It's a giant tank heralding our looming dystopian future, it's an oversized Tesla Cybertruck that Elon Musk built in some sort of manic fit — no, it's actually just a new branch of the Edmonton Public Library.

People are making fun of Edmonton’s new library for looking like a tank.

If only the city put its money toward the Nathan Fillion Civilian Pavilion, this would’ve never happened pic.twitter.com/6zkBexNYjO

— Lauren Hunter (@HunterAtHome) July 17, 2019

The revamped Stanley A. Milner Library is located on Jasper Avenue in the city's downtown core, and has been closed for construction for more than three years.

Now that the project is nearing completion, residents are taking to social media to poke fun at its peculiar angular design.

Edmonton’s central library in three stages. Beautiful, brutal, and WTF. #yeg #yegheritage pic.twitter.com/bDZz9I8JWd

— Andy Grabia (@agrabia) July 15, 2019

The hulking grey building is what some see as a far cry from its architectural renderings, as well as from a number of other gorgeous designs that were in the running.

It's been compared to a warship, a spaceship from Star Wars, and yes, a military tank. It could even pass for a bulkier sibling of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, whose unique exterior has also been subject to criticism.

We've read all of your tweets. pic.twitter.com/fDl1AiO4Kh

— Edm Public Library (@EPLdotCA) July 16, 2019

The EPL has had a great sense of humour about the whole thing, acknowledging the negative feedback and embracing the library's new descriptor, lovingly referring to it as "think tank." 

And, Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson told the CBC that the priority is not the outside, but the inside of the library, which he thinks residents will end up loving.

Hello library lovers, our #ThinkTank is almost done but we need more time. We‘ve been working hard to make our downtown library the best it can be, and want to ensure when we open our doors it’s as special as we’ve always imagined. We'll share a new opening date in the new year. pic.twitter.com/k6SRrSRsYM

— Edm Public Library (@EPLdotCA) December 14, 2019

Though the branch was due to reopen to the public in February 2020, the opening date has been pushed back and is still TBA. Hopefully everyone will stop hating on the poor endearing eyesore once they get inside.