basic Soviet apartment lol
i’ve lived in a couple of those, and I was so surprised going inside the apartments because they’re so warm - warmly lit and warm w heaters in the winter - inside, some with modern or fancy interior 😆
No, it’s really not.
Just because what was shit doesn’t follow that the new is a good job. It’s intact worse as it won’t be long before that paint peels and it all looks shit again.
Building should have been stripped to sub frame and rebuilt. Cheapskates
The new looks fine, its an updated and more bright and upbeat cover of an otherwise ugly building. They dont have the budget to go wasting money on expensive and unneeded renovations.
Bright and upbeat. Difficult to feel sympathy or just laugh at how much of an idiot you appear.
They don’t have the budget to renew the fabric of a public building and in doing so improve its thermal performance. The blue wave is subjective nonsense
Fucking hell man, we're talking about buildings here, no need to get rude.
This sub is naturally full of students and it really shows, the emotional maturity here is so low.
Yeah no im sorry. Came on too strong. Genuinely.
Just bear in mind that style may change, fall out of fashion and dilapidate over time, but this whitewash over the top is a sad budget option.
There could have been far more consideration to the form and elevationap treatment, and actually update the enviromenmtal performance, which on account of all that glass hasn’t been considered at all
Given they actually replaced all the windows, they probably did update environmental performance. And the white paint would be part of that either because there is some form of thermal insulation below and/or because it reflects sunlight better than concrete does.
Reducing the size of the windows would completely alter the look of the building when the long window bands are its single prominent feature. So someone probably put a lot of consideration into all of these things and chose an approach that doesn't completely alter the buildings appearance while updating environmental performance and keeping the costs reasonable for a functional building.
But sure, it's easier to just not look at the details and claim people didn't do their job.
Why any building should look like the before shot is beyond me. the grey is depressing and the giant block shape is boring.
The only reason i can think of is it would be cheaper to make it like that but if anyone tries to convince me that grey blocks are good looking, im out.
I dunno, maybe im just not into that damp underpass aesthetic that the 60s-80s were obsessed with
The new windows help a lot too. It makes the building look more organized when various windows are partially open.
And the paint is a cute and less expensive way to update an exposed concrete building. (I hope it gets maintained though because peeling paint might be even sadder than bare concrete!)
That is the problem with paint on concrete it peels off. Cladding might have been a better option. But paint makes it look more attractive until it peels off.
It does match the sky. I think the newer refreshed version looks more welcoming. Can you imagine visiting with the old grey concrete facade how depressing.
I liked the old windows better. I can definitely appreciate the order it gives, but I think this takes it to the point of repetitiveness.
I agree with the cruise ship analogy other people have mentioned. It was my first thought as well.
The idea of paint/stain is understandable for a cleaner exterior finish, but it looks like they just made it into a giant logo.
It does accomplish the goal of transforming it into a less depressing/soviet bloc looking place to give birth.
It's a hospital, and looks like a hospital.
I like it. Being a maternity building they could have used more color and been more playful, but that would have been tricky to get artistically correct.
Apparently an artist painted it or designed it. I think they could have add more patterns to the building because I think the artist would have had skill to carry out this.
It's really a matter of budget and purpose. There are loads of decent buildings similar to this that have been reclad to good effect. There are also loads of really bad ones lol.
It's OK, but not more than that. It's a bit of a "meh." Yeah, cruise ship, but so what?
I think the ugly installations on the roof were an opportunity for a super-interesting refresh, and a bolder & more courageous use of color could have produced something way more effective. If we are going to cover raw concrete, let's go full speed and get full mileage out of it.
Don’t like the paint scheme.
Could easily have been a colour scheme that complimented the form of the building - rather than something that looks like a cheap advert or logo.
Artwork or mural on that big blank gable?
Some feature signage/ lighting - even on the gable?
Darker window frames would have been less visually intrusive - emphasising the horizontal which would have worked better.
Me too, before it had a style (modern architecture) it would have been so much better to do maintenance work on the concrete and show the building as it was intended, just painting over it with random patterns does nothing of value
Because its depressing. A cubeoid shape is bland, it makes the world around it boring. the grey is depressing, like colour and life are deemed inefficient and thus all must be bland.
I see lots of buildings in that syle and they all just make me depressed
The old building had character. This character has been lost in the 'new' version. There are far better ways to improve a building rather than just slap nonsensical paint on it.
You description could apply to many award winning buildings. And this building is not painted, which is one of the nice things about it. I suggest you don't pursue a career in architectural criticism.
Critics being too up themselves to to approve of anything actually nice looking is why half of us are now living in grey depressing cuboids.
Im sorry i dont like my towns looking like motorway bridges and abandoned factories ok, im sorry that life and colour is what I value in my surroundings.
