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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

#171

Post by Avocadoe »

nojs wrote: post #90
ep103 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1.68-million-square-foot structure that would house up to 4,500 students, 94 percent of whom would not have windows in their small, single-occupancy bedrooms. Why am I not surprised that Charles "The-most-important-thing-is-getting-your-first-100000-dollars. Work-multiple-jobs-skip-meals-do-what-you-have-to-that's-the-investing-entry-fee-to-wealth" Munger architected a large prison for students?

> "The-most-important-thing-is-getting-your-first-100000-dollars. Work-multiple-jobs-skip-meals-do-what-you-have-to-that's-the-investing-entry-fee-to-wealth" Could you share the background for this?

I was curious about this as well but can't find any concrete sources.

A blog [1] says the argument goes something like this: “The first $100,000 is a b*tch, but you gotta do it [...] I don’t care what you have to do—if it means walking everywhere and not eating anything that wasn’t purchased with a coupon, find a way to get your hands on $100,000. After that, you can ease off the gas a little bit.”

[1] https://fourpillarfreedom.com/charlie-munger-the-first-10000...

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#173

Post by raldi »

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…

There are ten emergency stairwells on every floor: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FC1jlGjVEAIvAG8?format=jpg

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#174

Post by londons_explore »

IggleSniggle wrote: post #138
londons_explore wrote: post #92

I'm going to depart from the norm here... And announce I'd actually like to live in that building. I really value communal shared space, and very few types of housing provide it - usually dedicating 90%+ of space to individuals to live a gloomy existence mostly alone requiring Netflix for company. Shared space should be 'tiered' - Ie. Personal space, space shared with near neighbors, space shared with a wider neighbo…

Are you considering the scale of the building and the lack of access to outside? Imagine, the pod next to your's, deep in the interior of the building with only two entrances/exits, accidentally starts a fire. Or houses a crazy person who keeps defecating in their waste-bin. Just imagine the CO2 levels and lack of oxygen, even without the other environmental issues! I, too, value communal shared spaces. A giant block…

As a new building I assume it will have proper air supplies to each room...

And lighting can totally be artificial if it is sufficiently bright to be akin to sunlight. If I can't get sunburn off it, it isn't a suitable sun-substitute.

These people will still have access to the outside, where there will hopefully be a large park all around.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#175

Post by raldi »

IggleSniggle wrote: post #138
londons_explore wrote: post #92

I'm going to depart from the norm here... And announce I'd actually like to live in that building. I really value communal shared space, and very few types of housing provide it - usually dedicating 90%+ of space to individuals to live a gloomy existence mostly alone requiring Netflix for company. Shared space should be 'tiered' - Ie. Personal space, space shared with near neighbors, space shared with a wider neighbo…

Are you considering the scale of the building and the lack of access to outside? Imagine, the pod next to your's, deep in the interior of the building with only two entrances/exits, accidentally starts a fire. Or houses a crazy person who keeps defecating in their waste-bin. Just imagine the CO2 levels and lack of oxygen, even without the other environmental issues! I, too, value communal shared spaces. A giant block…

There are ten emergency stairwells on every floor: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FC1jlGjVEAIvAG8?format=jpg

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#176

Post by alistairSH »

gbronner wrote: post #148
indodima wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 diff…

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.

But there's zero evidence this building will actually accomplish this. And, according to the architect who resigned, plenty of evidence to the contrary.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#177

Post by k8si »

gbronner wrote: post #148
indodima wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 diff…

Introvert's nightmare. Also, who can study in a common area with all the noise?

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#178

Post by giarc »

mindcrime wrote: post #136
giarc wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As point out elsewhere, 2 entrances doesn't mean 2 egress points. There are likely lots of one way doors out of the building.

History suggests that the primary ingress/egress points are the only ones worth considering. Emergency doors have a nagging tendency to be obstructed, hidden, barricaded or even flat-out locked even when they're not allowed to be. And that's assuming people will know where they are. When they're half-drunk, half-stoned, half-asleep, and wandering around in a smoke filled corridor at 2:00 am.

I'm sure all egress doors would have crash bars. Think of any tall building, they typically only have one or two major entrances but then many one way egress doors. This building wouldn't be any different.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#179

Post by mindcrime »

maxcan wrote: post #141
mindcrime wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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

Of course I do, duh. The question is "how much has it progressed?" Note that the Hamlet fire I mention was in 1991, and the Station Nightclub fire was in 2003, so it's not like Triangle Shirtwaist is the most recent example of a mass fire tragedy. And there are other examples, those three just happened to be "top of mind" for me.

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

Sure, but most of those things are orthogonal to fire safety.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#180

Post by Symbiote »

theroqwpeo wrote: post #75
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/

Reviews of this residence: https://www.veryapt.com/ApartmentReview-a7222-munger-graduat...

Are the ratings reliable?

Most of the 9 or 10 star reviews say the lack of windows is a problem, yet still give 9 or 10.

There are very few low ratings. A 1, a 5, a 6, the rest 7+.

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