Since we’re pretty serious architecture enthusiasts, not much gets us more hot under the collar than impassioned debates about the aesthetic quality (or poverty) of our built environment. After all, so much of our architecture is the work of developers looking to make a quick buck, rather than thoughtful designers, engineers and artists trying to foster a more livable and sustainable society.

Not surprisingly, outside the field of architecture and related disciplines, the folks with the most widespread knowledge of the world’s worst structures seem to be frequent travelers. Hence this list from Travel + Leisure of The World’s 15 Ugliest Buildings. We especially like the story of the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, at right, a 3,000-room hotel meant to rival the skyscrapers of the nation’s neighbors to the South, but left unfinished after money ran out in the mid-90s. Word is construction started up again last year. Meanwhile, we could think of several buildings that belong on this list, the most obvious of which we’ve included after the jump.

375 Pearl Street, a.k.a. The Verizon Building, a.k.a. One Brooklyn Bridge Plaza

Meet New York City’s absolute ugliest, once slated for a glass makeover, but now apparently stuck as a monolithic monument to ugliness.

(via Curbed)