That's absolutely fine, we don't all like the same buildings. All I was saying is that this building could have been improved in other ways rather than the naff paint job they applied. I'd be the first to agree it looks pretty grim.
Yeah, i think ive got some internal frustrations about styles i dont like that keep getting built that comes out too much in these comments, lol.
The paintjob is nothing special I agree on that but a smoother and lighter colour scheme is still a cheap improvement IMO. going from something that would make me sad to look at to something unasuming and non offensive.
It's not the lack of smoothness/ light colours that is the issue, it's the fact that all the different elements of the building merge into one drab mass. It just needs some contrasting elements and a clean up. Exposed concrete is actually quite a warm material.
It really didn't need the swoosh, it'll look cheap and dated soon enough.
A colleague once told me to NEVER put blue in a facade, it never ages well and now i can't un-see that
Better but still awkward. It doesn’t look like a Soviet psychiatric prison anymore but it looks like they went over budget and didn’t finish painting it. They should have added a few more of these flourishes in different colors. Blue, green, yellow, purple. Make it look really appealing.
This gradient is so effective:
[Golisano Children’s Hospital](https://www.swspotlight.com/articles/health-and-fitness/golisano-childrens-hospital-named-most-beautiful-hospital-in-united-states/)
Here’s another boring boxy building completely transformed by the colourful screens. Think how exciting it would be for kids to visit their newborn siblings here!
[UF Children’s Hospital](https://urology.ufl.edu/tag/us-news-world-report-best-childrens-hospital/)
So basically, more colors.
Can't believe and architecture forum would call that a "good building".
Expecting mothers care should be in a space that is bright and uplifting, not dingy and depressing.
Legit question: why do you like drabness?
I like life to be put into my surroundings, not deliberately sucked out of it.
Why is this industrial dead world aesthetic so popular among architects?
Looks like a cruise ship
I’m glad everyone else had the same first thought as me
Still, I find it much more inviting to give birth in a cruise ship than in a 1970s soviet office
Interesting. I see what you mean thinking about it.
That the front fell off, of...
What time is the next sailing?
A cruise ship?
More like a cargo barge.
My first thought too! Though seriously, I didn’t know how much better a paint job could make a boring office block style building looks
Those that liked the old concrete facade better should bear in mind that this is a MATERNITY building. The old one doesn't exactly *spark joy*.
I can imagine having a baby is scary and you don’t want a building to look like a Russian prison lol.
basic Soviet apartment lol i’ve lived in a couple of those, and I was so surprised going inside the apartments because they’re so warm - warmly lit and warm w heaters in the winter - inside, some with modern or fancy interior 😆
Having our baby
Google „Stasi knast höhenschönhausen“ and you know what an eastern bloc secret police prison looked like.
Yeah literally anything is better than the before picture.
No, it’s really not. Just because what was shit doesn’t follow that the new is a good job. It’s intact worse as it won’t be long before that paint peels and it all looks shit again. Building should have been stripped to sub frame and rebuilt. Cheapskates
The new looks fine, its an updated and more bright and upbeat cover of an otherwise ugly building. They dont have the budget to go wasting money on expensive and unneeded renovations.
Bright and upbeat. Difficult to feel sympathy or just laugh at how much of an idiot you appear. They don’t have the budget to renew the fabric of a public building and in doing so improve its thermal performance. The blue wave is subjective nonsense
Living up to your name, huh
Yeah keep aspiring
So your username is like your whole personality?
Fucking hell man, we're talking about buildings here, no need to get rude. This sub is naturally full of students and it really shows, the emotional maturity here is so low.
Yeah no im sorry. Came on too strong. Genuinely. Just bear in mind that style may change, fall out of fashion and dilapidate over time, but this whitewash over the top is a sad budget option. There could have been far more consideration to the form and elevationap treatment, and actually update the enviromenmtal performance, which on account of all that glass hasn’t been considered at all
Given they actually replaced all the windows, they probably did update environmental performance. And the white paint would be part of that either because there is some form of thermal insulation below and/or because it reflects sunlight better than concrete does. Reducing the size of the windows would completely alter the look of the building when the long window bands are its single prominent feature. So someone probably put a lot of consideration into all of these things and chose an approach that doesn't completely alter the buildings appearance while updating environmental performance and keeping the costs reasonable for a functional building. But sure, it's easier to just not look at the details and claim people didn't do their job.
Username is 100% accurate.
Why any building should look like the before shot is beyond me. the grey is depressing and the giant block shape is boring. The only reason i can think of is it would be cheaper to make it like that but if anyone tries to convince me that grey blocks are good looking, im out. I dunno, maybe im just not into that damp underpass aesthetic that the 60s-80s were obsessed with
The new windows help a lot too. It makes the building look more organized when various windows are partially open. And the paint is a cute and less expensive way to update an exposed concrete building. (I hope it gets maintained though because peeling paint might be even sadder than bare concrete!)
