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“Better to be ugly than to be boring” is written in the bio of the Instagram account ‘Ugly Belgian Houses,’ and the bold phrase is echoed in the pictures that it uploads.

Whether we’re looking at a quirky color palette or strange shapes standing out in the landscape, the buildings featured on the account certainly challenge conventional architectural aesthetics.

The creator of the fun social media project, Hannes Coudenys, has been running it since 2012, but apparently, there’s still no shortage of content.

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#1 Shiteau

#2 Bombastic Side Eye

‘Ugly Belgian Houses’ has been growing non-stop and at the moment of this publication, ‘Ugly Belgian Houses’ has 174K followers on Instagram.

For our earlier publication on the account, Hannes told Bored Panda that there, in fact, is a problem with becoming too big, too fast, which resulted in some drama on his social media.

People have been clashing there because they have different opinions about experimental architecture and classical Belgian farm-style buildings. “I never wanted to shame experimental [buildings],” Hannes said.

#3 What Kind Of Shape Do You Like: Circle, Rectangle, Triangle, Trapezium, .. Yes!

#4 Slugly Belgian Houses

#5 One Of Moses’ Less Famous Miracles

However, actively repeating the phrase and even putting it in his account’s bio isn’t stopping everyone from getting angry.

Coudenys said that some people have been trying to get in touch with him.

In another interview we had with him (yes, we love ‘Ugly Belgian Houses’ and we don’t see ourselves stopping writing about it), the creator of the project also pointed out that his feed represents only a portion of the country’s architectural scene.

He highlighted that there are also plenty of good examples. “I like the work of Gijs van Vaerenbergh, Vens-Vanbelle, De Vylder Vinck Taillieu, Vincent van Duysen,” Coudenys explained.

#6 Some People Have Gingerbread Houses, I Have A Pizza Hut

#7

#8 When You Send The Architect Back To The Drawing Board, But He Sends The Drawing Board Back

#9 Total Eclipse Of The House

According to Coudenys, the variety is so colorful “because [local] regulations are quite liberal” and the citizens “love to design [their own] quirky dreamhouse.”

#10 In Belgium We Don’t Build Our Dreams. We Build Our Nightmares

#11 When You Are A Home Alone And Scared

#12 That’s Me In The Corner, Choosing My Transmission

#13 You Had One Job

However, it’s not like Coudenys is the first one who started questioning his country’s construction tastes and habits. It’s been going on for decades.

In the 1961 book ‘The New Architecture of Europe,’ American architect, author, educator, photographer, and prolific “builder” G.E. Kidder Smith wrote: “Of all European countries, Belgium is least to be excused for not contributing more to contemporary architecture.”

#14 I Think They Blocked Me

#15 When Your House Is Low On Storage Space You Can Always Delete Windows

#16 When Your Contractor Watches A How To Video Halfway Through

#17 The House Has Left The Building

“Having a thoroughly literate and capable population and an extremely high living standard, the mediocrity of its architecture can be explained only by the indifference of its officials, the inadequacy of its educational system, and a flabby materialism,” Kidder Smith said.

So hopefully people will cut ‘Ugly Belgian Houses’ some slack. After all, the account is approaching the topic from a positive perspective.