A key architect has resigned his committee membership at the University of California, Santa Barbara following its proposal of a monolithic new dormitory building that purportedly fails to provide windows for some 94% of its single-occupancy residences.
After fifteen years sitting on UCSB’s Design Review Committee, architect Dennis McFadden resigned in protest over its decision to select financier-cum-ametuer architect Charles Munger’s plan for a 1.68 million-square-foot structure that will also bear his name following a $200 million gift to the university. Munger had allegedly stipulated that his plan be followed without alteration as part of the gift. McFadden referred to the design as “unsupportable from my perspective as an architect, a parent, and a human being” in an angry letter sent to the university on October 25th.
“The building is a social and psychological experiment with an unknown impact on the lives and personal development of the undergraduates the university serves,” the architect continued.
Architecture critic Paul Goldberger also responded to the news on Twitter, calling the design a “sick joke” and referring to it as a “jail masquerading as a dormitory” before pining for the days when the UCSB campus was dotted with commissions from Charles Moore.
The dorm would be home to more than 4,500 students at a time when available student housing across the massive UC system stands at an all-time low. McFadden expressed a concern over the building’s lack of interior lighting and air, citing the mental and physical health improvements shown to take place when those design considerations are taken into account.
McFadden went on to say that Munger’s design “ignores this evidence and seems to take the position that it doesn’t matter.”
According to McFadden, the committee approved the plan (which reportedly comes with a $1.5 billion price tag) without a vote and sans any consideration of any other proposals. The architect also noted that, if constructed, it would constitute the largest dormitory building in the world, ahead of the U.S. Naval Academy’s Bancroft Hall, which has a total of twenty-five entryways compared to the proposed building’s two.
“The project is essentially the student life portion of a mid-sized university campus in a box,” he said. “The project will long outlive the circumstances of its origin and will impact the life of the campus and the lives of its students for multiple generations.”
A university response was not available at press time. Archinect invites you to sound off on the controversy here.
91 Comments
It doesn't even sound like this thing meets code for dwelling units. Cheers to Dennis McFadden but the proposal should have never made it this far. What does Mr. Munger have against this school? This is nothing else than his way of paying to take a huge dump on UCSB!
Munger for AIA president
Not clear which building code agency has jurisdiction or if UCSB regulates itself, but right away egress deficiency is obvious and puts the occupants at severe risk, in addition to the widely lamented lack of health-mandated light and air.
The donor, or whoever drew up the plans, appears to be unfamiliar with health, safety and welfare requirements of buildings and might well be amenable to learning about them in order to avoid substantial costs of liability.
Not to say that this will be possible if the donor continues to propound a design more like that a rapacious, criminal developer who considers architects and codes to be anathema.
To be sure architectural follies have a long tradition of ridiculousness and maybe a small tiny house version could be erected for cats and dogs on campus, provided ASPCA grants approval.
Floor plan:
from https://www.independent.com/20...
It is divided into units of eight rooms surrounding a common area.
UCSB spokesperson Andrea Estrada said while the university was grateful for McFadden’s service on the review committee, his comments on the Munger proposal and his resignation won’t stop it from being built. “The Munger Hall project and design is continuing to move forward as planned,” she said in a statement. “We are delighted to be moving forward with this transformational project.”
(And now I see the plan in in the forum.)
.
There's a context—extreme housing shortage at UCSB, explained here:
https://www.independent.com/20...
in that case why not just make a capsule hotel-style building? Displense with the facade of giving a fuck about the students. Or maybe run your fucking University so that you don't have a housing shortage, assholes?
It floors me that the school so poorly anticipated and dealt with the problem. It also makes me wonder what else is run this way. But the billionaires will step in and save us, right?
money, the root of (and only the solution to in the marketing brochure) all of our problems.
'Take public bathroom design as an example. “Any time you go to a football game or a function there’s a huge line outside the women’s bathroom,” Munger said. “Who doesn’t know that they pee in a different way than the men? What kind of idiot would make the men’s bathroom and the women’s bathroom the same size? The answer is, a normal architect!”
And that’s exactly what happened to a high school science center that he funded for the Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles in the 1990s. A preliminary design for the science center called for the girls’ and boys’ bathrooms to be the same size. Thanks to Munger’s strong opposition, the school eventually built the girls’ room larger than the boys’.'
