50 Hilarious "Expectation Vs Reality" Architecture Fails

Welcome, fellow design aficionados and realists! As an architect with a decade under my belt, I’ve seen dreams drawn and gravity’s rebuttals. Today, I’m unveiling a chuckle-worthy gallery: ‘Expectation Vs Reality‘ in architecture. This collection showcases 50 instances where grand designs met their often-humorous earthly matches.

From gravity-defying skyscrapers that perhaps defied a bit too much, to bridges that didn’t quite make the connection, these architectural fails/adventures remind us that there’s a fine line between visionary and… well, visually unexpected.

So, grab your hard hats and prepare for a tour through the amusingly imperfect world of architecture, where plans meet reality in the most unexpectedly hilarious ways!

1. Stanley Milner Library In Edmonton, Alberta

2. Design Submitted By The Architect vs. How The Contractor Ends Up Building It

3. Such A Big Difference Between The Rendered Photo And Reality. Prisma, Helsingborg, Sweden

4. Vizag International Cruise Terminal In Visakhapatnam, India

5. Spektrum In Nya Hovas. Rendering vs. Actual Result

6. The So-Called Stadsberget In Piteå. Although It Is A Parking Garage, The Illustration Shows A Car-Free Environment With A Lot Of Cyclists And Pedestrians

7. Located In Central Halmstad

8. Växjö’s New Municipal Building. Render vs. Real Building

9. The Vision Of This Building Looked Great, But The Reality Is Very Disappointing

10. Söders Höjder In Helsingborg, Sweden

11. Residence Trea In Istanbul, Turkey

12. The Plans For The Marble Arch Mound On The Left Regarded Spectacular In Comparison With The Way It Had Really Been Constructed

13. I Wonder How The People Who Bought Apartments In This Apocalyptic-Leninist Bunker Nightmare Feel About Their Investment

14. If You Can’t Design A Nice Building, You Can Always Try To Hide The Building Completely. Unfortunately, It’s More Difficult In Reality Than In The Picture

15. Tel Aviv University’s “Building Of The Future”

16. Vision vs. Reality. Platinan In Gothenburg, Sweden

17. The Same, But Different

18. The New Hotel At Halmstad’s Travel Center. It Looks Like A Haunted Hotel

19. Sara Cultural Center In Skellefteå, Sweden. In Reality It Looks Very Sad

20. The New Munch Museum In Oslo Opened, And It Might Not Look Exactly Like The Vision Picture

21. A Different Angle But The Message Is Still Clear – Horrendous

22. This Is A Building Concept For A Hofbräuhaus (German Beer Garden-Type Restaurant Chain) In Buffalo, But Failed To Be Built Correctly Or Finished At All

23. This Monstrosity Of Selma Center In Gothenburg, Sweden

24. Vågen Was Sweden’s Fifth Ugliest Building In 2022

25. Malmö’s New District Court In Sweden. Vision vs. Reality

26. Royal Ontario Museum: Expectations vs. Reality

27. Totalitarian New Box In Kungsängen, Sweden. The Gray Color Looks Way Worse Than It Should Be

28. A Skyscraper In Warsaw, Poland

29. Funny How Buildings Just Change Color

30. “Bal Gown” In The Hague, Netherlands. It Had The Potential

31. The Elite Hotel Carolina Tower At Nya Karolinska In Hagastaden, Stockholm, Sweden

32. An Expectation Image Of Metropolia’s Myllypuro Campus vs. An Image From Reality

33. Sven-Harry’s Art Museum In Vasaparken, Stockholm

34. Glasiaren, Gothenburg. The Building Turned Into Something That Resembles An Old Refrigerator With Ugly Magnets

35. An Apartment Building Near Stockholm

36. The Vision And Reality Of Kv. Poolen The New Bathhouse In Frösunda, Sweden

37. The Render One Looked Way Better. Scandic Central In Örebro, Sweden

38. The Render One Looked Way Better. Scandic Central In Örebro, Sweden

39. A New Landmark Was Built In Kallhäll, Stockholm

40. Planned vs. Actual Pune Metro. Left – Sant Tukaram Metro Station, PCMC. Right – Deccan Gymkhana, Pune

41. Elbe Philharmonic Hall. In The Renders Of This Project, Hinged Glass Facade Resembles A Perfect Blanket, Almost Weightless. However, In Reality The Facade Does Not Show The Same Effect