The town hall in Hardenburg, a small town in the east of the country, has been voted the ugliest new building in the Netherlands by the readers of construction industry magazine Cobouw.

Described variously as being ‘the colour of urine’ and ‘like a blancmange’, the town hall was designed by architects Branimir Medi and Pero Puljiz.

In a reaction, the architects said that architecture is ‘much too complex to be assessed on the basis of vague criteria such as ugliness’.

In total, seven buildings built between 2010 and 2015 were shortlisted for the award. The town hall was the clear winner, with 58% of the vote, followed by the Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle (12%) and Van Kinsbergen College in Elberg (10%).