From: https://observer.com/2019/05/w...
Did this ever-so-fine journalist follow up to see whether the school performed any better than the straw man anecdote Mr. Munger cited? Fuck no, just trust the billionaire. Those ARCHITECTS are the problem.
He's a [C]unt.
Also the statement is plain false - M/W washrooms are not 50/50 in large-scale assembly projects ...
Chapter 29 specifically requires more toilets per occupant for women in stadiums (and a bunch of other occupancies). That quote stuck out like a sore thumb to me in its combination of ignorance and arrogance.
Architect's don't design the code.
*** NOTE: THIS IS MY OPINION ***
After reading that article, here's my response to Mungers....
Yes, you're right that the spatial requirements for toilet stalls are a larger than urinals and in general, women can't use urinals.... we get it. There is also other activities women do in restrooms that men don't do like fixing the makeup on their face and all but ok, fine. However, Mr. Mungers, you are not a licensed architect. If you engage in architectural practice any more in the actual drawing of it, I will notify ALL the state licensing boards to keep an eye out for you on ANY and ALL projects you finance and to actively investigate your involvement on every single project and every past project you have EVER done. If you want to practice as Architect then get the fucking license. I don't have issues with clients giving feedback and being proactive in the design process. That can be good. There is a point where if you take too much direction and control over the preparation of architectural plans and the services involved.
Yes, I've seen dumb ideas even by architects but then I point them out (ideally, in a respectful manner) and let the architect devise a solution, even presenting ideas and if they like it, then implement it. However, architects need to actually be in responsible charge including if there is an HSW or code related issue where YOUR idea doesn't work or is non-compliant for any number of reasons, but if you are blocking the architect's statutory authority and duty which means that de facto, you are acting as Architect of Responsible Charge. On non-exempt buildings, it is ILLEGAL for you to do so without a valid architect license, in every single state of the United States.
You think you know better than all architects. You don't. This proposed design is a nightmare for firefighters & other emergency rescue professionals, rescuing students because in a major fire and smoke-filled rooms and hallways, an unacceptably high percentage of students WILL be caught inside getting lost in the rat maze floor plan. KEEP EGRESS PATH TO EXTERIOR SIMPLE AND WITH AS FEW TURNS, ZIG/ZAGs AS POSSIBLE.
In general, when students must escape from their dorm, they should have a direct line of sight to exit stairways or doors to the exterior when they step out of their dorm/sleeping room. Additionally, they should also have emergency escape/rescue openings directly to the outside of the building. This way, if they can't exit by interior egress for any number of reasons like fire blocking their path in any direction, they should have a way out of their sleeping rooms. Hell, it's required for houses..... it should be even more so prudent for a dormatories and apartment complexes.
similar to some,
but not as good as Alcatraz.
Munger should be housed here. It might help give him soem perspective.
If Munger is dictating design to the point of practicing architecture such a level of dictatorial control over every single decision relating to the design, then he should be A) fined, B) be held with unlimited personal liability for any errors and omissions, and held to the same standard of care as an architect just as if an unlicensed person offers to practice architecture without a license (I'm not talking exempt projects).
In addition, I would recommend an injunction filed against him ordering him to to all effect to respect the architect's authority and role in the project including preparation of plans and specification which is the architect's sole and exclusive right under statutory law that a non-licensed person shall not have the power let alone veto power over an architect which would constrain the architect's authority especially when it is against health, safety, and welfare from which the licensing laws were enacted in the first place like protecting the public and the client from himself (in this case).
The client may have some authority and may determine whether or not to finance the project or to build it but shall not use the privileges to coerce or dictate over the architect. There shall be some constraint to limit abuse of privileges within reason. Unless the client is a licensed architect in the jurisdiction where the project shall be located, the client shall not exceed the role of the client to the point of effectively practicing architecture without a license.
I would say.... file a complaint against this person if there is sufficient evidence to where the person is effectively becoming the architect of the project while not holding a valid license as an architect. I don't think there is a statute of repose or limitations on reporting violations of licensing law.... at least none that I can see as these are not "legal" actions through a court of law but there might be limitations on certain "legal" action.
