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As a direct critique of the architecture, it's easy to shit on the building for lacking windows. But when taking a students budget and other tradeoffs into acco

As a direct critique of the architecture, it's easy to shit on the building for lacking windows. But when taking a students budget and other tradeoffs into account it's actually one of the best places to live on campus. Seems to me that HN users in this thread and UCS students aren't able to look past those tradeoffs. As a student, I'm perfectly happy to have my own room with no windows. This is because (at least pre-covid when the facility was built), there's tons of stuff to do on campus and I won't be in my dorm room all that much anyway. The location is amazing. Even as an antisocial person, you get your own private space, which is something that many dorms don't provide on a budget. Yeah the lack of windows sucks, but I can live with it if it means I get my own private space and easy fast access to all the other things I need.

stefan_ 5y ago
This is a uniquely weird US PoV. Everywhere else in the world, university students as the adults they are, live in housing much like that of all other adults, maybe in self-organized groups. The whole problem starts with dorms.
labcomputer 5y ago
> Seems to me that HN users in this thread and UCS students aren't able to look past those tradeoffs. It seems like HN users (and architects) aren't even considering that those tradeoffs exist. It's like they want to design a building without any regard to land use, cost or how many students it serves. I see no acknowledgement that: 1. UCSB is located on a narrow coastal plain, where land is at a premium. 2. Giving every bedroom a window implies blowing up the surface area/volume ratio of the building (so build it taller or build 2x or 3x as many buildings). 3. A bunch of long, skinny buildings requires more land (and probably more $) to house the same number of students as one borg cube. Additionally, much of the criticism fails to acknowledge the actual design of the building. Yes, each bedroom does not have a real window, but bedrooms are grouped into suites of 8, with a study area, kitchen and bathrooms... and that common space does have real windows!. An additional common area on each floor, shared among 8 suites, spanning the width of the building, has a wall covered with real windows!. I agree that the borg cube is ugly, but I'd like to see the proposed alternative. The alternative needs to house the same number of students on the same amount of land and cost roughly the same amount. I don't think you can do the first two without building something 35 stories tall (more than twice the height of Storke Tower). And then you'll get the predictable comments about the "Manhattanization" of SB.
- krisoft 5y ago
  > bedrooms are grouped into suites of 8, with a study area, kitchen and bathrooms... and that common space does have real windows! https://images.app.goo.gl/9s77YAvZXuEwEYaM6 https://images.app.goo.gl/9s77YAvZXuEwEYaM6 This is the floorplan I could find. Where are the windows on the suites of house 4? > The alternative needs to house the same number of students on the same amount of land and cost roughly the same amount. Why? Did god gave us the number of students this university must accept? Sometimes the correct answer is that the question is wrong.
  - labcomputer 5y ago
    > This is the floorplan I could find. Where are the windows on the suites of house 4? I stand corrected! I was going by the floorplan on the original article, which apparently didn't show the full building. You'd think that someone trying to make the point that it's a bad design would show the parts of the design that are actually bad. > Why? Did god gave us the number of students this university must accept? Sometimes the correct answer is that the question is wrong. Sure, that's a fair point, but then the problem isn't the building or its patron, so the criticism is misplaced.
  - Dylan16807 5y ago
    Well if that's the design I'd say just add 10 feet between the houses. Now every common space and 1/4 of the bedrooms can have windows.

stefan_ 5y ago

This is a uniquely weird US PoV. Everywhere else in the world, university students as the adults they are, live in housing much like that of all other adults, maybe in self-organized groups. The whole problem starts with dorms.

labcomputer 5y ago

> Seems to me that HN users in this thread and UCS students aren't able to look past those tradeoffs. It seems like HN users (and architects) aren't even considering that those tradeoffs exist. It's like they want to design a building without any regard to land use, cost or how many students it serves. I see no acknowledgement that: 1. UCSB is located on a narrow coastal plain, where land is at a premium. 2. Giving every bedroom a window implies blowing up the surface area/volume ratio of the building (so build it taller or build 2x or 3x as many buildings). 3. A bunch of long, skinny buildings requires more land (and probably more $) to house the same number of students as one borg cube. Additionally, much of the criticism fails to acknowledge the actual design of the building. Yes, each bedroom does not have a real window, but bedrooms are grouped into suites of 8, with a study area, kitchen and bathrooms... and that common space does have real windows!. An additional common area on each floor, shared among 8 suites, spanning the width of the building, has a wall covered with real windows!. I agree that the borg cube is ugly, but I'd like to see the proposed alternative. The alternative needs to house the same number of students on the same amount of land and cost roughly the same amount. I don't think you can do the first two without building something 35 stories tall (more than twice the height of Storke Tower). And then you'll get the predictable comments about the "Manhattanization" of SB.

krisoft 5y ago
> bedrooms are grouped into suites of 8, with a study area, kitchen and bathrooms... and that common space does have real windows! https://images.app.goo.gl/9s77YAvZXuEwEYaM6 https://images.app.goo.gl/9s77YAvZXuEwEYaM6 This is the floorplan I could find. Where are the windows on the suites of house 4? > The alternative needs to house the same number of students on the same amount of land and cost roughly the same amount. Why? Did god gave us the number of students this university must accept? Sometimes the correct answer is that the question is wrong.
- labcomputer 5y ago
  > This is the floorplan I could find. Where are the windows on the suites of house 4? I stand corrected! I was going by the floorplan on the original article, which apparently didn't show the full building. You'd think that someone trying to make the point that it's a bad design would show the parts of the design that are actually bad. > Why? Did god gave us the number of students this university must accept? Sometimes the correct answer is that the question is wrong. Sure, that's a fair point, but then the problem isn't the building or its patron, so the criticism is misplaced.
- Dylan16807 5y ago
  Well if that's the design I'd say just add 10 feet between the houses. Now every common space and 1/4 of the bedrooms can have windows.