Top 10 ugliest buildings and monuments

Travel can open your eyes to some of the world's most beautiful sights and buildings-and to some of the ugliest.

Web site VirtualTourist.com (www.virtualtourist.com) has come up with a list of The World's Top 10 Ugliest Buildings and Monuments according to their editors and readers.

"Some of these picks have all the charm of a bag of nails while others are just jaw-dropping in their complexity. Love them or hate them, the list is certainly entertaining," said general manager Giampiero Ambrosi.

• Boston City Hall, Boston

While it was hip for it's time, this concrete structure now gets routinely criticized for its dreary facade and incongruity with the rest of the city's more genteel architecture. Luckily, it's very close to more aesthetically pleasing attractions.

• Montparnasse Tower, Paris

While it's almost universally agreed that this ominous stick is a blight on the landscape of the world's most stunning city, its detractors admit that there is one very good reason to take in the view from the building's observation deck: it's the only place you can go to get a view of the city without it.

• LuckyShoe Monument, Tuuri

It may be over-the-top, but there is something to be said for the giant, golden horseshoe that looms over Finland's second-largest shopping center. The shoe, and, in fact, the entire town in which it is situated, is said to bring good luck.

• Metropolitan Cathedral, Liverpool

The people who work here must be sick of the space capsule jokes. Even those who find the building's shell a bit "spacey," have to admit the circular interior is pretty spectacular.

• Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York City

Those who pass by this iron monstrosity might be tempted to ask about a completion date, but alas, this is the finished product.

• Torres de Colon, Madrid

Like a set of giant salt-and-pepper shakers, these matching towers loom over the city to the dissatisfaction of many area residents. The buildings are also known as "El Enchufe" or "The Plug" for the plug-like structure that holds them together.

• Liechtenstein Museum of Fine Arts, Vaduz

Some feel the building's minimalist box design is a triumph, others say it's an eyesore.

• Scottish Parliament Building, Edinburgh

Stone, oak, and bamboo are part of the make-up of the Scottish Parliament, a building that is the subject of much debate.

• Birmingham Central Library, Birmingham

One look and it's easy to see how this genre of architecture came to be known as the "Brutalist" style. Not surprisingly, the issue of its possible demolition has been looming for years.

• Peter the Great Statue, Moscow

Some 15 stories high, the larger-than-life monument was designed by controversial artist, Zurab K. Tsereteli, whose statue of Christopher Columbus was repeatedly rejected by the United States.

(via Yahoo)

UNESCO approves of Snowcem Paints for heritage sites

Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. Places as unique and diverse as the wilds of East Africa’s Serengeti, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Baroque cathedrals of Latin America make up our world’s heritage.

What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.

UNESCO's World Heritage mission is to:

• encourage countries to sign the World Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage;
• encourage States Parties to the Convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Heritage List;
• encourage States Parties to establish management plans and set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of their World Heritage sites;
• help States Parties safeguard World Heritage properties by providing technical assistance and professional training;
• provide emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger;
• support States Parties' public awareness-building activities for World Heritage conservation;
• encourage participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage;
• encourage international cooperation in the conservation of our world's cultural and natural heritage.

UNESCO has approved of Snowcem Paints to be used in its heritage sites.

We at Snowcem Paints are proud to be associated with UNESCO's World Heritage mission to conserve the culture and history of the world.