Understanding two sentences from a book about Mother Teresa

[Guest]

Dear Teachers,
I read the following sentences from a book about Mother Teresa:

1.
"The original colonial style bungalow next door was soon hidden by ugly concrete additions, no doubt functional."
What does it mean by "no doubt functional"? And what does it refer to?

2.
"Suku was an abandoned child. Mother Teresa carried him to her home for children. He was identified as 'Mother's Suku', especially when he was in trouble."

What does it mean by "He was identified as 'Mother's Suku', especially when he was in trouble."?

[Mister Micawber]

.
No doubt functional refers to the additions, and no doubt suggests that the writer considers them very inappropriate: they must be functional; otherwise they would never have been built.

They called him 'Mother's Suku' when they were angry or upset with him, to remind themselves that he was under the care and concern of Mother Teresa herself.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[Tom]

[Mister Micawber]

.
No, the thrust of the statement it to the contrary:

The additions may be functional, but they are nevertheless very ugly.

By the same token, your sentence ( She is very ugly, [but] no doubt talented) suggests that although she is talented, she is still quite ugly.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber