
#50
When Plastic Surgery Goes Wrong
#51
When Your Architect Is A 3 Year Old
#53
It’s A Trap
#54
Doin It For The Parallelogram
#55
Google Crapview
#56
When You Bleached Your Teeth And You Want Everyone To See It
#57
Architittyfudge
#58
At Least It Has Air Conditioning
#59
When Your Friend Is More Stoned Than You
#60
Sorry We’re Closed
#63
When It’s 38 Degrees Outside And You’re Ready For Winter
Uwe Theiss 6 years ago
This only looks like every second house in the alps. Ok, in the netherlands may it is a bit strange, but why is this ugly?
#64
Modernisn’t
Marcellus the Third 6 years ago
"Modernism emphasized function, simplicity, and rationality" --so, no.
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#65
Architecture: A Game Of Trial And Error. And Sometimes Only Error
#66
Adopted The Neighbours Garage
#68
Opposhits Attract
#69
Infected With The Ugly Poison
Marlene Ricker 6 years ago
The one on the right is obviously trying to take over the one on the left. Very slowly so they don't notice.
#70
The Side Effect Of Being Ugly
#71
I Meant Tall, Not High
#74
The Toyota Prius Of Ugly Belgian Houses
#75
Ready To Adopt An Ugly Belgian Houses
#76
Copy Peist Ni
#78
Double Trouble
Marcellus the Third 6 years ago
Especially the majestic eagle separating them. Truly the emperor of plaster beasts!
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#79
Is This A New Pokémon?
#80
Better To Have A Hole In Your House Than A House In Your Hole?
#83
When Belgians Try To Confuse The Burglars
#86
My Kingdom For A House!
#88
When You Wanted To Order 2 Windows And 1 Door But Were High And Ordered 2 Doors And 0 Windows
#89
Did You Know That The Castle Of Walt Disney Was Inspired By A Castle In Belgium? This Wasn’t It
panda_legerdemain 6 years ago
It looks something out of concept.. like its missing a big manicured front garden and colourful woods at the back
#94
It’s So Ugly It’s In Prison
#95
Ugly. But I See There Are Two Sides To This Story
Marlene Ricker 6 years ago
Why couldn't they at least match the bricks, even just a little closer?
#96
Thinking Outside The Boxes
#98
Now Is The Time! Ugly Belgian Houses With 50% Extra Ugliness
#100
When You’re Trying To Avoid A Windows 10 Update
#103
You Should Get Rid Of That Tick Asap
#104
The Dark Side Of The Livingroom
#106
123 Sesame Street, Belgium
#108
Et Brings Home
#113
If You Have Brown Stripes Like This, You Should Wipe Better
Jenica Thomas 6 years ago
Like playing with lego and you don't have enough of the same colored blocks.
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What do you think ?
Fien 6 years ago
The Guy is doing a television show where he goes to the houses he photographed and say Sorry to the owners. It's great!
Rissie 6 years ago (edited)
I love how he's genuinely sorry he hurt their feelings. But doesn't change his mind about the way he thinks about their homes. And he's right.
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Random Panda 6 years ago
I think the guy posting these has a too wide definition of ugly. Nearly half of these are pretty cool (or at least normal-looking).
Rissie 6 years ago (edited)
Belgium has a notorious rep for tasteless architecture. The thing is, it's a lot of faux historical building styles and al mixed up with very dull basic buildings. And usually together it looks like a huge mess. Sorry neighbors. It does...
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Kenny Kulbiski 6 years ago
You can live in these fairly comfortably it looks like. Unusual isn't the same as ugly. Ugly is some broken down tenement. Looks like a first world problem.
Fien 6 years ago
The Guy is doing a television show where he goes to the houses he photographed and say Sorry to the owners. It's great!
Rissie 6 years ago (edited)
I love how he's genuinely sorry he hurt their feelings. But doesn't change his mind about the way he thinks about their homes. And he's right.
Load More Replies... Random Panda 6 years ago
I think the guy posting these has a too wide definition of ugly. Nearly half of these are pretty cool (or at least normal-looking).
Rissie 6 years ago (edited)
Belgium has a notorious rep for tasteless architecture. The thing is, it's a lot of faux historical building styles and al mixed up with very dull basic buildings. And usually together it looks like a huge mess. Sorry neighbors. It does...
Load More Replies... Kenny Kulbiski 6 years ago
You can live in these fairly comfortably it looks like. Unusual isn't the same as ugly. Ugly is some broken down tenement. Looks like a first world problem.
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