Casa Zimbabwe

Last updated
Casa Zimbabwe
Casa Zimbabwe front 2010-04 2.JPG
Casa Zimbabwe
General information
Location2422 Ridge Road, Northside, Berkeley, California 94709
Coordinates 37°52′33.276″N122°15′39.276″W / 37.87591000°N 122.26091000°W / 37.87591000; -122.26091000
StatusCompleted
Category Student housing cooperative
Population124 residents + additional boarders (academic year), 105 residents (summer) (2019)
No. of units73 bedrooms (34 singles, 27 doubles, 12 triples)
Constructed1965–1966
Other information
Governing
body		 Berkeley Student Cooperative

Casa Zimbabwe, commonly referred to as CZ, is a student housing cooperative in Berkeley, California, housing 124 residents. It is the second largest non-apartment style unit of the Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC), behind Cloyne Court Hotel. [1] [2] Opened in 1966, it was one of the first co-ed student housing in the nation, as well as the first building intentionally built as a co-op. [1] [3]

Contents

Located at 2422 Ridge Road, CZ is a block from the center of the northern edge of the University of California, Berkeley campus. It sits on Northside atop Holy Hill, the area in the vicinity of a five-way intersection surrounded on all sides by churches and seminaries, such as Graduate Theological Union. Joined at the hip with the Ridge House, the building overlooks the North Gate of the university, and its two accessible roofs provide a view of San Francisco, East Bay, Berkeley Hills, and most of the university. BSC office and central kitchen are located in the same building. [3] [4]

History

While every other BSC house was a preexisting structure eventually converted into a co-op, in 1966 the Ridge Project, now Casa Zimbabwe, was built with the intent of a housing a living space, BCS office and the badly needed large kitchen and warehouse. [4] [5] A University Student Cooperative Association (now BCS) fund raising pamphlet stated that:

The one abiding principle in the whole architectural design of Ridge Project has been to build a unit reflecting individuality and freedom, the antithesis of many dormitories. The disadvantages of other dorms, uniformity, regimentation of activities and general impersonality of buildings, have been avoided. The Ridge Project actively promotes diversity, freedom and variety of activities, and a small-scale residential environment. [4]

Planning for the new project began in the late fifties with the BCS raising approximately $650,000 of the $1,500,000 needed to build it. The largest portion of that amount was provided by various foundations grants, in addition BCS received approximately $100,000 from co-op alumni, $35,000 from co-op members and $30,000 from university faculty. [3] [5]

While as a whole the Ridge Project was coed, it had separate male and female wings and a large common area in between. There would be no restrictions on when or where a member of the house could be unless such rules where passed by the members themselves. [5] [n 1] One of the first approved motions was to switch members of a floor in the women's wing with a floor from the men's. [3] Segregation of the wings by gender was over by mid 1970s. [3] Casa Zimbabwe's "party house" reputation originated at the Ridge Project almost right after it opened. [3] [n 2] Across the bay from San Francisco its members where at the center of then blossoming hippie movement. Similarly, the political activity present today was even more so during the same years as a large portion of the members where also participating in the Free Speech Movement that originated in Berkeley several years earlier. [3] [4] In 1983, several members petitioned to change house's name to "Casa Zimbabwe." Some felt that the term "project" had a negative association with public housing and that there was a frequent confusion between the names of the Ridge Project and the Ridge House next to it. The name "Casa Zimbabwe" was a reference to independence of South Rhodesia from British rule and creation of Republic of Zimbabwe. Changing the name failed several times before getting approved in 1987. [3]

Every house in BCS has mural painted on its walls, this is especially true in CZ where almost all of the public walls are painted. However, these were white until the late '70s. According to member folklore the album cover of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon was the first one painted. [3] By 1990s almost half the walls were covered with art. [3] Many murals had to be removed due to a seismic retrofitting in the spring of 2007. [7]

In the early Spring of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic CZ instituted a self quarantine and no visitors policy. There were approximately 50 members living in the house during that period. [8] [9]

Members

The residents and boarders of CZ are the members of the cooperative, with fee of approximately $7,700 for 2020 academic school year, covering full room and board. [10] Like in other houses each member is required to provide a five-hour work shift. [11] [12] Council meetings are held every week, members gather to discuss house business with decisions made through majority votes. [13] Members of CZ often refer to themselves as "Czars." [14]

Design and construction

While other BSC houses were preexisting structures, like apartment buildings and hotels, Casa Zimbabwe is unique in that it was built with intent of being used as a cooperative living space. [4] CZ's east wing is four stories high and west wing is three, the two wings were offset by half a floor with the intention of making the house look less like a formal college dormitory. [15] The BCS administrative office is in a separate part of the building, its connected at the hip to the older Ridge House. East and west wings are the living spaces, with the two wings being connected by two stories of wide common space. Many of the rooms provide sweeping views of San Francisco, East Bay, Berkeley Hills, and most of the university. [15] A court yard lays in between Ridge house, administrative section and the east and west wings. Both of the wings' roofs are also common spaces. Forty solar panels were added to them in 1979 to supply hot water. [16] CZ was temporary closed for seismic retrofitting in the spring of 2007. [7] An elevator was also installed to make the building wheelchair accessible.