**** Warning for both the above and this post: It's just my opinion that Mr. Munger doesn't give a sh-t about and probably most anyone on this forum ***
I'm curious, how exactly can that many units be without a direct discharge to an exterior. I can understand dorm units being small compared to apartment units but even then, they had windows at the university I been to. I swore SLEEPING rooms required either a door or window for emergency escape. What about a fire. I would hope it's Type IA construction, fire suppression, fire alarm, AND it has smoke ventilation systems in every dorm unit AND also have units throughout the hall including fire suppression. Then if each dorm unit has 5 to 12 HOUR rated construction, then perhaps. The one thing I could say that may be positive is if the units are on the interior, then it MIGHT be able to be ballistic and blast-resistant in construction so it can limit someone outside the building from shooting an AR-15 and harming the students on the inside. However, I am not sure what the goal here is but obviously, Mr. Munger couldn't give one iota about my opinion and likely couldn't give a shit about anyone on this forum's opinion.
Supermax prison in Colorado. Every cell has a window.
This is a great 4th year project: Create a version of hell that meets code.
Btw, I know Dennis McFadden as a teaching colleague from Cal Poly Pomona and he is one of the most decent architects I've met.
Bravo, Dennis and others, who stood up their grounds against smugness and complying administration of UCSB and the UC Corporation in general.
Totally agree. THIS is precisely why we need a design review committee, and members with courage to not just be a rubber stamp. BTW, Julie Eizenberg is on the UCBS DRC along with Dennis McFadden. Curious to see what comes out of the minutes, which are still pending. https://www.dfss.ucsb.edu/design-construction-services/design-review-committee
Wait Im confused - how is this moving forward for getting built ... ? Who's stamp is going on it?
https://vtbs.com/dev/
UC basically regulates itself, though when I've done projects for them, the reference is California's Code (Based on IBC) and all the other usual ancillary codes. We had to stringently meet parts of the code that might otherwise seem somewhat negotiable or superfluous - acoustic separations between rooms for example. Never thought to just get rid of the windows!
This project costs about $270k/ bed of student housing. We managed to do a project WITH windows, beautiful common areas, and ground floor retail and amenity for less than $200k/ bed.
Build the wretched pile so UCSB can bank its cut of the donation, the main reason universities and other NGOs accept donations for named structures, programs, professorships, sports stadia, scholarships, other tip jars, and that architects join the scam, umm, biz opportunies and design eyeball catchers, are granted prizes, stardom, and shamelessness. So too governmental building regulators, mayors, governors, DC pigstys. And why so much dreck is built in crowded cities, highways and bridges and dams and airports and museums and hospitals and "affordble" housing rackets, worst of all national security boondoggles, scientific labs, excursions to foreign lands, and maybe worse than warmaking, climate change panic, disease pandemics. A blah blah blah dormitory is nothing new, such crap is widespread as suburban development to imprison youngsters a few years more to prepare for lifetimes of drudgery in contemptible buildings beloved by professional design firms bereft of talent and ethics, the red meat for architectural critics parading low-brow nonsense about what's good and bad for publications doing exactly what UCSB is doing.
good point. maybe in 3-4 years after munger dies they can demo and get another donor for an arts center or something fancy and trendy like that BIG project at Johns Hopkins.
Look at the donation. Then at the price tag. Now look back at the donation. Now back at the price tag. I'm on a horse.
Fixed. Where do I mail my invoice?
This is casual, but it appears, from the headlines, that it took McFadden's resignation to bring attention to this monster.
looks like a Soviet bloc and a Frys had a baby.
looks like a Soviet bloc and a Best western had a baby.
Can someone fix the not being able to edit from phones issue?
A monstrosity!
Time for a Munger strike!
FWIW according to the IRC for habitable spaces, fenestration must be min 8% floor area, natural ventilation (directly to outside) must be min 4% floor area: https://buildingcodetrainer.com/residential-light-ventilation-calculation/
all the comments about munger not being an architect are as stupid as this building. who gives a fuck, what if he was an architect, there are plenty of bad architects out there, one of them is going to put their stamp on these plans for sure. IBC (the applicable code not IRC), doesn’t require windows in sleeping rooms, as long as you have ducted fresh air, and while I haven’t done a full code analysis, (egress stair, travel distance, etc.) i’m sure they will figure out how to make it work technically…again who cares, the building sucks, end of story. My issue is not with the rich a-hole anyway, it’s with the institution willing to accept this piece of shit on their campus. I don’t care if this jackass was willing to pay 100% of the construction cost and it was the only way to keep the school open. Shame on whoever is in charge of UCSB (dean, president, board of trustees,) this is where the blame lies
Hey thanks for calling my comment stupid. I will be sure to give yours the time and attention it deserves.
