The colossal, proposed boondoggle of UC Santa Barbara’s Munger Hall student housing project, memorably nicknamed “Dormzilla,” has finally been laid to rest.
On October 25, 2023, UCSB Vice Chancellor Garry MacPherson circulated an official memo to campus staff, students, and faculty announcing two architecture firms chosen to design campus housing for 3,500 students in accordance with UCSB’s 2010 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) targets. The message, unwritten but obvious by omission, was that the new architects were retained to design an alternative to Munger Hall, whose demise had been rumored for months.
In today’s world of unsettling disruption, it is rare when a bad idea championed by an unfettered billionaire like Charlie Munger comes to a decisive end, thanks to genuine grassroots opposition. It is worth marking the moment, as a reminder that people can make a difference when they organize and thoughtfully make their views and voices heard.