Munger Hall学生住宿项目丨美国

Updated Munger Hall images show two floors removed as controversial project seeks approval

New details have emerged of the controversial

Munger Hall

student accommodation planned for the

University of California, Santa Barbara

. The updated scheme has seen two levels removed from the original design, from eleven to nine stories.

The changes come as UCSB prepares to submit an Environmental Impact Report for the development before approval is sought from the University of California Board of Regents and the California Coastal Commission.

As reported by

The Daily Nexus

, UCSB’s student-run newspaper, the university’s initial plan to commence construction on the project in late 2023 has now been removed. If construction were to begin in 2023, a projected 40-month construction program would see the building open in 2026.

“We do not have a target to start construction at this time,” a UCSB representative told the newspaper. “It will all depend on the ongoing process, including filing the EIR and other necessary approvals. At this point, if everything happened smoothly, the earliest that construction could start would be the summer of 2023, but we are still taking community input and do not want to get out in front of the process.”

As a result of the two-story reduction in height, the scheme will now provide 3,500 student beds as opposed to the originally-planned 4,536. According to the university, the revision is in part due to a reduced demand following the construction of other student accommodation projects nearby, and in response to “input from our community about the size and density” of the proposed plan. The university also cited a wish to avoid “potential issues related to airport traffic” as a reason for the reduction.

The project was initially unveiled in October 2021 and sought to provide over 4,500 student dorm rooms inside an eleven-story, 1.68 million-square-foot structure. The national spotlight was first placed on the initiative as a consequence of the

resignation of architect Dennis McFadden

from the USCB’s Design Review Committee over the proposal. With 94% of student bedrooms not providing access to natural light, one architecture critic branded the scheme a “jail masquerading as a dormitory.”

The architectural community also voiced fierce criticism, with eight former UC campus architects

publishing a letter in opposition

to the proposal. In December 2021,

AIA Los Angeles issued an open letter

to the university opposing the plan on behalf of its 4,500 members, following a

similar move by AIA Santa Barbara

. In June 2022, students from the university

staged a public forum

showcasing research-based alternatives to the scheme.

UCSB has made several moves to justify the scheme, including a

Q+A released in November 2021

and a

full-scale physical mock-up

opened in June of this year. The development is also backed by billionaire Charles Munger, whose name is attached to the endeavor following his $200 million donation to the university. Munger was reported to have stipulated that his plan for the building be followed without alteration in return for the donation.