In an effort to combat the burgeoning on-campus housing crisis, HDH Administrators and Stuart Collection Representatives announced their initiative to convert Do Ho Suh’s “Fallen Star” into a ‘triple suite’ at a press conference held this past Monday.
The project was the result of a multi-year interdisciplinary collaboration between HDH Administrators and representatives of the Stuart Collection, both who worked tirelessly to break down the previously uncharted boundary between “art” and “property rental”.
“This project takes the already breathtaking experience that is Do Ho Suh’s “Fallen Star” and adds the dimension of performance art: several undergraduate students living together in a small room where their personal belongings are constantly falling down”, said Stuart Collection Assistant Director Victor Tsang.
HDH Administrators expressed initial interest in the space back in 2014 after realizing that the mixed media installation is only used six of the total 168 hours of the week. Otherwise, the 70,000lb building that took one of America’s largest cranes to lift it into place remains perched at a 5 degree angle, just hanging off Jacobs Hall during all other hours of the day with its full potential gone unrealized.
“Falling Star” will close for renovations beginning on March 12th and will be closed to public tours for approximately two weeks. Conversion of the 270 sq ft three-quarters scale version of a small Providence, Rhode Island house into a suite of two ‘mini doubles’ and the university’s pioneering ‘tiny triple’ will be possible through the installation of several new drywall panels and a series of extension cords.
“You know the big question for me was ‘How the heck am I gonna get three loft beds in here and actually get the kids to stay in place in those things?’ And then it hit me, straps,” commented HDH ‘Fix It!” Professional Eddie Csarto on overcoming the difficulties.b
Construction should be completed within a twelve-day window, and regular Tuesday and Thursday visiting hours will continue beginning March 24th onward from 11PM to 2PM. Visitors old and new will be able to continue experiencing the space both inside and out.
“I’ve always wanted to see a very physical manifestation of someone’s diasporic experience crudely inhabited by seven UCSD students, so the new “Fallen Star” really whets my cultural appetite”, said retired native La Jollan Sandra Birks.
HDH is in the process of searching for undergraduate tenants, although given the specific criteria it will be using a recruitment process rather than the thousands of students long on-campus housing wait-list.
In speaking with HDH Unit Manager Jill Haneke, she had to say: “We’re looking for self-identified fun, quirky, and/or unique students for whom the novelty of living in a tilted living space won’t wear off after one night. It also wouldn’t hurt if they’re photogenic.”
Rents will follow the same undergraduate housing pricing scheme and meal plan is optional, although it should be noted that the first five tenants selected will be eligible to enter a raffle for a “Free Large Soda with $6+ meal purchase” coupon redeemable at Goody’s.
This article is part of a series on the current state of student housing at UCSD and throughout the UC system. You can read more here.