Notes

  1. ↑ There was an exception to this rule, a lock-down rule could be imposed upon girls under 21 upon the request of their parents, with a supervisor being present in the female wing to oversee. This lasted for only one year - a graduate student who turned out to be just as liberal as the students she was supervising. In her honor her old room, a single with its own balcony, is known as "Heidi's room." [3]
  2. ↑ CZ has hosted numerous performances, from poet Allen Ginsberg in its first year [3] to bay area punk and rock bands, like Green Day in 1992. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Housing cooperative</span> Type of housing development that emphasizes self-governance and quasi-communal living

A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity, usually a cooperative or a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. Typically housing cooperatives are owned by shareholders but in some cases they can be owned by a non-profit organization. They are a distinctive form of home ownership that have many characteristics that differ from other residential arrangements such as single family home ownership, condominiums and renting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloyne Court Hotel</span> United States historic place

The Cloyne Court Hotel, often referred to simply as Cloyne, is a historical landmark in Berkeley, California and currently one of the houses of the Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC), a student housing cooperative. It is located at the north side of the University of California, Berkeley campus at 2600 Ridge Road, near Soda Hall and Jacobs Hall, and is the next door neighbor of the Goldman School of Public Policy.

The Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC) is a student housing cooperative serving primarily UC Berkeley students, but open to any full-time post-secondary student. The BSC houses and/or feeds over 1,300 students in 17 houses and three apartment buildings. Food is provided to residents of the 17 houses, which also offer boarding meal plans to non-residents. As part of their rental agreement, residents of the houses are required to perform workshifts, typically five hours per week. The BSC is led by a board of directors which is primarily composed of and elected by student members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingman Hall</span> Building in Berkeley, California

Kingman Hall is located at 1730 La Loma Avenue near the northeast corner of the University of California, Berkeley campus. As part of the Berkeley Student Cooperative, Kingman Hall houses 50 residents, known as Kingmanites or Toadies. It is named after Harry Kingman, the former YMCA director who in 1933 inspired 14 students to start a student cooperative. The house was designated a City of Berkeley Landmark in January 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrington Hall (Berkeley, California)</span> Building in Berkeley, California, USA

Barrington Hall was a student housing cooperative in the University Students' Cooperative Association (USCA) system in Berkeley, California, from 1935 to 1943 and 1950 to 1989. It is currently privately operated student housing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of California, Berkeley student housing</span>

Housing at the University of California, Berkeley, includes student housing facilities run by the office of Residential and Student Service Programs (RSSP). Housing is also offered by off-campus entities such as fraternities and sororities and the Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC).

A student housing cooperative, also known as co-operative housing, is a housing cooperative for student members. Members live in alternative cooperative housing that they personally own and maintain. These houses are designed to lower housing costs while providing an educational and community environment for students to live and grow in. They are, in general, nonprofit, communal, and self-governing, with students pooling their monetary and personal resources to create a community style home. Many student housing cooperatives share operation and governing of the house. As with most cooperatives, student housing coops follow the Rochdale Principles and promote collaboration and community work done by the members for mutual benefit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two Dickinson Street Co-op</span> Student dining co-op at Princeton University

The Two Dickinson Street Co-op, or 2D, is one of the five student dining co-ops at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. 2D is a 50-member vegetarian cooperative located across the street from the Princeton University campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lothlorien (co-op)</span> Cooperative house in Berkeley, California, US

Lothlorien is a cooperative house consisting of two former mansions built next to the University of California, Berkeley, United States. It is located on 2405 and 2415 Prospect Street. Along with Kingman Hall, Casa Zimbabwe and Cloyne Court Hotel it is one of the well known houses in the Berkeley Student Cooperative system. Both buildings are considered to be significant for their architecture and location.

Spartan Housing Cooperative (SHC) is a nonprofit member owned and operated housing cooperative. The SHC was formed as in 1969, as a federation of existing student housing cooperatives in East Lansing. Since the first of the SHC's member houses formed 69 years ago, SHC has accumulated more than 4,000 members.

