Described as a “putrid, pugilistic horror show” by Business Design magazine, the 31-storey tower of Lincoln Plaza has officially been branded Britain’s ugliest building after scooping the 2016 Carbuncle Cup. The luxury flats skyscraper is the capital’s fifth building to win the award. The magazine described Lincoln Plaza as “the architectural embodiment of sea sickness, waves of nausea frozen in sheaths of glass and coloured aluminium.”
Lincoln Plaza
This marked the fifth year in a row a London landmark had been landed with the award. The Carbuncle Cup 2016 nominees were 1. Lincoln Plaza, Isle of Dogs (winner) 2. Saffron Sqaure, Croydon 3. 5 Broadgate, City of London 4. One Smithfield, Stoke-on-Trent 5. Poole Methodist Church and 6.The Diamond, University of Sheffield. Judge Ike Ijeh said, “Not only did this year’s shortlist feature six superlative examples of unreservedly bad architecture, but Lincoln Plaza only won by a hair’s breadth after a long and closely fought battle with the runner-up scheme.”
Saffron Square
5 Broadgate -Photo Credit: ALAMY
Building and Design, the magazine that launched the annual prize in 2006, wholeheartedly disagrees. “Were anyone in any doubt as to the delusion and gall that has gripped London’s luxury housing market, then this asinine quotation should settle the matter once and for all,” it says. “Lincoln Plaza is a putrid, pugilistic horror show that should never have been built. In its bilious cladding, chaotic form, adhesive balconies and frenzied facades, it exhibits the absolute worst in shambolic architectural design and cheap visual gimmickry.” Last year, the Walkie Talkie building, home to the popular Sky Garden, scooped the prize with a unanimous vote.
