The billionaire contributed $200 million to a $1.5 billion project on condition that he follow his ideas. He dreamed that 94 percent of the single rooms were inside the building, and there were no windows in any of them.
One of the project’s professional architects resigned in protest.
“The basic concept of Munger Hall, inhabited by students, as an architect, a father, and a human being, cannot be supported in my view.” quoted California architect Dennis MacFadden angered the local Santa Barbara Independent.
The UCSB campus is located on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean and has its own private beach. The expert says its coastal location is integral to the university’s culture and identity, but Munger Hall does not reflect that.
Billionaire Charlie Munger is funding the design of a massive dormitory at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The $1.5 billion project comes with a big catch – 94% of singlestay rooms have no windows. https://t.co/hT1SjCzguK
– CNN (CNN) October 30, 2021
The dormitory rooms are planned to have no windows, but of course they are located on the front of the building and flood the public areas with natural light.
“Even the attic patio faces inland, so it could be in a desert like the 11th floor on a California beach,” McFadden grumbled.
My money, my plan
Charlie Munger, as well as the right-hand man of real estate guru Warren Buffett, is an amateur architect. He has no formal qualifications in this field.
“Architecture is a field where tastes change and everyone thinks they are experts. And two architects never agree on anything.” quoted The amateur designer is CNN.
Munger, the 97-year-old vice president of Buffet Company Empire, donated a ton of money with the requirement to pursue his plans. He consciously designed small, windowless bedrooms to encourage residents to spend more time in the common areas and meet other students.
Although the bedroom is ‘enough’, the overall experience makes it exceptional
Note from the UCSB Design Review Committee.
McFadden didn’t like it.
The critical architect noted that “the building as a ‘vision’ of a single donor, is a social and psychological experience of unknown influence on undergraduate students’ lives and personal development.”
a Munger Hall It is planned to be an 11-storey building accommodating more than 4,500 students. Each level contains eight “houses” that can each accommodate 63 students. Each “house” has eight suites, with eight single rooms per suite – no windows – two bathrooms and a common room.
Billionaire and philanthropist Charles Munger designed a largely windowless dorm room for the University of California, Santa Barbara. The architect who consulted for the university described the design as “unsupported” and resigned. https://t.co/CCEfzBFKnu
– The New York Times (nytimes) October 31, 2021
The rooms are designed with artificial windows that, according to Munger, resemble the windows of the cabin of Disney ships, through which the children “wink a starfish.”
On the other hand, McFadden says Munger Hole will be slightly less densely populated than the world’s most populous city, Dhaka in Bangladesh, with only two entrances and exits.
UCSB, like other American universities, struggles with housing issues. There are no vacancies in UCSD housing, while over a thousand students are on the waiting list.
By the way, Munger’s grandson is a student at the University of California.
The college, named after the billionaire, will open in the fall of 2025 if state authorities approve its plan next year.
Munger pursued a similar concept at the University of Michigan. The densely populated dormitory, which also has mostly windowless bedrooms, was funded by Munger’s $110 million donation.
(Cover photo by Charles Munger on February 14, 2019. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
