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As a hundred-thousandaire with an architecture degree and my own don’t-give-a-rat’s-ass ‘tude, I’m here to say: this building is not fit for human habitation, C
by Kaibeezy 5y ago
As a hundred-thousandaire with an architecture degree and my own don’t-give-a-rat’s-ass ‘tude, I’m here to say: this building is not fit for human habitation, Charlie Munger is a fool, and the UCSB chancellor will be lucky to get part of his tongue back out of Munger’s sphincter.
For a billion $ he could have built a lovely ‘academical village’ with every kind of amenity and a wide variety of rooms for every preference. This is a tenement, a warehouse for living people, in the worst 1900 Lower East Side sense, minus some of the fire and sanitation risk. Suitable for vermin, not scholars.
See also Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives, 1890.
A citizens’ movement resulted in the organization of a Board of Health and the adoption of the “Tenement-House Act” of 1867, the first step toward remedial legislation. ... The dark bedroom fell under the ban first. In that year the Board ordered the cutting of more than forty-six thousand windows in interior rooms, chiefly for ventilation—for little or no light was to be had from the dark hallways. Air-shafts were unknown. The saw had a job all that summer; by early fall nearly all the orders had been carried out. Not without opposition; obstacles were thrown in the way of the officials on the one side by the owners of the tenements, who saw in every order to repair or clean up only an item of added expense to diminish their income from the rent; on the other side by the tenants themselves, who had sunk, after a generation of unavailing protest, to the level of their surroundings, and were at last content to remain there.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45502/45502-h/45502-h.htm https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45502/45502-h/45502-h.htm
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- pphysch 5y agoDid you get your architecture degree in 1890 as well? High density human habitats are infinitely better with modern technology. Central AC and dynamic electrical lighting, for starters.
- Kaibeezy 5y agoSPF. What could go wrong?
- nouveaux 5y agoI know someone who lived out of his car at UC Berkeley because he couldn't afford the rent. He would have loved the option for a room with no windows. I don't care for Munger. With that said, there's a huge disconnect here with your argument unless you can show a reasonable solution. There are poor people now who need housing. We can just build something subpar and help lift people out of homelessness.
- sudosysgen 5y agoThese rooms cost 330 000$ US dollars to build, excluding the land. For that price you can build a three bedroom condo with amenities. This is a false dilemma. Little money is being saved here.
- nouveaux 5y agoI posted this in another comment: "Given the high construction cost everywhere, this is not surprising. I had a friend with a backyard slopping down a hill. He got some quotes to put in a deck and redo his yard. No one quoted anything less than 200k." Both of these situations are in California. Construction costs are extremely high right now.
- sudosysgen 5y agoLook. This isn't how it works. What happened is that no contractor thought it was worthwhile to take on a small project when they were busy with bigger fish. So they quoted him a ridiculous price. It's not because it would actually cost them 200 000$ in labour and material to build a deck and redo a yard. Besides, for a billion dollar you're not dealing with local contractors, at that price you can even contract international companies, let alone bring in labour from the rest of the country.
- TigeriusKirk 5y agoWhat should a dorm building cost per room? Can you show a comparable project in California to support that estimate?
- devwastaken 5y agoHousing and living costs have gone insane. Personally I don't care about a window, I care about having a space I can study, work, and not deal with a bad roommate. I care about it being affordable, with access to a kitchen. The way munger is going about it is a ridiculous amount of money, and I heavily doubt it will be built right. But the concept itself, to me, is a worthy tradeoff if it means reduced costs and better benefits. A window is not a benefit I care about.
- newsclues 5y agoDo you currently live in a windowless room? Have you experienced being in a windowless room for a long period of time? It’s not a luxury.
- rkk3 5y agoIt's not as though they won't ever see the sun, they just need to leave their room, its SoCal ffs They will be living in a vibrant college community, with common areas, beaches, parks, libraries etc... I've lived in a room with a Window against a brick wall in NYC.
- newsclues 5y agoFrom my window I can see junkies shitting, but I still get some light, and air. I’ve been in a windowless prison cell, it sucks.
- itronitron 5y ago"I think we're crazy to allow it.", Charles Munger, 2021
- klyrs 5y agoEverywhere I've looked, it appears that California building codes require that bedrooms have windows, but that never seems to come up in these discussions. Are you familiar with the area? Would this building even be legal, or is there a loophole for student housing or something?
- Kaibeezy 5y agoThe article mentions that UCSB essentially runs its own separate building department. Guess what, that department answers to the same idiot who decides whether to accept billion $ gifts from other idiots. Et voilà!
- fastaguy88 5y agoIn general, commercial and institutional buildings do not have to meet the same building codes as private residences. Try to find an outlet in a hospital room the next time you visit a sick friend. None of this one outlet on every wall and every 8 ft.
- Aloha 5y agoWhere would you construct this to solve the housing problem within a reasonable distance of UCSB?