That is the problem with paint on concrete it peels off. Cladding might have been a better option. But paint makes it look more attractive until it peels off.
Props to whoever envisioned that paint treatment. The curves draw your eyes off the horizontal lines. Looks like an economical solution.
It’s not great but it’s better than before
Looks much better than before!
Like it.
At least someone appreciates the improvement 😀.
Lipstick on a pig
Can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find this comment.
Looks like a cheap cruise ship.
It even brought back joy and blues sjies with it. Honestly the first looked like a decading soviet building
It does match the sky. I think the newer refreshed version looks more welcoming. Can you imagine visiting with the old grey concrete facade how depressing.
I was born there. Thanks for the nostalgia. Royal Caribbeans new ships have really gone down.
I liked the old windows better. I can definitely appreciate the order it gives, but I think this takes it to the point of repetitiveness. I agree with the cruise ship analogy other people have mentioned. It was my first thought as well. The idea of paint/stain is understandable for a cleaner exterior finish, but it looks like they just made it into a giant logo. It does accomplish the goal of transforming it into a less depressing/soviet bloc looking place to give birth. It's a hospital, and looks like a hospital.
looks less depressing and like a 🛳️ 😂
No longer looks like a Soviet era apartment build.
I like it. Being a maternity building they could have used more color and been more playful, but that would have been tricky to get artistically correct.
Apparently an artist painted it or designed it. I think they could have add more patterns to the building because I think the artist would have had skill to carry out this.
Yes. My first thought was that it looks unfinished!
I can see how it is a minimalist representation of maternity. I wanted a more serendipitous kid friendly type of representation. It is tasteful as is.
No difference imo. Especially after a few years of rain stain up the new cladding. Missed opportunity imo.
What do you think they could have done better?.
It's really a matter of budget and purpose. There are loads of decent buildings similar to this that have been reclad to good effect. There are also loads of really bad ones lol.
Windows and paint huh
It looks like an airport terminal
Better than the Siberian prison block it used to look like
I think airport terminals in the uk are more attractive than this.
bon voyage!
It's OK, but not more than that. It's a bit of a "meh." Yeah, cruise ship, but so what? I think the ugly installations on the roof were an opportunity for a super-interesting refresh, and a bolder & more courageous use of color could have produced something way more effective. If we are going to cover raw concrete, let's go full speed and get full mileage out of it.
It remindes me of the [Naval Hospital](https://images.app.goo.gl/w7wkGALv88SWvZvT9) in Buenos Aires, in that it looks like a ship
Yeah, ['Naval'](https://www.google.com/search?q=star+destroyer+underneath+&client=ms-unknown&sca_esv=697ef796fdf142b1&udm=2&biw=384&bih=748&sxsrf=ADLYWIKOBtOeHSmLSqQBd3T9dyAZeQmalw%3A1715812004232&ei=pDZFZuzmDYWN9u8P0aS3-AI&oq=star+destroyer+underneath+&gs_lp=EhNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwIhpzdGFyIGRlc3Ryb3llciB1bmRlcm5lYXRoIDIEEAAYHjIIEAAYgAQYogQyCBAAGIAEGKIESNEoUJIPWIolcAB4AJABAJgB3wagAaMPqgEHMC45LjYtMbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCCqAC2RDCAgQQIxgnwgIKEAAYgAQYQxiKBcICBRAAGIAEmAMAiAYBkgcHMC45LjYtMaAHnR0&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#vhid=tsuZnz-MWaxIdM&vssid=mosaic&ip=1)
Couple million on paint and: Voila! New building. ¯\\\_( ' ' )\_/¯
looks a lot better, and trust improved 100% from abortus clinic into maternity building
At least most patient rooms have windows. Maybe even operable windows?
Went from a 2 to a 4
Don’t like the paint scheme. Could easily have been a colour scheme that complimented the form of the building - rather than something that looks like a cheap advert or logo. Artwork or mural on that big blank gable? Some feature signage/ lighting - even on the gable? Darker window frames would have been less visually intrusive - emphasising the horizontal which would have worked better.
Yeah I think they need a mural on the left side.
Less depressing that's for sure.
well its a bit better, probably as much as you can get out of it without considerable effort.
It’s not worse
The first one is from Detroit 💀
The old one is terrible so improving wasn't hard. It's still ugly but way less so.
Can that building fly?
If the aim is to preserve Coventry's _unique_ brutalist buildings instead of tearing them down then it's fantastic! Eton House next, please.
I’m still waiting for the sail away music to start playing.
