Warren Buffett’s billionaire partner provides funding for windowless dorms. Architect resigns

Billionaire Charlie Munger is funding the design of a large dormitory at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This $1.5 billion project has a major gain-94% of the single rooms in the dormitories have no windows.

In a resignation letter obtained by CNN Business and reported by the Santa Barbara Independent, a consultant architect on the university’s design review committee resigned to protest the project.

California architect Dennis McFadden wrote in the letter: "From my perspective as an architect, a parent and a human being, the basic concept of Munger Hall as a student residence is unsupportable." McFadden refused to CNN Business made further comments.

UCSB’s campus is located on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and has its own beach. McFadden claims that its waterfront location is an integral part of campus culture and identity-and Munger Hall does not reflect this.

McFadden wrote: "Even if it's a roof courtyard... looking inward, it might be on the desert floor, like the 11th floor on the California coast."

In addition to being Warren Buffett's right-hand man, Munger is also an amateur architect. He has no formal education in this field.

"Architecture is a field of different tastes, and everyone thinks he is an expert. No two architects agree on anything," Munger told CNN Business.

Munger is the 97-year-old vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, a Warren Buffett company. He donated $200 million to UCSB to fund the dormitory, but it should be noted that his design will be followed. He hopes that the dormitory rooms are small and have no windows to encourage residents to spend more time outdoors and meet other students in public areas.

"Although the bedroom may be'just right', the whole experience makes it unique-'our city in the sky'," the UCSB design review committee reported in October.

This is not appropriate for McFadden.

"As the'vision' of a single donor, this building is a social and psychological experiment that has an unknown impact on the life and personal development of the undergraduates served by the university," McFadden wrote.

Munger Hall's plan includes an 11-story building that will provide more than 4,500 beds for undergraduate students. There will be eight houses on each residential floor, and each house can accommodate 63 students. Each house has eight suites, and each suite has eight single beds-windows are not included. Each suite also has two bathrooms and a common space.

However, the room does have man-made windows, which Munger said are similar to the man-made portholes of the Disney cruise ship. “A starfish comes in and winks your child,” the Santa Barbara Independent reported.

UCSB said in a statement that the project and design of the building will proceed as planned. The university also stated that all current housing projects are guided by the campus plan, which was "developed through an extensive campus participation process with the assistance of the Urban Design Association."

Munger said: "When this event develops and achieves great success, it is absolutely inevitable. I think that eventually more such buildings will appear on the UCSB campus."

McFadden compared the population density of Munger Hall, which is 221,000 students per square mile, slightly lower than part of Dhaka, Bangladesh. There are only two points of entrance and exit.

"The project is essentially a part of student life on a medium-sized university campus," McFadden wrote. "The Munger dormitory is an experiment of scale and density. There is no precedent in a student dormitory of this size."

The plan was designed by the architect Navy Banvard, who is in charge of Van Tilburg, Banvard and Soderbergh. Banvard said Munger Hall is a collaborative process between UCSB, Munger and the design team.

Like other universities, UCSB is facing a housing crisis. The Daily Nexus reported in August that UCSB’s university dormitory space is insufficient, and there are more than 1,000 students on the waiting list looking for a place to live.

"One of the reasons for this project, and there are many, is to address the substantial housing needs of the university," Banvard said. "In the highly competitive housing market, provide students with high-quality and affordable housing."

Munger's grandson is an alumnus of UCSB.

"I am the product of education and public education," Munger said. "And I know the importance of the school and the structure of the school, so I naturally tend to provide dormitories."

The project is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025, awaiting approval and certification by the California Coastal Commission in 2022.

This is not the first time Munger has set foot in dormitory construction. The Munger graduate residence at the University of Michigan follows a similar concept. This high-density dormitory also has most of the bedrooms without windows. Munger donated US$110 million.

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