My comment wasn't pointing out that he wasn't an architect, but providing an example of how money makes people believe they're God's gift to human advancement, and how they will ignore experts to keep on believing it, all while the plebes slobber at the mere thought of eating the scraps from the table of the wealthy.
Guess what, report Mungers would sooner or later will get the architect who signs off on it, too. Mr. Mungers is not an architect and is using his privilege of wealth to oppress the architect into nothing more than a draftsman with a stamp and seal to be used by Mr. Mungers as he sees fit. That's also a problem. Since I don't know who is going to stamp these drawings but I would say, we need to take action from the top and impose the full professional liability of an architect on the unlicensed person named Mr. Mungers who is ACTING as the Architect on a project he is not licensed to deliver such services or be making HSW and related professional decisions on. There is a point were a line is crossed. Anyone who rubber stamps this should be reported to the respective licensing board unless deficiencies are properly addressed to professional standard of care equal to or above that of the building codes as the professional standard of care would indicate. With just the some of the feedback on this forum (other than my own comments), I agree that there is a number of deficiencies.
It isn't about Mr. Mungers is not a licensed architect. It is a fact that he uses his privilege of wealth to coerce the architectural design decisions to be made to what Mr. Mungers want with disregard for the health, safety, welfare, statutory law, and the authority and responsibility of the architect including professional standard of care. Additionally, it is not just this project. I think the design can be better and it has nothing to due with architectural style and character. There is some potentially serious deficiencies that are potentially below professional standard of care.
Do we even know what Munger did and how much he contributed? The design, whatever its merits, is sophisticated and the structural issues challenging. I'm guessing he didn't do much and was greatly aided by an architectural firm, likely VTBS, who aren't going to tell us what they did so as not to offend their client and jeopardize the deal.
I'm reminded of the Laffer Curve which was sketched out on a cocktail napkin and had no merit, yet became the basis of Reaganomics.
I haven't seen a rendering of the building in context of the campus, which is curious—and I suspect deliberate.
superspreader
Beyond the indignation about lack of natural light, fresh air, and ability to control access to them, the most disturbing aspect of this project for me is the premise behind the “parti”: that everyone wants a single and that to “stay competitive” the university has to comply.
The college housing mission seems to have veered from stimulating student growth through exposure to diverse, unfamiliar, and challenging ideas in a communal setting (accidental roommate pairings and common rooms for – gasp - hanging out face to face with other students) to beating out the competition and attracting prospective customers by offering the private, screen-friendly echo chambers they seem to crave.
Personal rants and soap boxes aside, being able to point to the actual code is important (thanks for the correction! duh!) – especially since there is a collective intuition that this shouldn’t be legal.
The current language from the IRC and the IBC is transcribed below. Seems helpful to compare them. Bolding added by me.
IBC https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2021P1/chapter-12-interior-environment
2021 International Building Code (IBC)
Chapter 12 Interior Environment
Section 1202 - VENTILATION
1202.1 General
Buildings shall be provided with natural ventilation in accordance with Section 1202.5, or mechanical ventilation in accordance with the International Mechanical code
(…)
1202.5.1 Ventilation area required:
The openable area of the openings to the outdoors shall not be less than 4 percent of the floor area being ventilated
SECTON 1204 - LIGHTING
1204.1 General
Every space intended for human occupancy shall be provided with natural light by means of exterior glazed openings in accordance with Section 1204.2 or shall be provided with artificial light in accordance with Section 1204.3…
(…)
1204.2 Natural light
The minimum net glazed area shall not be less than 8 percent of the floor area served.
IRC https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IRC2021P1/chapter-3-building-planning
Section R303 LIGHT, VENTILATION AND HEATING
R303.1 Habitable rooms.
Habitable rooms shall have an aggregate glazing area of not less than 8 percent of the floor area of such rooms. Natural ventilation shall be through windows, skylights, doors, louvers or other approved openings to the outdoor air. Such openings shall be provided with ready access or shall otherwise be readily controllable by the building occupants. The openable area to the outdoors shall be not less than 4 percent of the floor area being ventilated.
