Every time I hear about something from California it's always the worst thing I've ever heard
UC Kowloon
Hey I'm an architectural designer and I think its smarter for us to assume this is about taking away tenants rights more than it is about some wannabe architect(we shouldn't call him an amateur because if you're not licensed using the term architect is fruad) designing a tenement house.
I want to discuss building code: the bane of Landlords and developers alike and essentially our only protection against tenements being recreated. The reason this is called a huge experiment is more than likely that the billionaire is trying to come up with a case to remove the natural light and ventilation requirements for California and probably the International Building Code as well.
If you didn't know all apartments are required to have a certain amount of natural daylighting and ventaliation, here is a snip of California's code regarding that:
Daylight is also another important factor and that's calculated by room usually, if it's designated a living space you have to provide windows.
Per example have you seen the tik tok of the insane apartment in New York city? Its so crazy because in new york bedrooms and living rooms require a certain amount of light to be legally sold. If you lack these chances are you're in an illegal unit. So they angled the walls to capture windows within minimum space requirements.
So back to the windowless dorms. (And yes dorms are different than residential housing but nation wide the rules are still apply to these occupancies). If you're rich enough you can basically sue for a variance to get around code. Usually this allows you to get away with designing more on a site but judging by the fact that he's also a Developer who has done this before in michigan: an area with weaker city inspectors/reviewers and donates to schools for the sole purpose of creating his downright evil psychological experiments...odds are pointing to the fact that he wants to "prove" legally that you can torcher people and still charge exuberant fees on space you couldn't sell before.
This all rightfully received outrage, please feel free to email the school, the zoning department, the mayor, the municipality, as well as the office of any future architects who are willing to create this and let them know this is not ethical.
I read the article and Munger (who is Warren Buffets business partner btw) claims the tiny windowless rooms are to encourage students to use the common space more which is the dumbest excuse I’ve ever heard. Like looking at the rooms it’s clearly attempt to prove that you can stuff a small university into a windowless dorm building with tiny ass bedrooms and only two exits in the whole building. Like it’s such an obvious attempt to recreate tenement housing. UC Santa Barbara students need to organize against this fast because they want to have people living there in the next few years and possibly build more as Munger is EXTREMELY confident this venture will be successful. Student organizers can be powerful, don’t let yourself be placed in this building if it is built, make sure it’s an abject failure and a stain on the campus so nobody ever tries it again. Here’s a quote from the original architect who quit because the design was unethical (Munger has since hired some fancy design firm to do it all for him):
McFadden wrote in the letter that the population density of Munger Hall would be slightly lower than a portion of Dhaka, Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. There are only two points of entry and exit.
"The project is essentially the student life portion of a mid-sized university campus in a box," McFadden wrote. "Munger Hall is an experiment in size and density with no precedent in student housing at that scale."
They plan on having over 500 students per floor? Beyond his attempts to use this in a potential future challenge to building codes it’s also just insanely unethical for the school to agree to this. I feel like UCs will basically just agree to any terms they’re dictated these days as long as they get a few hundred million out of it. This is the UCI School of Alternative Medicine fiasco except 100 times worse
As a side note, of the UC schools, UCSB is notorious for having THE absolute WORST housing.
You know why you need windows in CA?
BECAUSE OUR STATE IS ON FIRE OR FALLING DOWN AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR!
If you do not wish to die when your ass can’t get to a window the fire department can pluck you out of, oppose this piece of shit building.
no that is NOT why. these building codes pre-date the seasonal extreme wildfires CA is now subject to because of climate change. fire escapes are important for in case the BUILDING catches on fire, less so for your surrounding landscape.
the CA building codes are the result of decades of dedicated work by unions and organizations like the ICC
this isn't a paradise wildfire situation waiting to happen, this is a Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire waiting to happen. it's the Ghost Ship fire waiting. it's one small electrical fire away from killing thousands in a single night. because if they're willing to fuck around and skimp on those regulations, you bet your ass they're going to fuck around with the wiring and insulation and other safety measures.
combined with things like COVID where *ventilation is fucking important*, that building is a deathtrap
Extremely dubious anyone will be able to prevent him from making this abomination in light of how corrupt both the school and the courts are even if he's faced with student opposition so my recommendation is someone just assassinate the guy go storm his house with a mob and hang him next to his dead security staff right now before its too late and there's a thousand dead giving you a real reason to do that militant resistance is the solitary phenomenon our plutocratic rulers are actually concerned about anything else can be repressed domesticated or ignored.