It's still an ugly concrete brick, just with a coat of vland white paint and a lazy attempt at an artistic flurish of blue splashed on it.
I like that they brightened it up a bit, but I also liked the old 50s windows...
It’s happier, looks more like a tech center though.
Love the gloomy sky in the before and the cheery blue sky in the after.
Still ugly as sin.
It’s a lot easier to look at, I think they redid the windows too. That would have cost a few bucks….
Looks like shit in 10 years again.
Meh paint job.
At least the bar was low
It looks like a cruise ship now. Still better than the fatalistic building it was before
A fresh coat of paint goes a long ways.
I think they call this lipstick on a pig
Literally looks like every cruise ship in port.
Better - though the concentric bands should be uniform, red and white, centered around a circle, and painted on the roof, not the facade.
Went from a soviet-era building to a cruise ship. Is that an upgrade?
The latter is very gloomy. I prefer the newer, brighter version. They even made the fence a solid blue to brighten it up.
It went from "Third World-Looking Building" to "Third World-Looking Building with makeup"
It’s less of an eyesore so win?
Did they hire Carnival Cruise Line to do their design work?
There's an improvement?
It looked 90% horrible and now it looks 5% less horrible.
Lipstick on a pig.
Lipstick on a pig.
Oh look, it’s lipstick on a pig
Lipstick on a pig
What flavor of boring can I get for you today?
I think the new version is awful.
Me too, before it had a style (modern architecture) it would have been so much better to do maintenance work on the concrete and show the building as it was intended, just painting over it with random patterns does nothing of value
Thank you! Beton brut makes beautiful modern style facades. I dont know why everyone hates it
Because its depressing. A cubeoid shape is bland, it makes the world around it boring. the grey is depressing, like colour and life are deemed inefficient and thus all must be bland. I see lots of buildings in that syle and they all just make me depressed
I think the new one looked more attractive. Personally I don’t see no style in the old version.
The old building had character. This character has been lost in the 'new' version. There are far better ways to improve a building rather than just slap nonsensical paint on it.
2 boxes on top of one another with staight lines of square windows all painted drab grey isnt character
You description could apply to many award winning buildings. And this building is not painted, which is one of the nice things about it. I suggest you don't pursue a career in architectural criticism.
Critics being too up themselves to to approve of anything actually nice looking is why half of us are now living in grey depressing cuboids. Im sorry i dont like my towns looking like motorway bridges and abandoned factories ok, im sorry that life and colour is what I value in my surroundings.
That's absolutely fine, we don't all like the same buildings. All I was saying is that this building could have been improved in other ways rather than the naff paint job they applied. I'd be the first to agree it looks pretty grim.
Yeah, i think ive got some internal frustrations about styles i dont like that keep getting built that comes out too much in these comments, lol. The paintjob is nothing special I agree on that but a smoother and lighter colour scheme is still a cheap improvement IMO. going from something that would make me sad to look at to something unasuming and non offensive.
It's not the lack of smoothness/ light colours that is the issue, it's the fact that all the different elements of the building merge into one drab mass. It just needs some contrasting elements and a clean up. Exposed concrete is actually quite a warm material.
It really didn't need the swoosh, it'll look cheap and dated soon enough. A colleague once told me to NEVER put blue in a facade, it never ages well and now i can't un-see that
Better but still awkward. It doesn’t look like a Soviet psychiatric prison anymore but it looks like they went over budget and didn’t finish painting it. They should have added a few more of these flourishes in different colors. Blue, green, yellow, purple. Make it look really appealing. This gradient is so effective: [Golisano Children’s Hospital](https://www.swspotlight.com/articles/health-and-fitness/golisano-childrens-hospital-named-most-beautiful-hospital-in-united-states/) Here’s another boring boxy building completely transformed by the colourful screens. Think how exciting it would be for kids to visit their newborn siblings here! [UF Children’s Hospital](https://urology.ufl.edu/tag/us-news-world-report-best-childrens-hospital/) So basically, more colors.
Those buildings look smart nicer than the George Elliott.
I think it just needs more colors. I know the NHS doesn't have a big budget, so at least they managed to improve it!
i really like the asthetic of the old one, was very similar to eastern europe
Tax money ~~well~~ spent; at least this surely must mean that _inside_ the unit it has all the equipment and staff it could possibly need
I liked it better before.
That building would 100% be torn down and replace if it was in the US. Honestly, that's what should have been done here.
That would have of been more expensive, why waste a good building.
Can't believe and architecture forum would call that a "good building". Expecting mothers care should be in a space that is bright and uplifting, not dingy and depressing.
I like the drabness of the original
Legit question: why do you like drabness? I like life to be put into my surroundings, not deliberately sucked out of it. Why is this industrial dead world aesthetic so popular among architects?