And, an old thread about how/when the windowless bedroom became legal, would be interested to know more!
https://network.aia.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?GroupId=1771&MID=9680#:~:text=We%20had%20some%20discussion%20about,all%20that%20for%20some%20reason
more about windowless rooms: https://books.google.com/books?id=2KcRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=when+did+windowless+rooms+become+legal&source=bl&ots=ohzvRjYHhU&sig=ACfU3U1863UgnxoR5zAeGDauFH9GrzLrYw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjun5HB1fjzAhWoVt8KHfpKDo8Q6AF6BAglEAM#v=onepage&q=when%20did%20windowless%20rooms%20become%20legal&f=false
A call to change the code:
https://network.aia.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?GroupId=163&MID=9610
Good comment about pampering and screen time. As for the code, Hammurabi's was better.
Architects are required to adhere to the professional standard of care not just merely the standard of the building codes. The professional standard of care may exceed the minimum standards of the building code. Therefore, Architects are required by law and rule to hold to the professional standard of care which does require architects to meet the building code standards but may need to meet a higher standard than that of the building codes as to what is prudent that a prudent architect would do in like or similar circumstances.
Only Architects and Professional Engineers are authorized by law to make architectural / engineering design decisions (respectively) of this projects. Clients do not have a statutory right or authority to make the architectural or engineering decision. They may provide input but the final decision is that of the registered/licensed design professional. This is a project that is required to be designed be licensed/registered design professionals licensed/registered in the State of California. This is not a conventional wood-framed single-family dwelling. Mungers has right to provide input in the design. He does not have right to control design and make architectural design decisions.
This must be a very late (or early) april fools joke... right?
School is a time to dream...or not.
This project is poorly conceived on numerous levels that I'm starting to think it's a dog-and-pony show for the 97 year-old "benefactor" (to be clear: he's only donating 15% of the estimated cost of the project while demanding 100% design authority).
A cursory look at the scheduling as part of the July 2021 Scoping Presentation shows a timeline so completely unrealistic as to be absolute fantasy:
February 2022: EIR Approval/ March 2022 Coastal Commission Approval / April 2022 Construction Begins
UCSB is under pressure to create housing for an ever-enlarging student body that is a monster of its own making, so much so that they are willingly going along with this proposal in order to get Munger's money before he passes away. Same goes for VTBS.
He wants 100% design authority, then he should get his architect license. However, if Mr. Mungers wants to be "ARCHITECT" of the project and have 100% design authority then he should receive 100% of unlimited personal exposure to professional liability, as the "Architect"... which means his estate shall bear full unlimited liability should he die before anything catastrophic event happens.
Perhaps I am going crazy, but regardless of the light / ventilation things, doesn't chapter 1030 (1031 in 2021 IBC) require egress windows for sleeping rooms below the 4th story?
Of course it passes code or we wouldn’t be talking about it. I can even half buy the windowless sleeping rooms concept if the rooms are really only used for sleeping, but I just can’t believe in a post-covid world we are even talking about living in such close quarters without natural ventilation. Wake up, architects and pseudo-architects. Design must change in response to the pandemic.
Plan B, buy something already built for humans and modify as needed?
"Stanford University, seeking to provide an additional housing choice for faculty and staff near the campus, has paid $130.5 million for an upscale apartment and retail complex in Los Altos."
I’m just a lowly landscape guy….but how tf does this meet fire code? Seems like a death trap.
This is how smug this guy is.
Architectural Record
Exclusive Interview with Billionaire Charlie Munger on Controversial UCSB Dorm
I read it this morning and it was a terrible way to start the day. Made me so angry.
same here last night. spiked my sugar count!
“If you allow the donor to pick the architect... the buildings look like shit."
So self-awareness is not his strong suit either, then?
“We had to figure out how to house the students. It took a year and a half for me to decide not to make more than one student sleep in the same room.” Munger described the times in his life when he’s had to share rooms with unrelated strangers as “awful.”
The dorm is a mausoleum designed by a 97 year old, based on his time of life, his narrow, narrow worldview. Despotic leaders of old used to bury slaves and servants in their tombs. He's taking 4500 students.
Where is AIA on this? Any response/reaction?
