Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm • Hacker News Board

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#91

Post by mindcrime » Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 2:24 PM UTC

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 that there is basically NOTHING good about this idea. But I'll allow that there are other details that could change the dynamic. Still, the weight of history suggests the importance of taking a somewhat skeptical position towards any measure of hand-waving when it comes to fire safety. At the moment, color me skeptical.

Edit: Let me add this... the linked article doesn't go into any real details about the fire safety aspects of this, so there's a lot of info we don't have without digging into other sources. One of those details would be the presence of a sprinkler system. IF local building codes require sprinklers in dormitories and this building is properly sprinklered, that would assuage some of my concerns, as a working sprinkler system is basically the single most important thing you can have to save lives in the event of a fire.[4]

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fi...

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire

[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_chicken_processing_plan...

[4]: https://nfsa.org/2020/12/15/sprinkler-saves-proof-that-fire-...

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#92

Post by londons_explore » Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 2:25 PM UTC

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 neighborhood, and everyone's space. And that's exactly what this development provides.

If I were the university running this place, I would make 'room swaps' super easy to enable people to move near their friends and to allow communities of like-minded people to form.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#93

Post by mrtranscendence » Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 2:25 PM UTC

There’s a podcast I love — the Magnus Archives. Highly recommended. Spoilers for that, but …

A character aligned with an entity that feeds off loneliness at one point describes a failed attempt to architect an apartment complex, designed to maximize loneliness and associated despair (prior to a sacrifice of the residents). Life imitating art, I guess.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#94

Post by mrtesthah » Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 2:25 PM UTC

ctdonath wrote: post #80

adenozine wrote: post #42

Jesus FUCK that's a horrible idea. My neighbor is a maintenance guy for a sober living complex and he has talked to me about maintaining these kinds of high density environments, and this seems like a nightmare scenario just waiting to happen. Also, just emotionally, this can't possibly work. There's no way to succeed in such a high pressure environment like those college years with so little space and so little priv…

Your point is good, but the profane is inappropriate.

Perhaps profane words are appropriate and suited to naming a profane architectural concept.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#95

Post by hn_throwaway_99 » Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 2:25 PM UTC

Kudos to this architect for standing up to this, but my question is, why does standing up to completely obvious monstrosities like this take any courage at all?

Perhaps this is nothing new and just exactly what "The Emperor's New Clothes" is all about. That is, any non-affiliated person could easily say "You want to house 4,500 students in a windowless prison because some billionaire gave you about 14% of the financing?" but somehow the administrators in charge of this are pushing, pushing, pushing.

I think I'm just a little depressed thinking of all the recent cases that seem to me like they should be easy, clear cut moral questions where assumably smart, good people throw out their morals in a heartbeat because $.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#96

Post by ghaff » Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 2:25 PM UTC

mdpye wrote: post #52

ghaff wrote: post #6

That seems spectacularly awful--although there's probably been an overall trend in US college dorms (not that I've made a real study of it) towards small single rooms with common areas in general.

I don't see anything wrong with small rooms and common areas. It's the no windows and warren-like density of this that is disturbing. That students expect to live multiple years without any private space at all in the US has always struck me as very odd. I'm very glad I had a small private room (though, as is common in the UK, I only lived my first year in institutional accommodation). If course it had a working, ope…

Oh I agree with you. I certainly didn't have a roommate in school any longer than I needed to and, yes, I have somewhat mixed feelings about having multi-person rooms as a design goal as opposed to a space tradeoff (which I think it more commonly is.

And certainly no windows is awful. Every now and then I've had a hotel room that wasn't windowless but effectively got no natural light. Not a fan.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#97

Post by Espressosaurus » Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 2:26 PM UTC

ctdonath wrote: post #80

adenozine wrote: post #42

Jesus FUCK that's a horrible idea. My neighbor is a maintenance guy for a sober living complex and he has talked to me about maintaining these kinds of high density environments, and this seems like a nightmare scenario just waiting to happen. Also, just emotionally, this can't possibly work. There's no way to succeed in such a high pressure environment like those college years with so little space and so little priv…

Your point is good, but the profane is inappropriate.

No it's not.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#98

Post by barbazoo » Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 2:26 PM UTC

mschuster91 wrote: post #62

praptak wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We really need a way to protect ourselves against what the rich are doing to the rest of us.

The easiest way would be to do it like in most of Europe and fund universities properly with tax money so that they do not need to waste half their professors' time chasing grants and depend on wealthy donors to fund basic operations.

[flagged]

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#99

Post by 1cvmask » Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 2:27 PM UTC

The part I don't get is that the total project will cost over 1.5 billion USD and Charlie Munger, the value investor, will get his building and name on it for only 200 million. The art of the deal for him for sure. But the school is screwing themselves and the students for such a measly donation in terms of the totality of the deal.

Re: Architect Resigns in Protest over UCSB Mega-Dorm

#100

Post by ctdonath » Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 2:27 PM UTC

Ekaros wrote: post #44

Could be acceptable for few years if rent was extremely cheap. There is lot to trade if living like this would cost less than a hundred a month.

Problem is: those "cells" cost ~$300,000 each. Assuming a break-even at 10 years, that's $2,500/month - more than my mortgage for a 2400 sq ft home on .75 acres with a small forest. At $100/mo, would take 250 years to pay off.