CLOSE AD ×

Charles Moore’s UCSC Kresge College may be at risk

Moore Banana Slugs, Please

Charles Moore’s UCSC Kresge College may be at risk

Could Charles Moore’s Kresge College put University of California Santa Cruz’s Banana Slugs in a preservation pickle?

Maybe. A mandate from the University of California system to add more housing to the bucolic university campus is putting pressure on UCSC to redevelop Moore and Turnbull’s experimental, Tuscan-inspired dormitory village. Built during the 1971 Oil Embargo, the building was a casualty of that era’s meager construction budgets. Detractors cite resulting anemic construction and impermanent materials as reasons for replacement, while boosters point to the inventiveness and optimism Moore imbued in his work. Kresge College is also fully a product of the counter-culture, known among students for hosting various acid conferences in the 1970s.

And while we do not know exactly what is planned for Kresge College, it’s clear the complex will play some role in the university’s housing plans. The university’s Campus Housing Study, published in July 2015, makes mention of the “redevelopment” of Kresge College’s existing 350 beds, as well as the addition of 100 new ones. It is not clear from the document whether “redevelopment” entails demolition of the existing building or merely renovation. Sources tell AN Moore’s legacy firm Moore Ruble Yudell is in competition for an RFQ due back later this spring.

Send NIMBYs and RFQs to eavesdrop@archpaper.com.


CLOSE AD ×