Is there any precedent for this? I would think critical response would be an extraordinarily awkward and delicate matter. They would be impugning the integrity—and sanity—of an established firm and a substantial organization, UCSB. And it might have exposed them to all kinds of criticism from a diverse, and significantly conservative, field. Their best recourse might have been to let this play out in public opinion, though likely that wouldn't have happened without McFadden's resignation. And that may still go nowhere.
No one saw this coming, though maybe they should have. Munger is an old coot. His ideas are crackpot. There's no reason to listen to anything he says. The only problem is someone did. The UCSB leaders were the first line of defense and got sucked in, still hard to believe. There was no second line, as the architectural committee had no say—maybe there an opening for AIA.
Having said that, I wonder if the educational community will chime in—or why they aren't.
I responded to a comment above, but will copy to here:
Why is this being allowed?
UC basically regulates itself, though when I've done projects for them, the reference is California's Code (Based on IBC) and all the other usual ancillary codes. We had to stringently meet parts of the code that might otherwise seem somewhat negotiable or superfluous - acoustic separations between rooms for example. Never thought to just get rid of the windows, but as others have pointed out, the latest IBC does seem to permit windowless sleeping rooms.
Won't this cost less than one of those fancy dorms with windows?
This project costs about $270k/ bed of student housing. We managed to do a project WITH windows, beautiful common areas, and ground floor retail and amenity for less than $200k/ bed.
$270K bed.... I'll walk out with that.
Proposal, more detailed plans, site maps here:
https://drive.google.com/file/...
This will take a while to load. But still no renderings of the building in context, which might give a sense of how it might fit in with the campus—or stick out. This thing is huge, about the size of the baseball field nearby.
Also detailed plans of the first floor and top floor. He's loaded this thing up with everything, probably a large part of its cost.
Student housing shortage problem? Solve it the Dutch way with Spaceboxes! Lifespan 12 years, movable, recyclable...ARCHITECT tested and a GREAT BIG WINDOW.
Provide us a porch deck across the front and wrap around the ends as needed for stairs to grade. Porch deck can be metal deck for exterior environment and coated if necessary (depending on the type of metal used). Of course, we'll need suitable guard rails (of course). Actually could work with slight modifications.
Savannah College of Art and Design's French campus dorms.
Looks like they would fit well in Santa Barbara.
VTBS's student housing at UCLA looks nice:
https://vtbs.com/dev/ucla-sw-campus-housing/
I dwell on this because it provides another example of casual, botched thinking that can have negative results at best. Where else have we seen this? The wonders we once felt about Facebook come to mind.
McFadden misspoke. The dorm is not an experiment but a gamble based on nothing more than the hunch of an old man with limited knowledge and experience—and limited humanity—who likes cruise ships, his model.
The evidence is not there. The "success" of his Michigan dorm—one eighth smaller—is anecdotal and sketchy. Only a handful replied to that survey cited by Munger and others. Most liked it for its location and amenities. Several complained about the lack of windows. Even those who gave high reviews complained about not having windows.
What the windowless design goes against is several hundred thousand years of human evolution in natural light and air. We have an intimate relationship with light and air, hardwired into our DNA and programmed into our cultures. Both affect us physically and psychologically, as many studies have shown—sleep rhythms, etc. We just don't question the relationship. Yet we're not seeing any consideration of such studies.
An experiment should be measured against alternatives, and I don't see any indication that UCSB even considered them.
And how can we determine if this "experiment" fails? Likely we won't see overwhelming proof such as a rash of suicides or psychotic students. More likely we'll see a degradation of performance and well being that will be hard to measure for definitive conclusion.
But what if it is decided it is a failure? Then what? The only solution would be to demolish the thing and start over. Lost, $1.5 billion+ and six or more years put aside to solve the UCSB housing crisis, which will loom larger even then, still unresolved, with the solutions even more expensive.
More likely, they'll muddle on, and students will have a vague sense of not being who they're supposed to be.
Inductees (students) are being prepared for a future servicing a screen in a cubicle.
This project is uniting the architects!!!
isn't this the model used for housing in Ready Player One? If you live in a virtual world but don't want to sleep on the streets, it's perfect!
This is what we get when we are living through a crisis. Crazy, probably bad, ideas become reasonable. Get used to more of this in the near future. We just spent 60 years not building homes in nearly every city on our planet and this is where it leads. Horrible bad ideas start to look like the answer...
