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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

#421

Post by graeme »

loeg wrote: post #233
musingsole wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No kidding! We just went through 2 years where this building would've been the absolute worst to grapple with. Imagine those 4,500 being told to sit out the pandemic in their rooms. How can they miss the problem when the worst case scenario for some idiotic design like this happened last year!

Design life for buildings is under 50 years and 100-year pandemics are somewhat less frequent? I mean I agree it would be a miserable place to shelter-in-place for COVID, but with COVID in the rear-view mirror for the vaccinated, I'm not sure it's a major concern. I think fire safety, lack of entrances, lack of windows and fresh air are bigger concerns.

> but with COVID in the rear-view mirror for the vaccinated, I'm not sure it's a major concern.

Your info needs updating. The vaccines wane, and breakthroughs aren’t harmless.

Swedish study found efficacy decline basically to nothing at 7 months and severe disease efficacy did too: https://mobile.twitter.com/x2IndSpeculator/status/1454126453...

Separate study found no reduction in risk of long covid in the event of a breakthrough: https://mobile.twitter.com/ahandvanish/status/14534083120667...

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#422

Post by ajross »

pdpi wrote: post #312
ajross wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You're assuming those laws are adequate. This is getting toward conspiracy theory territory. It's... a building code. Yes. Yes, I tend to trust building codes that have been keeping all of us safe in our homes and offices for the better part of a century. If building codes don't work, then where are the disasters in all the other buildings? You're saying that every other building in the USA in the 20th century "jus…

Nothing conspirational about it. In the follow up to the Grenfell fire[1], my development was reviewed and the cladding in use on several buildings was found… less than ideal. The homeowner’s association is currently drafting a plan to have it replaced. This isn’t some theoretical, conspiracy-laden issue. It’s an actual problem. 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire

> In the follow up to the Grenfell fire[1], my development was reviewed and the cladding in use on several buildings was found… less than ideal.

Yes! And by whom was it reviewed? And what happened when they reviewed it? I'm guessing the answers are "government regulators", and "they made sure it was fixed". And now it's being fixed.

You're literally citing the fact that safety regulation worked correctly as evidence... that it doesn't? Without the regulators you'd still be living in a deathtrap!

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#423

Post by [deleted] »

exhilaration wrote: post #68
praptak wrote: post #8

"Munger Hall, in comparison, is a single block housing 4,500 students with two entrances" Is it even possible to make it fire code compliant?

There must be an exception for structures with intentionally limited exits, such as prisons and billionaire-designed student housing.

[deleted]

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#424

Post by [deleted] »

nescioquid wrote: post #214
ajross wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 dens…

Former firefighter cautions we should be skeptical of the safety of this plan, and your rebuttal is "surely building codes mandate..."? A zero-evidence rebuttal concerning the safety of 4500 students.

[deleted]

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#425

Post by ghaff »

colinmhayes wrote: post #411
ghaff wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does sound like a lot of money but that is also a huge dorm. I couldn't find numbers on a more recent dorm project but MIT's Simmons Hall was completed in 2002. (Which also has sort of a weird window thing going on.) It "only" cost $78 million--so presumably something in excess of $100 million today. But that's for a dorm only housing 350 or so students vs. 4500. But, still you're looking at about 2x the cost per…

But the thing is Simmons Hall is practically a work of art. If you asked students if they wanted to live there or in this place pretty sure every single one would say Simmons.

Like Stata, it's grown on me a bit looking from the outside. It's certainly not boring. Never been inside though so no idea how well it works as a dorm.

In addition to the window thing, the sheer scale of 4,500 students gives me pause. It's something like 10x the number of students of any dorm I've ever experienced.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#426

Post by ajross »

jkaptur wrote: post #409
ethbr0 wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're overreading the amateur architect angle. Presumably, they didn't say "Hi, Charlie Munger, please draw up a building for us on a napkin." It's in fact a barb that Munger is a non-practicing architect, and apparently ruffled feathers with the professional architect on the committee. Which, from working with some prima donna architects, I am both unsurprised and unsympathetic about. Building engineers ens…

> Building engineers ensure everything is to code. Architects fret about whether it looks and feels right. The idea that architects don't worry about building code is absolutely incorrect on a project of any scale. Prima donna "starchitects" worry less, but that's because they've hired other architects to handle it.

So which one was the guy who quit?

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#427

Post by hackersword »

ethbr0 wrote: post #319
bobthepanda wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It‘s strange that this isn‘t a law. Everywhere where I‘ve lived in the US, windows are required in a room with a bed. I can‘t imagine it wouldn‘t be very pleasant, as an example, someone smoking weed inside a dorm next to me without a way to vent it out.

Afaik, most windows in newer, high-density commercial buildings are non-functional. It's difficult to design a large window, that will also open, that also insulates sufficiently to hit modern energy efficiency certifications.

In the event of a fire, "opening" the window is not necessarily a function of if the window is MEANT to be opened ... but CAN it be opened. Eg: throwing a chair through it, or firefighters breaking window from outside, etc.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#428

Post by mindcrime »

_ea1k wrote: post #418
mindcrime wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

North Carolina for me.

Wow, I had no idea that there were still states that wouldn't require them.

There's a lot of nuance to that, because "requirements" vary based on building type and other details. And TBH, I'm not 100% up on the latest details even here in NC, as I've been away from the fire service for some time now.

What I can say with some confidence is that sprinklers are widely required in commercial buildings, and I think it's safe to say that's fairly widespread across the US. But even there, I wouldn't say the requirement is totally ubiquitous.

Getting into residential structures is where it gets murkier. For single family homes, I think something like 46 states don't require sprinklers for new construction. For multi-family, and things like dorms, I'm less clear on the details of what is / isn't required around various parts of the country.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#429

Post by mdavis6890 »

yyy888sss wrote: post #302

For $1.5 Billion, why don't they just build 1000 luxury 5 bedroom mansions? If they had the land area, they could even build 5000 individual detached homes for that budget. They could even splurge and give each bedroom a window!

That's a great way to think about it! If we're spending $X on Y-thing, what other things could we have instead for the same $X?

That said, I'm guessing the reason is that there is not enough land, close enough to the University, on which the City of Santa Barbara will allow them to build.

Also, including the assumed cost of the land, you may not be able to build 1000 of them.

Also, also, the university may have authority to build on-campus 'dorms' but not 'houses.'

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