Longtime readers will know that for whatever reason, Belgium has a thing for particularly ugly houses. These buildings contain design choices so bizarre that they are almost a subgenre of architectural photography online. Cheap, ramshackle buildings are one thing, but here most homes contain what appear to be deliberate, albeit confusing design choices made by someone who had other options.
The “Ugly Belgian Houses” (it’s in the name) Instagram account gathers the best (or worst) examples of home and yard design from the Western European country. Upvote the most heinous offenders and comment your theories on what was going through the architect’s head.
Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.
More info: Instagram
#1 Felix The Housecat
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#2 Don’t Care About Your Opinion But That Really Looks Like A Minion
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#3 F**king Ugly Belgian Houses. Literally
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
The “Ugly Belgian Houses” account boasts 167 thousand followers on Instagram, another indicator of people’s morbid obsession with absolutely hideous constructions. Global interest is so high that they have even published a book with a selection of the best constructions. One wonders if some orders are from Universities seeking to supplement their architecture divisions with materials on what not to do. The book is in Dutch, but images are a universal language.
In some ways, the fascination with these buildings could be seen as a form of whiplash. Belgium contains many examples of beautiful architecture, ranging from the neoclassical Palace of Charles of Lorraine to the Art Nouveau former Old England department store. But these photos demonstrate the age-old truth that a country’s architecture isn’t just the old buildings in its capital.
#4 Uglybelgianhouse On A Budget
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#5 La Sagrada Familia By Antoni Audi
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#6 Citroen Citrout
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
The page’s motto is “Better to be ugly than to be boring,” which is quite aspirational. After all, as bizarre as the houses here seem, there are tens of thousands of identical, cookie-cutter houses duller than a butter knife in every country across the globe. The fact that these are homes is special as well. An office, warehouse, or store can be soulless, but a house is a home, a place for the owner to express themselves and their personality. Most of us don’t just throw down a mattress on the floor of a bare-walled square room and leave it at that. Decorations, ornaments, and some fresh paint are all common additions.
#7 Oh Deer
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.
#8 Ugly Belgian Houses Imagined By @openaidalle Dall-E
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#9 What Kind Of Toppings Do You Want On Your House? Yes!
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
Self-expression is in general a pretty strong human desire. We really want to make our mark and set ourselves apart. How we do this is deeply personal, but the drive is also informed by some cultural practices. In one study, European Americans, and by extension, Europeans, ranked self-expression as much more important than people from other areas of the world. The same study even found that when these individuals were not permitted to express themselves, they suffered from negative effects on their cognitive functioning. It’s hard to be committed to something you don’t feel any ownership and responsibility towards.
#10 We All Live In An Orange Submarine
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#11 Une Belle Maisnon
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#12 Piece Of Cake
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
Belgium has no shortage of artistically inclined people, as the relatively small nation has a large number of contributions to art, architecture, and culture. It has 15 properties listed in the UNESCO list of world heritage sites and is the birthplace of the inappropriately named French fries. Indeed, it’s part of their national dish, whether eaten with steak or mussels. In terms of somewhat strange design choices, sculpture fountains of little boys peeing is also a symbol for its capital of Brussels, a design choice that really isn’t that far from many of the ones displayed here. It just happens to have better craftsmanship. Execution is everything.
#13 Nice Qwallity
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#14 Big Door Energy
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#15 When You Ordered The Wrong Roof But You Are Too Lazy To Send It Back
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
Like in many smaller European nations, space is limited, meaning people are constantly living in proximity to others. This could enhance the desire to stand out, regardless of the aesthetic cost. Just to demonstrate, Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is 26.9 miles (43.3km) from Antwerp, the nation’s largest city, and 31.7 miles (47.4km) from Ghent, the third-largest city. All these distances are as the crow flies, but it’s also not a country rent by mountains or other impassable obstacles. Americans, looking at these numbers might realize that their morning commute covers a larger distance. This might help identify the sort of population density we’re talking about here.
#16 Warpitecture
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#17 When You Lost The Assembly Instructions
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#18 When You Roll Too Much During Sleep
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
Indeed, it’s the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated in Europe. The Flemish region in the north of Belgium is one of the most densely populated areas in Europe. With all those people pressed together and all that beautiful architecture, it’s no wonder that the people of Belgium have turned to buildings that would be shockingly bad any place else. If some morbid curiosity drives you to keep exploring the chaos of bad Belgian architecture, Bored Panda has got you covered, check out our previous articles here and here.
