‘That’s scary’: UC Santa Barbara’s new 11-story dorm houses 4,000 students, but they don’t get windows

By CBSLA Staff

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    SANTA BARBARA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — UC Santa Barbara’s $1.5 billion plan for new student dorms does not include any windows.

The proposed Munger Hall on the grounds of UC Santa Barbara has come under fire for its unconventional aesthetics. The university, like many others across the country, is facing a housing crisis and needs the new dorms, which would house more than 4,000 students.

But the project caught national attention after a prominent architect quit the project in protest of the design.

Munger Hall is so named for 97-year-old Berkshire Hathaway investor Charles Munger, who donated $200 million toward the project with the condition that his blueprints be followed exactly, according to the Santa Barbara Independent. The proposed project is an 11-story mixed-use building, but students who end up living on the uppermost floors won’t be able to enjoy the ocean views that Santa Barbara is famous for – those dorms will rely on artificial light and ventilation and won’t have windows.

“People could get so sad,” student Bryan Stafford said. “No sunlight? Like, that’s scary.”

UC Santa Barbara officials say they plan to move forward with the project in spite of the criticism, with a completion scheduled for the Fall of 2025. But the project still requires approval from the UC Board of Regents and the California Coastal Commission.

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