Spite buildings: when human grudges get architectural – in pictures

Feuding brothers, thwarted lovers, and a lot of spoiled views: ‘spite buildings’ are our smallest human pettiness made manifest in bricks and mortar. Here are some of the best/worst

“S pite buildings” are constructions specifically intended to irritate or protest: our smallest human pettiness made manifest in bricks, mortar and a reckless disregard for planning laws. Their origins are often disputed, occasionally embellished and usually entertaining, revealing tales of spurned lovers, fraternal feuds and vengeance. Below we highlight a few of the most famous of these “malicious erections” (sorry).

At 33 floors, this art deco skyscraper was for a time the tallest building in South America. Corina Kavanagh, a millionaire of Irish descent who had made her money from property deals, was engaged to a member of the aristocratic Anchorena family. The “old money” family disapproved of a relationship with a “new money” woman, and the couple were pressured into separating. Kavanagh vowed revenge. The Anchorenas lived in a local palace (now home to the Argentine foreign ministry) and had built a private church nearby, so Kavanagh instructed an architect to design a skyscraper that would block the Anchorenas’ view of their church.

When the Austro-Hungarian empire took control of Sarajevo in 1878, it set about erecting buildings in prime locations, including a planned new town hall on the banks of the river Miljacka. One problem: a man named Benderija who lived by the river refused to leave his home. Eventually Benderija cut a deal: he would leave in exchange for a giant bag of coins and a promise that his home would be moved brick by brick to the opposite bank of the river. It was said the old man sat each day on a nearby bridge smoking and carefully observing the relocation. The building soon became a symbol of Bosnian defiance, and is now home to a restaurant popular with tourists.

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