#19 Designed By Michelangelo
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#20 True Story: They Had To Cage The Rocks. People Thought You Could Throw Them To The Holes. It Was 100 Points If You’d Hit The Little Window
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#21 When You Stop Talking About Your House And Make It Concrete
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#22 Bridge Over The River Kwhy?
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#23 Hey, Teacher, Leave This House Alone All In All, It’s Just Another Dick With A Wall
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#24 Cut My House In To Pieces This Is My Last Carport
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#25 Don’t Say Cottage To Gothage
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#26 On A Side Nose, This One Is Quite Special
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#27 One Of These Is A Bloc Paté
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#28 I Wanted To Include A Joke About Carpentry But I Didn’t Think It Wood Work
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#29 The Architect Really Stepped Up His Game
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#30 It’s A Carportoise
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#31 Let’s Just Hope It Disappears When They Get A Full Line
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#32 Game Of Homes
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#33 Stuck In The Middle With Roof
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#34 When Your House Is A Flat Too
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#35 I Can’t See The Problem
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#36 Accident Waits To Happen
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#37 Shiieet Sixteen
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#38 When You Literally Run Out Of Money To Make An Extra Room
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#39 The Architect Really Skewed Up
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#40 The Ugly Belgian House Colouring Book Is Almost Ready!
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#41 If You Understand Why Pizza Is Made Round, Packed Into A Square Box And Eaten As A Triangle, You Will Understand This House
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#42 The Architect Is Making Quite Some Points Here
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#43 Why Does It Have A Barcode? This Is Belgium, Not Scandinavia
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#44 Holy Shit
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#45 David Attenborough Voice: “Rarely Seen, This Male Organ Of The Ugly Belgian Houses Is A Crucial Tool For Reproduction. We Are Lucky To Witness It.”
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#46 Now That Is A Parking Violation
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#47 Tell Me You Don’t Want Visitors Without Telling Me You Don’t Want Visitors
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#48 King Architecture And The Knights Of The Round Carport Window
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#49 That’s A Perfect Example Of Rocoucou
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#50 Finally Found A Decent Mailbox Firewall
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#51 Quatro Stagioh No
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#52 Brick A Brac
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#53 Don’t Ride The White Horse
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#54 Opposites Attract
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#55 Party In The Front Nothing In The Back
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#56 Acracadabra Don’t Open This Mess A Me
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#57 We Got To Fight The Towers That .be
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#58 Oh No The One House Didn’t See The Voorrang From Rechts
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#59 Is This A Knightshop?
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#60 The First, The Last, Eternit
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#61 The James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Never-Before-Seen Details Of An Ugly Belgian House
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#62 Some Will Say It’s Photoshop
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#63 How?se
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#64 I Would Make A Penis Joke But It’s Too Hard To Understand
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#65 Jesus Cries(T)
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#66 Behold The Castle Of The Parking
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#67 It Has Some Kind Of Condition
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#68 Clap Along If You Feel Like A Room Without A Room
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#69 Not All The Uglybelgianhouses Wear Capes
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#70 How To Build An Hobbit’s House : Flemish Edition
Image credits: simon_laval
#71 50 Shits Of Grey
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#72 For Sale. House With Outdoor Rooftop Sauna Cabin
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#73 When You Download The House Plans From The Pirate Bay
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#74 You Ain’t Nothing But An Ugly House Dog
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#75 Boom Boom Boom Boom You’re Missing A Room
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#76 The Architect Only Finished High School
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#77 A Pyramid With A Roof. Eat That Egypt
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#78 Like A Punch In The Gut
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#79 Messmerizing
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#80 It Has The Perfect Balance Between ‘What’ And ‘The F–‘
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#81 When Your Roof Has A Meeting
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#82 Amenagement A Trois
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#83 Welcome To The Uglybelgianhouses Sightseeing Tour
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#84 Omg Stephouse, What Are You Doing
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#85 Google Please Deleteview
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#86 Amenagement A Trois (Avec Un Ami)
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#87 Even Dall-E Couldn’t Make This Up
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#88 Better Call Saul Because Wall Not So Goodman
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#89 House Arrest In Belgium
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#90 Owner: I Like To Stare Through The Window Architect: Say No More
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#91 22 On A 100 You Mean?
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#92 The Grass Is Definitely Greener On The Other Side
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#93 Buy A House Get Half Extra!
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#94 Villatetris
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
#95 I See A Red Roof And I Want To Paint It Black (Too)
Image credits: uglybelgianhouses
Source: boredpanda.com