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Comment by wackycat | Hacker News Reader

Isn't he the guy that tried to build windowless dorms? Anyone who thinks humans should live without natural light is not anyone I am interested in taking advice from. Ref: https://www.archpaper.com/2023/08/university-california-aban...

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> While the dorm rooms themselves don’t have windows, the exterior of the building does, which lets natural light into the communal living spaces.

The reasoning was too encourage people to hang out in common areas to create more of a community feeling. Whether you think that's necessary or a good idea (I went to college long ago, but there wasn't any need to have architecture diving our community), it's not the same as a dorm without windows.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/29/business/ucsb-munger-hall...

That sounds more like abusive logic then wish to help anyone. "I do it for your own good".

"There are no windows except in common areas, thus it's not a dorm without windows" is such a strange hill to try and die on.

> I went to college long ago, but there wasn't any need to have architecture diving our community

Ah, that explains it.

Ah yes, the horrible living conditions in this dorm ade actually to encourage you to not stay at home, ignore that they make the dorm mote space efficient, that is just a happy coincidence, I'm actually making your living quarters mote unpleasant because I care about communal life.

First, it is no natural light in the room where your bed is. Munger never said humans don't need natural light in general.

I imagine a few cavemen beating up the first person to build a two story house, because anyone who thinks humans should live off of the ground is not anyone they are interested in taking advice from.

Also, consider that Munger already built a mostly windowless dorm for UofM ~10 years ago, and it is one of the highest rated dorms for the university. And that has fewer affordances for simulating natural light than the UCSB design did.

Affordable housing where all I have to give up is a shitty view? Sign me up!

You give up a shitty view and any chance of fire escape. Such a savings!

Buildings like this have sprinklers, automated firewalls, multiple exit routes, redundant alarm systems etc.

Lots of off campus student housing is still knob and tube wiring in shoddy timber construction.

Obviously (which makes me guess you’re not serious) it’s not about the view but the natural light.

Nothing beats natural light at its best, especially in CA, but gee, all sorts of people default into shitty depressing natural light situations (MA, I'm looking at you) that could be trounced by a mediocre artificial setup. If you listen to the tone of the rhetoric here you'd think Munger was killing babies, when in fact the light situation evidently doesn't even reach everybody's threshold for the simple action of buying a decent lamp. Shrug.

Don't egress laws require windows in sleeping rooms? How would this building even be built to code?

This is such an absurd criticism. People attending UC Santa Barbara live in literally the most desirable climate in the world. When they want natural light all they have to do is _go_out_side_.

This is a good point. Santa Barbara is one of the few places on earth that has sunlight during the day, therefore people there should not have windows

Santa Barbara is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world. Therefore students should not have housing.

Santa Barbara likely needs no structures at all. UCSB classes should be held on volleyball courts

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