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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

#501

Post by chrisseaton »

hemloc_io wrote: post #499

Hijacking the thread a bit, but I'm not sure people understand how predatory student housing is in aggregate. At many colleges you don't even have a choice to live in the dorms or not as an undergrad, living on campus for 1-2 years is tied to enrollment. On top of this lots of financing for college housing is wonky, because some colleges do not pay property tax. (So you can have the college hold the land and some thi…

> If UCSB put in one of these requirements students could be forced to take part in a social experiment

Well nobody needs to go to UCSB. The US is fortunate that it's got such a huge and massively diverse range of options for university.

I guess if the results are bad they'll suffer for recruitment and the problem will hopefully correct itself.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#502

Post by [deleted] »

bumby wrote: post #498
colinmhayes wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't say the housing market in Ann Arbor has a fair bit of choice. The vast majority of undergrads live in frat style 7+ bedroom houses. There really aren't a huge number of 1 or even 2 bedroom apartments available, and what does exist is either incredibly run down or 2k+ a month in a high rise building that grad students can't afford. North campus has better 1/2 bed options, but only engineering and art studen…

Is your claim based on the assumption that it has to be within walking distance of campus? It's been awhile since I lived in the area, but I never had issues finding a reasonable student apartment if you were willing to bus/bike/commute in

[deleted]

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#503

Post by leafmeal »

animal_spirits wrote: post #220
proteal wrote: post #183

I think I understand where they’re coming from by designing such a large, on-campus dorm. There’s limited space at UCSB to physically house kids nearby. If you look at the map, there’s only one walkable community to UCSB and that consists of rented single family homes (2,000 sqft shacks) that you cram 20-30 students in. I would argue that living in the dystopian mega dorm might make more sense for lots of students wh…

Why does UCSB admit so many students it obviously can't support? That seems to be a big issue. I saw it happen when I was at Purdue too. They started putting bunkbeds in the _public_ dorm lobby because they couldn't support all the students they admitted. Its ridiculous that universities are doing this to their students.

I think part of it could be the 9% guarantee[1] which mandates that the top 9% of California high school students be offered a place at at least one UC.

[1]: https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requi...

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#504

Post by lnanek2 »

He seems kind of spoiled to me. My apartment has two windows. The one in the bedroom is always closed because my wife works the night shift and needs to sleep during the day. The other window always has the shades drawn because I'm too lazy to put on clothes and don't want to bother my neighbors with kids when I get up at 6:30AM each morning and do my VR boxing practice in the living room.

Pretty sure plenty of college students would be OK with the false window shown in the article for reduced cost. The ones that want the outside rooms with windows could pay more. Upgrade the false window to a free OLED TV and students would probably pick interior over that for the same price. Plenty of office buildings have windows that don't open, and college kids with windows that do open tend to throw TVs and the like out of them, so I doubt exterior rooms with windows would even have openable ones with a building that tall.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#505

Post by slownews45 »

hemloc_io wrote: post #499

Hijacking the thread a bit, but I'm not sure people understand how predatory student housing is in aggregate. At many colleges you don't even have a choice to live in the dorms or not as an undergrad, living on campus for 1-2 years is tied to enrollment. On top of this lots of financing for college housing is wonky, because some colleges do not pay property tax. (So you can have the college hold the land and some thi…

To be crystal clear, at least in California on-campus housing is generally where students want to live.

With berkeley on campus housing can rely on FA awards, much more flexible in terms of reasons to cancel (ie, you withdraw from school), big issue with group leases off campus when one person flakes.

What's interesting is that there is a view that we can't try out things like this in the US. There are so many critics, and so few doers.

Be worth seeing what students think of the housing. I realize that may not align with some of the NIMBYs and critics, but ultimately they should have voice as stakeholders.

And why not try something out?