Rochdale Village is student housing cooperative apartment complex in Berkeley, California. The property is owned by UC Berkeley and leased by the Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC). It was built during the late 1960s and early 1970s, with money loaned by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the BSC. With approximately 260 residents, it is the largest housing co-op in Berkeley and one of the largest student housing cooperatives in the world. It lies at an elevation of 236 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stebbins Hall</span> Building in California, United States

Stebbins Hall is a student housing cooperative owned by Berkeley Student Cooperative (BSC) and located at 2527 Ridge Road in Berkeley, California, on the Northside of the University of California, Berkeley campus. The house has a total occupancy of 64 residents during the school year, from late August to mid-May, and can accommodate upwards of 54 residents over the summer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Pioneer Food Co-op</span>

New Pioneer Food Co-op, commonly shortened to New Pi, is a locally owned food cooperative based in Iowa City, Iowa. This city also serves as the headquarters of the National Cooperative Grocers Association. New Pioneer has stores in Iowa City, Coralville, and Cedar Rapids as well as a production hub in North Liberty, Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oberlin Student Cooperative Association</span>

The Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA) is a non-profit corporation founded in 1962 that feeds and houses Oberlin College students. Located in the town of Oberlin, Ohio, it is independent from but closely tied to Oberlin College. OSCA is one of the largest student housing cooperatives in North America, though membership has declined in recent years.

Media cooperatives are a form of cooperative that report on news based on the geographic location of their membership, or the general interests of the membership. Often they are a form of alternative media, critical of mainstream perspectives, with progressive society stances. However, several cooperatives outside of the West are established mainstream media outlets. Media cooperatives often unite customers and service providers to oppose a pure profit motive in the media. In contrast to mainstream media companies, media cooperatives are able to report independently, due to the minimization of the Principal–agent problem. Media cooperatives are growing in popularity as a form of organization for media reporting, however access to capital and lack of awareness in society present challenges to proliferation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University Cooperative Housing Association</span>

The University Cooperative Housing Association(UCHA) is a student housing cooperative in Westwood, Los Angeles near the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus. Able to house and feed over 400 members, the UCHA primarily offers housing to UCLA students, but welcomes members from any institution. The UCHA operates three buildings: Hardman-Hansen Hall (HHH or "Triple H"), Essene Hall, and Robison Hall. Jim Morrison of The Doors purportedly lived at the UCHA during his time at UCLA. Alongside the UCLA campus, Hardman-Hansen and Robison Halls were used as filming locations for the 1982 horror film, The Dorm That Dripped Blood. Many students of China's Lost Generation studying at UCLA resided at the UCHA.

References

  1. 1 2 "Houses: Casa Zimbabwe". Berkeley Student Cooperative. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  2. ↑ "Berkeley Student Cooperative - Ownership Status". BSC Policy Wiki. Berkeley Student Cooperative. February 8, 2015. Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Banning-Lover, Rachel (2014). Casa Zimbabwe: A House History, from The Green Book - A Collection of U.S.C.A History (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Lillian, Guy; Gasper, Krista (2006). A Cheap Place to Live, from The Green Book - A Collection of U.S.C.A. History. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 Haliburton, Ken (August 8, 1966). "A New Way to Live: Boys and Girls Together". The Daily Californian .
  6. ↑ "Green Day in Berkeley, USA - Apr 04, 1992". www.greendayauthority.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  7. 1 2 Dongallo, Angelica (November 22, 2006). "Northside Co-Op Residents to Relocate for Building Retrofits". The Daily Californian.
  8. ↑ Brandon Yung (2020-03-31). "Student co-ops scramble to adapt for COVID-19 in homes where communal living is the norm". Berkeleyside. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  9. ↑ Markovich, Ally (2020-04-09). "The Least Lonely People Right Now". Medium. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  10. ↑ "Academic Year Rates | Berkeley Student Cooperative". www.bsc.coop. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  11. ↑ "Workshift Requirement | Berkeley Student Cooperative". www.bsc.coop. Archived from the original on 2020-11-26. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  12. ↑ Gross, Rachel (February 22, 2010). "Keeping Housemates Fed and Green at a Berkeley Student Co-op". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ Gross, Rachel (2010-02-22). "Keeping Housemates Fed and Green at a Berkeley Student Co-op". The New York Times, Bay Area Blog. Archived from the original on 2010-02-28. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  14. ↑ "Cooperatively Yours 2013" (PDF). Berkeley Student Coop Alumni Association. 2021-01-02. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  15. 1 2 Brady, Sarah (2012-02-21). "It's a Co-op: Casa Zimbabwe Student Co-op House, Berkeley". It's a Co-op. Archived from the original on 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  16. ↑ Bloomekatz, Joshua (October 18, 1999). "Tours of Homes Focus on Solar Panels". The Daily Californian.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.