‘Spite buildings’ intended to cause irritation have a long and proud history from Beirut to Buenos Aires
From view-blocking houses to nose-thumbing towers, revenge is the mortar that binds the bricks in “spite buildings”, constructed with the sole aim of causing irritation.
The Al Ba’sa (The Grudge) house in Beirut, was built on a sliver of land in 1954 by one feuding brother merely to obstruct the sea view of the other. At just 60cm wide at its narrowest point, it remains the thinnest habitable building in the city, and has become a tourist attraction.
