Charles Munger, the billionaire investor whose proposed design for a monolithic, partly windowless dormitory at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) was the subject of a public controversy that drew critical ire and the eyes of outside media, passed away yesterday at his home in California. He was 99.
Known widely as Berkshire Hathaway founder Warren Buffet’s “right-hand man,” Munger was himself a lauded financier with a reported net worth of around $2.6 billion. His forays into architecture — which he had credited to the college experiences of his many children and grandchildren — included the late UCSB project, his own self-designed residence in Los Angeles’ Hancock Park neighborhood, and another dormitory at his alma mater, the University of Michigan, that was funded largely by his personal donation of $110 million.
The controversy surrounding Santa Barbara's since-canceled Munger Hall project never seemed to dampen his ambitions to see its design repeated on campuses. “Nobody’s ever done all these things in one place. I expect these buildings to sprout up all over America,” he told the Architectural Record during a 2021 interview, speaking of the 4,500-bed structure’s design and contested safety considerations.
He also called Dennis McFadden, the university architect whose viral resignation letter first brought the story into public view, an “idiot” for apparently not understanding the “intelligence” of his design, which he claimed offered improvements and spatial resolutions to Le Corbusier’s Unité d'Habitation in Marseille.
Many critics seemed to glance over the success of the University of Michigan design, a 600-bed project that Munger reminded several reporters has received mostly positive reviews since opening in 2015.
Other commentators were perplexed by Munger's arrogating into the realm of student housing. Most, if not all, who are versed in the debate, were quick to see it as emblematic of the troublesome influence that monied benefactors have in higher education and public architecture.
Munger will be remembered as a man who steadfastly defended his vision as the only reasonable answer to the “crisis” affecting all public universities statewide, spurring many towards makeshift accommodations.
UCSB is now moving forward with a new housing strategy, though the project will remain in memory as a catalyst for discussions surrounding design and mental health, construction costs, the livelihoods of young people, housing, and public education.
6 Comments
What does his own house design look like?
https://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/charlie-mungers-house-1/view/google/
This doesn’t appear to be the house that he designed for himself. The house he designed for himself is in Hancock Park, which is a neighborhood that is not located in Pasadena. It is in mid Los Angeles.
Also let's be clear: billionaires shouldn't exist. He was worth $2.6 billion in life but 90% of that should be out in the economy in either taxes or charitable donations. The existence of billionaires is obscene.
They certainly shouldn't be listened to. But they are. Cf. Elon Musk.
Kind regard.
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