For those not familiar, there is a big shortage of on campus housing, many schools are waiving requirements to live on campus in year 1

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#506

Post by pdpi »

ajross wrote: post #422
pdpi wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.…

My point is that regulation is necessary, but not sufficient. Saying "It complies with regulation" isn't enough to deflect criticism — compliant buildings can still have serious safety issues.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#507

Post by trhway »

Who needs real windows in that ant city if one can have all the windows the one may want in the metaverse. The building is designed for maximum security, a Hogwarts North Korean style. In our future ant civilization the punishment will be not the physical isolation, it will be taking your Oculus away and disconnecting from the metaverse.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#508

Post by ClumsyPilot »

LegitShady wrote: post #484
ClumsyPilot wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"deep misunderstanding on your part of the challenge" A citizen doesn't care about challenges in construction or software or food contamination, it is our professional responsibility not to be negligent in our work.

the standard for negligence for an engineer isnt that "something bad happened", and talking about a building with foundation issues due to unstable local soil is far different than "didn't meet fire code" from the perspective of anyone who knows anything about the issues at hand. Just an FYI it's unlikely an architect designed those foundations - there were probably engineers who tested the soil and gave its properti…

All a layman knows if that he should not die in his sleep because the building caved in, you can't expect a homeowner to debate you on the exact details of structural engineering.

However I can comment on the culture of negligence - and I think it's getting worse.

Of course in every job, there is constant pressure from management to cut corners, junior colleagues or peers that mess up, deadlines to meet. It is very easy to say to avoid inspecting troubled areas, to say 'I've done my job' and avoid headache. Often it is not in anyone's job description to police this. The 'client' is typically none the wiser, and when problems arise 10 years down the line, often they can't be traced to anyone personally. The fact that we've replaced entire careers with gig economy, and people stay in one job less and companies now invest less in training that ever in the past 40 years means that there is even less accountability and more opportunity for mistakes.

Cases of unpredictable 'something bad happened' are extremely rare. Soviet government was warned that reactors used in Chernobyl were dangerous, Tepco was warned that sea wall protecting Fukushima was inadequate, Robert Lund warned that Nasa should not launch Space Shuttle Challenger, residents of Grenfell Tower warned about fire safety before they burned alive, same goes goes for Bhopal disaster, subprime loans and 2008, 737 Max and every other major event. It is also extremely rare that the consequences of these decision ever catch up with the top brass. Hence we have culture of negligence.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#509

Post by throwawa21782 »

ciabattabread wrote: post #36
notRobot wrote: post #17

No windows? No natural light whatsoever? That's gotta have a serious negative impact on the mental health (and possibly sleep patterns?) of the students. Not to mention that in case of a fire, all the people rushing to the two exits will get into a stampede, and those who remain in their rooms will suffocate, with no windows to open for fresh air or to be rescued from? This is the most dystopian thing I've heard of i…

NYC has a law that for a room to be legally called a bedroom, it must have a window that's not on a lot line. I can't believe California doesn't have a law like that.

I once got a deal on a 1600sqft apartment in a Maryland row home. It was listed as a 1-bed, even though it had 2 more rooms that were as big as the bedroom, but couldn't legally be called bedrooms because no windows. I believe the codes required you couldn't have more people living there than could live in 1 bedroom.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#510

Post by krisoft »

ethbr0 wrote: post #337
lbriner wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is great except 50% of people are introverts and need space to recharge. How many people live like this in real life? That speaks to the choice of hanging out followed by "leave me alone". It sounds like an experiment but it could probably have been done slightly further "away from home" if it was about collaboration. Just have places to encourage people to hang out if they want to and not if they don't. Forcin…

Or, you force socialization on a population that's increasingly turning inward, to the detriment of society in general. It's hubris that on one hand HN can bitch about how egomaniacal companies like Facebook and Google are, and yet on the other complain about how architecture designed to promote socialization is unfair. Where do we think those social-deaf, micro-optimizing engineers come from?

> Or, you force socialization on a population that's increasingly turning inward, to the detriment of society in general.

College kids living in dorms are turning inward? Do you have proof of that or that is just a hunch?

> ... yet on the other complain about how architecture designed to promote socialization is unfair.

The goal of making architecture promote socialisation is great. The complaint is not about the aim. The complaint is about how it is achieved.

Bedrooms with no natural light or natural air circulation suck. We don't build houses like this because it is not a good idea. Saying that your aim was to promote socialisation doesn't change that.

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