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Exterior of Munger Hall, UC Santa Barbara

Commenter says building with windowless student dorms "looks just like the dorm in Squid Game"

In this week's comments update, readers are horrified by a university dormitory where most rooms have no natural light and discussing other top stories.

Billionaire investor Charles Munger's design for Munger Hall, a student dormitory at the University of California, continues to spark debate this week.

The design for the building, which was informed by Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation, was designed to house over 4,000 students in windowless rooms and attracted criticism last week from readers who called it "inhumane".

Munger has since defended his vision for the building, saying "it will last as long as the pyramids" and that his idea to replace windows with virtual windows came from Disney Cruise ships.

"I'm horrified"

Commenters are furious. "I'm horrified," said Nivora.

Stanley agreed: "In some jurisdictions, this would simply be illegal."

"As if a week-long holiday cruise is the same experience as three years minimum studying in college," continued Jack Melathass. "This should be illegal. If it passes, how long will it take for some other delusional 'philanthropist' to propose a similar design for low-income housing?"

"The dorms look just like the dorms for the guards in Squid Game," concluded A Gil.

What do you think of the windowless building? Join the discussion ›

New Facebook logo for Meta
Facebook rebrands to Meta and adopts infinity-loop logo

Commenter thinks Facebook's parent company's logo "looks like a blue McDonald's logo"

Social media brand Facebook's parent company has changed its name to Meta and updated its logo to an infinity loop that resembles the letter M. Readers aren't sold.

"The graphic in the meta logo reminds me of a superhero or villain mask," said Hosta.

"I just see a blue McDonald's logo," replied Steve Leo.

"The new logo connotes 'warped' rather than 'presence' to me," added Robert Becker. "I suppose that's an appropriate twist on Apple's Infinite Loop, juxtaposing the good with the evil in Silicon Valley."

Are you impressed by Meta's new brand identity? Join the discussion ›

Boris Johnson speaking at COP26
UK government has "no intention" of delivering on its COP26 pledges, Cambridge scientist tells RIBA climate conference

Reader believes the COP26 "targets will be changed"

Cambridge University engineering professor Julian Allwood has said that the UK's net-zero strategy is as unrealistic as "magic beans fertilised by unicorn's blood" and will fail to deliver the emissions reductions promised by 2030.

Commenters agree.

"Sounds like some other agreement that the UK government signed up to recently... " said Dave.

"Decarbonisation will only happen as quickly as technological innovation allows governments to do so without losing votes," continued The Manchesterist. "The targets will be changed or the governments will be changed. Stopping air travel, getting rid of cement, widespread vegetarianism, heat pumps, smaller cars, and less driving won't happen."

"The so-called developed world," concluded Anare. "No surprises here."

Are commenters being cynical? Join the discussion ›

Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen by MVRDV
MVRDV's Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen opens, giving the public access to 151,000 artworks

Commenter calls MVRDV building "a timeless fusion of architecture and art"

Readers are discussing an art storage building designed by MVRDV, which is now open to the public in Rotterdam. It houses glass display cases filled with 151,000 artworks.

"This project is a timeless fusion of architecture and art," said Wil Worthington. "Another reason to visit the Netherlands."

Melon agreed: "Normally I hate mirrored buildings, but this one actually works as a sculptural object."

Design Junkie was less keen: "The layout looks and feels odd. A group of artworks in a glass rectangle. Strange."

What do you think of Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen? Join the discussion ›

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Dezeen is the world's most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our comments page.