As much as I like ready player one, in the real world we don't even need to look to prisons for similar models of desperate housing. New York gave us the dumbbell tenements not that long ago for much the same reasons (although way back then every room DID have a window - to an airshaft of doom - so maybe this IS better). As the saying goes, history may not repeat but it often rhymes.
Munger is a cipher whose life consists of accumulating wealth. He can be dismissed as inconsequential. You would, however, expect a university chancellor to be well versed in the Humanities but it is had to see that here. The UCSB chancellor, Henry T. Yang, is a mechanical engineer by training and looks to be in a 'go along to get along' mode here or he would not have allowed this disaster to get this far.
UCSB trying to justify this obscenity
https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2021...
It has some great amenities. While it is somewhat banal, I don't think this experiment rises to the level of a crisis. And Paul Goldberger, well right after he attacked Zaha Hadid for not policing the safety of Arabian project job sites, she died a year or two so afterwards. So the greatest female Architect we have had in our lifetimes, had to listen to his bullshit when she probably knew she had limited time if even just via her family health history. So whatever Paul Goldberger says?, turn it over a bit, he is just a critic. So again, he brings another knee jerk black and white bullshit statement. The dorm project has a point of view towards solving a bunch of problems in that type and has a bit of courage to just provide some benefits. Could it be a bit better, yes. Could the project be on to something? yes.
Solving a few minor problems by scarifying all creature comforts in the name of a fucking ridiculou$ social experiment? You can be seriously this dumb.
lol Charles Munger is no Zaha.
& not to derail but maybe if Zaha didn't want her artistic genius overshadowed by criticism over slave labor, maybe she shouldn't have allowed slave labor to build her artistic statements.
Do the math:
$1.5b / 4500 beds = $330,000 each.
Is this really the best they can do for that?
$1,000/mo x 4,500 = $4,500,000/mo revenue in beds alone. Hard to look away if you're a UCSB administrator.
Economics rule.
The reason we haven't see renderings in total context is because they have not been provided.
To date, no plans or drawings have been made public that show Munger Hall’s scale in relation to the rest of campus; that show how the height of the building would look from different vantage points on and off campus; or that show how the building would or would not fit into the UCSB campus masterplan. Munger Hall, in short, would be shockingly out of scale not only with the rest of the UCSB campus but with national architectural norms as a whole.
from the petition by the UCSB Architectural Historians Group
https://www.change.org/p/ucsb-...
More links here. They review the process, or the lack of it. Munger's offer was made five years ago, which means five years were lost considering alternatives. I'm not clear how this time was spent.
UCSB does not look good at all.
The morning sun conditions our lives from day one. It sets our clocks and determines our rhythms and moods. Opening the window shades to let it in is one of our first and most basic rituals. It can warm and lift us, providing us with proof life goes on, regardless, giving us a fresh start for another day, regardless, suggesting restoration and renewal, regardless, offering the possibilities of hope that we can get nowhere else. The experience is universal, belonging to all of us. Alone, in our bedrooms, our experience is personal and private. Denying the experience to one person denies it to us all.
The human body when kept in an indoor environment of low lux light will not realize that it is daytime, as it cannot sense the increasing levels of daylight that the genetics are accustomed to. As such, by late morning your body may start sending a signal for you to sleep!
Steven Magee, Electrical Forensics
Every morning I wake up with an unknown, unexplainable joy of life. Then I get lost in the beauty of the morning sun and all of the magnificence that surrounds me.
Debasish Mridha
Full many a glorious morning have I seen
Flatter the mountain-tops with sovereign eye,
Kissing with golden face the meadows green,
Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy
Shakespeare
The sun—the bright sun, that brings back, not light alone, but new life, and hope, and freshness to man—burst upon the crowded city in clear and radiant glory. Through costly-coloured glass and paper-mended window, through cathedral dome and rotten crevice, it shed its equal ray.
Charles Dickens
The sun shineth upon the dunghill, and is not corrupted.
John Lyly
Here is the site map. I can't go far with this, but it isn't a school in a dense urban area. There have to be other options, none considered.
Good morning in May 2022. Has there been any movement on this dorm, is it actually going to be built? I can’t find anything in the news.
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