More on the UC-SB Munger Monster Dorm Thursday, December 02, 2021
Former UC Campus Architects Slam UCSB’s Munger Hall Proposal They outline their 'extreme concern and opposition' to the proposed dormitory building in letter to UC President Michael Drake By Jade Martinez-Pogue, Noozhawk, December 1, 2021
A group of eight former campus architects within the University of California system slammed UC Santa Barbara’s proposed Munger Hall dormitory in a letter sent to UC President Michael Drake last month, calling the proposed building a “disaster in the making.” “Unfortunately, the Munger Hall project fails to meet the high standards that the university has set for itself,” the letter asserts. “At best, this project as currently conceived is a sociological and psychological experiment that has the potential to cause great harm overtime to thousands of students. “There is no telling the actual harm that could be engendered by this project.” The 11-story, 159-foot-tall Munger Hall was designed by 97-year-old billionaire Charles Munger, who donated $200 million toward the approximately $1.4 billion project under the condition that his designs would be followed exactly. The project, which is intended to house 4,500 students and be completed by the fall term in 2025, has drawn criticism from local community members, architects, and students for its “jail-like” design and windowless rooms. As The Daily Nexus, UCSB’s student newspaper, first reported, the letter to Drake was signed by former UC associate vice chancellors and campus architects from eight of the 10 UC campuses, with a combined 122 years of experience. The undersigned include Michael Bade from UC San Francisco, Don Caskey from UC Riverside, Ed Denton from UC Berkeley, Rebekah Gladson from UC Irvine, M. Boone Hellmann from UC San Diego, Thomas Lollini from UC Merced, Charles Oakley from UC UCLA Faculty Association Blog: 4th Quarter 2021
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