The people of Edinburgh are angry. A new building has come to distort their city.

The W Hotel is worth around £1 billion. The building, which has a huge commercial space of 158,000 square meters, is located in the Saint-James district, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But in the Scottish capital, this building has created a lot of discussion about its design. Indeed, according to residents, the W Hotel represents the famous “poop” emoji present on all smartphones.

The new hotel in Man Edinburgh is awesome. Like a golden pile of pure dirt. pic.twitter.com/poa1AIICcV

— Crappy Cheap Architecture (@Cheap Crappie) November 15, 2020

Facing a wave of criticism, the Jestico + Whiles firm responsible for this masterpiece denied any intention to reproduce the scatological form. His inspiration came from the rolls of paper used in the neighborhood’s printing plants in the past.

An idea that has also been endorsed by the Scottish Government. Indeed, according to The Guardian, the project would have benefited from £61.4 million for public development and modernization of the square.

A surname and a petition

To stick with emoticons even more, more than 1,400 people have signed an online petition asking for eyes to be added to the mask. In 2020, the W Hotel was awarded the title of “Worst Building of the Year”.

Others have taken their discontent even further by creating a parody Twitter account under the name “Hotel of the Golden Turd”.