UCL halls of residence with rooms which face straight on to brick wall crowned UK's 'worst building'

 
Accolade: the UCL halls have been crowned the UK’s ‘worst building’
David Churchill29 August 2013

At up to £730 a month in rent, students set to move in at this housing block are unlikely to be expecting luxury on a par with The Ritz.

But for some at this University College London halls of residence – today crowned the UK’s ‘worst building’ – their money will buy conditions little better than a prison, according to judges.

The £18 million New Hall, on Caledonian Road, Islington, has also been branded “bizarre”, “crazy” and “a mess” by students, local residents and industry experts who added they “struggled to see it as remotely fit for human occupation”.

A protected façade left detached in front of the brand new block means rooms face directly onto a brick wall, meaning they “lack adequate daylight”.

Judges of Building Design magazine’s ‘Carbuncle Cup’ – an annual award scouting Britain’s worst buildings – also criticised the complex, made up of three to six-bedroom flats for postgraduates, for “offering little privacy”.

Karl Chan, 23, a UCL Classics postgraduate, said: “Hundreds of pounds for a wall in front of your bedroom? That sounds pretty bad and would be very annoying.

“I didn’t think accommodation on offer would be like that. I haven’t heard of anything that bad until now. I feel pretty bad for whoever is going to be living there. It makes me glad I went private.”

Helmi Shareidin, 27, an Mechanical Engineering postgraduate, said: “If I ended up in that accommodation I would move out. Sometimes you don’t see the accommodation before you move in so it looks like people there will get a nasty shock.

“It’s a bit awful really to see that students could live in such a place that’s likened to a prison. For that money I would expect better. I wouldn’t want to live there.”

Once an historic red brick warehouse, all but demolished except for the remaining protected facade, Islington Council refused planning permission but it was approved on appeal by the planning inspectorate. Students are set to move in in September.

Ellis Woodman, Building Design executive editor and Carbuncle Cup juror, said: “There is no small irony in the fact that the building stands on the same street as HMP Pentonville.

“As the first intake of students move into their dark and far from private rooms next month, they might be forgiven for wondering why the prisoners have been provided with the better view.”

And local residents who live opposite the 350-room complex have also criticised it.

Attila Koroknai, 30, said: “It’s definitely strange. Either they should have made the new building look like the old front or knocked the old front down.

“It’s crazy. Surely anything else is better than that. Someone obviously wasn’t thinking when they made the plans for it. To look at, it’s a mess.”

Your say: 'I still can't comprehend it'

Catalin Csoke, 28, Islington, events coordinator, who lives opposite:

“What’s really funny is there was this massive warehouse which they demolished, but then just kept the front wall.

“I think they could have made the behind bit look more like the front. Is this really the worst building in the UK? I’m not sure if there’s worse to look at or not, but I think they definitely could have done a better job.”

Attila Koroknai, 30, Islington, night watch manager:

“I just don’t get the concept. You’ve got the nice modern bit at the back and then the old bit which just looks weird.

“Even living opposite and looking at it every day, I still can’t comprehend it. I suppose I’m just lucky living on this side of the road and not in that.”

Steve Scopes, 23, Islington, electrician:

“I would not live there myself. I’ve walked past here loads and I thought it was offices. But now I know it’s accommodation that just seems ridiculous.

“I mean I think it’s good to keep historic things intact, but there’s no effort there to make the new building look like the new one behind it.”

Dylan Roberts, 23, Islington teacher:

“You have to keep old stuff but that’s not worth it. I wouldn’t be too happy paying hundreds of pounds a month to look at a brick wall out my window. Just looks like they haven’t really thought this one out.”

Jennifer Irwin, 28, Hackney, charity worker:

“I probably wouldn’t choose to live there. There wouldn’t be any light in there. It’s definitely not the most beautiful building in the world.

“It’s a bit bizarre and I think people living behind it should be given a discount.”

Alison Heydenrych, 36, Southwark, accountant:

“I think it’s pretty ugly to be honest. The bricks are all dirty and look all polluted. I think it may look better without that old front.

“Enough light coming through is key for me and I can’t imagine there’s a lot in there so it definitely wouldn’t be for me.”

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