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New Student Accommodation Munger Hall Branded 'A Torture Experiment'

New Student Accommodation Munger Hall Branded 'A Torture Experiment'

The $1.5bn design will be one of the world's densest communities

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

A new student accommodation has been branded a 'torture experiment'.

Businessman Charlie Munger has pledged $200 million (£146m) to University of California for a brand new student halls on its Santa Barbara campus.

However, the eccentric billionaire has made the promise on the proviso that they use his own design for the building, which will house over 4,000 students across 11 floors.

And while he is an architecture enthusiast, Munger is not trained in the field and said he has never even read a book on the subject.

Critics have branded his creation, Munger Hall, which will cost $1.5 billion (£1.1bn) to complete, a monstrosity and something more akin to a dystopian ant farm than a student accommodation.

Charlie Munger.
Alamy

Architect Dennis McFadden even resigned from his position on the Design Review Committee for the project after seeing that Munger's plans were seemingly being given the green light without proper scrutiny.

He wrote: "It was clear the [design review committee] was a mere formality.

"The design was described as 100 percent complete, approval was not requested, no vote was taken and no further submittals are intended or required."

He also slammed the design, branding it a 'social and psychological experiment' on students, and totally and utterly 'unsupportable' from his 'perspective as an architect, a parent and a human being'.

UC Santa Barbara

According to Mr McFadden, Munger's design would leave 94 percent of residents with no windows in their tiny, single-bed rooms.

Instead of windows, Munger says he has taken inspiration from the digital portholes on Disney cruise ships, with each room housing a screen that will mimic real sunlight.

Those without proper windows, however, will have access to air conditioning.

The argument, Mr Munger claims, is that having such small bedrooms will force students to spend more time together in common areas.

Doesn't sound terrifying at all, does it?

UC Santa Barbara

In his resignation letter, McFadden likened Munger Hall to the US Naval Academy's Bancroft Hall, which is said to be the largest dormitory in the world.

He explained that while Bancroft houses 4,000 students, it also benefits from 25 entrances and exits. He claimed the current design for Munger Hall, however, only has two (the University of California told The Guardian there will be an additional 14 entrances and exits, in addition to two main ones).

McFadden said: "Munger Hall is an experiment in size and density with no precedent in student housing at the scale.

"Again, no research or data was presented to justify the extreme density or to understand its impact.

"UCSB students, as the subject of the experiment, will be left to negotiate the unintended consequences."

But this is not the first student accommodation Mr Munger has had a hand in.

UC Santa Barbara

Back in 2015, the Munger graduate property, which housed 630 students, opened at the University of Michigan - and was met with anger by those who lived there.

Writing on a forum, on student said: "It was terrible. Too many roommates [meant] no cohesion or standards. The lack of windows was depressing.

"Munger is about as out of touch as billionaires come."

While another added: "[The] lack of windows messed up one of my roommates really badly with school and mental health and well-being."

However, despite the criticism, the University of California has said it was excited to go ahead with the plans.

A spokesperson told The Washington Post: "We are delighted to be moving forward with this transformational project that directly addresses the campus's great need for more student housing."

Featured Image Credit: UC Santa Barbara

Topics: Students, US News, University, california