7. Metropolitan Cathedral, Liverpool, England 英国利物浦都会大教堂

File photo of Metropolitan Cathedral.

Far from conjuring images of heavenly repose, the church is more akin to a giant concrete tent, hence its local nickname "Paddy’s Wigwam" (Paddy being pejorative for Catholics of Irish descent).

这座教堂一点也不像神灵休息的地方，倒更像是一座巨大的混凝土帐篷，因此当地人给它取了个绰号，“爱尔兰人的棚屋”（"Paddy’s Wigwam"，Paddy是对爱尔兰裔天主教徒的戏称）。

The Cathedral project was ill-starred from the off. Designs by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Adrian Gilbert Scott were rejected for being, in the case of the former, too expensive, and in the case of the latter, not good enough. The task eventually fell to Sir Frederick Gibberd and it is his finished product that stands to this day.

这座教堂建筑一开始就霉运连连。教堂最初由埃德温•路特恩斯爵士和阿迪安•吉尔伯特•斯科特设计。由于前者的设计太过昂贵，而后者的设计又不够好，设计方案被否决了。设计任务最终落到了弗列德里克•吉伯特头上，今天的教堂正是他设计的。

Fact: The cathedral authority sued Gibberd for £1.3million (US$2 million) when the aluminum roof started to leak and defects were noted in the mosaic tiles. Strangely they seem to have been happy enough with the building’s actual design.

实情：当教堂的铝质屋顶开始漏水，镶嵌地砖也出现了问题时，教堂方面控告吉伯特，要求其赔偿130万英镑（合200万美元）。奇怪的是，他们似乎对这栋建筑的设计感到满意。