Carbuncle Awards

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The Carbuncle Awards were architecture prizes, presented by the Scottish magazine Urban Realm (formerly Prospect) to buildings and areas in Scotland intermittently from 2000-2015. [1]

Contents

They were established following a discussion about why policy initiatives to improve the quality of the built environment seemed to be having so little impact beyond the centres of Scotland's key cities. [2]

The name of the awards was derived from a comment by the then Prince of Wales Charles III, an outspoken critic of modern architecture, who in 1984 described Ahrends Burton Koralek's proposed extension of London's National Gallery as a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend". [3] [4]

There were three award categories:

Public nominations were made via the magazine's website, with a small group of critics selecting the final winners.

Cumbernauld in North Lanarkshire won the Plook on the Plinth Award twice and was the town most frequently nominated for the award.

The Carbuncle Awards inspired the Carbuncle Cup, another architecture prize launched in 2006 which was given annually by Building Design magazine to "the ugliest building in the United Kingdom completed in the last 12 months". [5] The latter went on to achieve somewhat greater prominence in the media, and was last held in 2018.

Winners

Plook on the Plinth Award

YearWinnerAlso Shortlisted
2000 Airdrie Cumbernauld, Campbeltown, Ardrossan and Balloch [6]
2001Cumbernauld Gretna, Aviemore, Dumbarton and two areas of Edinburgh [7]
2005Cumbernauld [8] [9] Cowdenbeath, Dalkeith, Ardrossan, Greenock and Granton (north Edinburgh)
2007 Coatbridge [10] [11] [12]
2009 Glenrothes [13] [14] [15] New Cumnock and Motherwell [16]
2010 John o' Groats / Denny [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] East Kilbride, Inverness and Lochgelly [23]
2011 Linwood [24] [25] [26] Nairn and Fort William [27]
2013New Cumnock [28] [29] Broxburn, Fort William, Kirkintilloch, Motherwell, Newmilns and Paisley [30] [31]
2015 Aberdeen [32] [33] [34] Cumbernauld, East Kilbride and Leven

Notes:

Cumbernauld, winner of the Carbuncle Award in 2001 and 2005 Cumbernauld Town Centre - geograph.org.uk - 207206.jpg
Cumbernauld, winner of the Carbuncle Award in 2001 and 2005

The Zit Building Award

YearWinnerShortlist
2000 UGC, now Cineworld in Glasgow
2001Maternity hospital at Glasgow Royal Infirmary Edinburgh Business Plaza The Exchange, Haymarket railway station
2005The Pinnacle Building, Glasgow
2011Menie Clubhouse [35] Fraserburgh Pool and Invergordon Fabrication shed
2015 Edinburgh Airport eastern terminal expansion

See also

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References

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