Although we usually associate architecture with positive attributes such as beauty and grandeur, it is surprising how often built environments express less benign sensibilities. Dominance, hostility and control are also endemic to architecture. Ancient military fortifications solidified mortal political enmities. Heraldic lions warned away unwanted visitors to walled towns and private estates. Today, our cities are full of aggressive armatures devised to repel squatters, skateboarders and pigeons. 

In “spite architecture,” these hostilities manifest themselves so boldly that passersby might stop and stare. It’s architecture that’s devised to annoy others: a building maliciously sited to block another’s view, a wall planted to protest a property dispute or a garish application...