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Building History

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) named this tower for Ralph Bunche (1904-1971), a 1927 graduate of UCLA, and an acclaimed political scientist, intelligence officer, civil rights activist and diplomat, who was awarded the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his work mediating a truce between the Israelis and Palestinians. He worked in the United Nations for many years, serving as the Under-Secretary-General in 1955. Bunche attended some of the most important civil rights events of the 1960s, and was a close ally of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968).

Building Notes

Bunche Hall is an imposing structure on the UCLA skyline; when erected, it contained approximately 229,000 gross square feet, (185,217 net usable square feet) and cost $7,862,684; its elevated concrete base ("pilotis") strongly resembled that of Le Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation in Marseilles, France (1946-1952). It contained 854 rooms when built, most of which were faculty and departmental offices for scholars in the social sciences. The departments of Political Science, Economics, History, Geography, Communication Studies, and a number of cultural and gender studies programs had space in Bunche Hall in 2013. Bunche Hall featured two different sections, a 12-story tower, and a shorter office section joined to form an "L." The Palm Court, a four-floor courtyard planted with palms and smaller plants, was positioned between the building's two sections. The 12-story tower has two different fenestrations on its north and south facades; the south is notable for its array of square windows whose casings float against the building's rectangular mass.

PCAD id: 5705