By now, you’ve probably noticed that every department on campus, with the possible exception of your own, seems to have a brand, spanking new or newly-refurbished building in which to hang its hat. Besides making the campus a more pleasant place to study and work, with all the dust and noise you could hope for, these construction projects will help keep U.C. Berkeley a competitive institution of higher learning, even as we run out of money to actually hold classes in the new buildings.* To put this momentous event on the historical record, we asked resident Squelch architectural critics Keith Hertzer and Mark Seifert to review the campus’ newest facilities.
*This piece of PR was generously paid for by various private donations; no public money was used.
Haas School of Business
The combination of traditional architecture with modern concrete and steel construction is the perfect metaphor for the harmonious blending of old and new money.
Soda Hall
The ceramic-fired “inside-out bathroom” motif of the building’s exterior yields a subtle, yet distinct suggestion that certain Computer Science undergraduates should make personal hygiene a higher priority in their daily lives.
Tan Hall (Chemistry Unit 3)
Although this building was finished and occupied earlier this summer, research to develop a powerful new super-acid proceeded more quickly than expected, and an experiment gone awry forced construction crews to return to the site.
Unit 1 Residence Hall
Aren’t you glad we don’t print in color?
The Library
The new underground structure blends seamlessly into the surrounding environment, perfectly integrated with the Regents’ master plan to phase out education at the University in favor of more profitable enterprises.
Valley Life Sciences Building
Despite allegations of a shiny new inside, the LSB is still a testament to the geologic time frame by which we measure the evolution of living things, and remains as it ever was on the exterior: a dumpy old concrete blockhouse.
