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Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

independent.com

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Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#141

Post by maxcan »

mindcrime wrote: post #101
macinjosh wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Entrances != Egresses. Do you ever notice those doors that say emergency exit only?

Which history shows us tend to be locked or barricaded when they're not supposed to be, or obstructed in some other way, or otherwise unavailable. Sure, there are other egresses available in principle. Hell, you can sledge-hammer your way through a wall in a pinch. But in any practical sense? Having two primary ingress/egress points is a horrible idea.

You know that the world has progressed since the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, right?

I know that its hard to to believe that there has been progress in the last 100 years, as we sit here communicating effortlessly across the globe, protected from huge numbers of diseases that ravaged humankind, enjoying workplace fatality rates decreased by multiple orders of magnitude, enjoying universal suffrage, etc etc.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#142

Post by ajross »

mindcrime wrote: post #91

From my point-of-view as a former firefighter, I would say this: A building meant to house 4500 students, with only two entrances? There's a word for that: deathtrap. Building this is setting UCSB up to be the site of the next Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire[1], Station Nightclub fire[2], or Hamlet Chicken Processing Plant fire[3]. At a first glance, based only on the information provided in the article, I'd say tha…

Surely building codes mandate a comprehensive evacuation design. There are clearly aesthetic complaints many people will have here, but realistically safety shouldn't be a problem. This is simply not a "large" building by skyscraper standards, and those can be built safely.

Honestly... I think this is very much a taste thing. Is it so weird that I don't think this looks so bad at all? Yeah, yeah, no windows. But dense housing means lots of local goodies in the same building. These 4500 kids in their sardine rooms will have multiple food options, probably several gyms, rec rooms, libraries, etc... all "down the hall".

I spent a lot of time in college trudging to stuff through the snow (though to be fair not a lot of snow at UCSB). Physical access to amenities means more than I think suburban detached garage owners tend to remember.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#143

Post by mindcrime »

mnd999 wrote: post #126
mindcrime wrote: post #91

From my point-of-view as a former firefighter, I would say this: A building meant to house 4500 students, with only two entrances? There's a word for that: deathtrap. Building this is setting UCSB up to be the site of the next Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire[1], Station Nightclub fire[2], or Hamlet Chicken Processing Plant fire[3]. At a first glance, based only on the information provided in the article, I'd say tha…

Would it even pass fire regs? Surely that makes it a non-starter?

It's hard to imagine how it would, but fire regulations vary dramatically from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The article doesn't go into whether or not there has been any review of the plans from that perspective, so it's hard to say.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#144

Post by themitigating »

indodima wrote: post #113
yashap wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100%. Sure, the billionaire is probably an asshole, but he’s also 97 and not an architect. The real problem here is the leadership at the university deciding to move forward with this monstrosity just to get a big donation.

You do not need to be an architect to see that living in windowless boxes (not rooms) will damage young adults psychologically. Just put yourself into this room and try to study for 6 hours a day. It looks worse than a prison cell. This old fart probably has his own ideas about how poor students need to work and live in order to "earn" an education. Not to mention anything regarding virus spreading...

But you do need to prove that statement because you are implying it's obvious

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#145

Post by Belphemur »

yashap wrote: post #65
gt565k wrote: post #28

Glad he had the balls to step down and call them out. The other committee members and people in charge of the project should be embarrassed as they failed to represent the best needs of the university and its students. Windowless dorms, crazy 97 year old billionaire amateur architect and a bunch of corrupt university staff and committee members who would do anything to save a few bucks. What could go wrong? Humanity…

100%. Sure, the billionaire is probably an asshole, but he’s also 97 and not an architect. The real problem here is the leadership at the university deciding to move forward with this monstrosity just to get a big donation.

Maybe they're betting on the donor dying before having to start the project, and hope to keep the money ?

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#146

Post by KennyBlanken »

mnd999 wrote: post #126
mindcrime wrote: post #91

From my point-of-view as a former firefighter, I would say this: A building meant to house 4500 students, with only two entrances? There's a word for that: deathtrap. Building this is setting UCSB up to be the site of the next Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire[1], Station Nightclub fire[2], or Hamlet Chicken Processing Plant fire[3]. At a first glance, based only on the information provided in the article, I'd say tha…

Would it even pass fire regs? Surely that makes it a non-starter?

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-mar-26-re-12733...

That's by way of a reddit post about the dorm that I stumbled across trying to find the answer to whether there were fire code concerns with the project.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#147

Post by bogomipz »

For those not familiar with UCSB, it's basically a beach campus. The campus itself has two beaches located within. The idea of creating windowless dorm rooms in a location blessed with natural ventilation is as dystopian as it is absurd. Further Santa Barbara being located in Southern California, is quite hot much of the year. It's interesting that Charlie Munger is essentially designing dorms for "other people's" grandchildren. There is no way Munger's grandkids would ever have to live in windowless rooms as they would likely be renting houses off campus. NYU in NYC has a similar self-made housing problem - how to grow the business by growing the number of students year or year in perpetuity. And doing so in areas that already have affordable housing shortages for their regular full time residents.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#148

Post by gbronner »

indodima wrote: post #113
yashap wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100%. Sure, the billionaire is probably an asshole, but he’s also 97 and not an architect. The real problem here is the leadership at the university deciding to move forward with this monstrosity just to get a big donation.

You do not need to be an architect to see that living in windowless boxes (not rooms) will damage young adults psychologically. Just put yourself into this room and try to study for 6 hours a day. It looks worse than a prison cell. This old fart probably has his own ideas about how poor students need to work and live in order to "earn" an education. Not to mention anything regarding virus spreading...

The goal is to get the students out of their bedrooms. There's plenty of common space, and lots of really nice places to go study and socialize out of your bedroom. This is intended to promote real-life socialization, which is the only real reason to go to in-person college these days.

Plus, everyone gets a single!

My college roommates had blackout curtains on the small windows in our rooms. Not sure how this is different.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#150

Post by wongarsu »

daniel-thompson wrote: post #24

Munger also did the same thing for the University of Michigan's graduate residence building^; 95% of the rooms have no windows. ^ https://housing.umich.edu/residence-hall/munger/

At least there everyone seems to get their own bathroom. The UCSB version seems to have one bathroom and one shower for every suite of 8
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