Avery ExComm or reservation via the Housing website. Avery also holds a number of “off-campus” spots, which are physically in the house but can be chosen by any undergraduate participating in the off-campus lottery. Finally, owing to a policy said to have been put in place by R. Stanton Avery himself , Avery members are not allowed to place anything "nonremovable" on the walls, though the true origins of this policy are unclear. As a result, murals are painted on canvas and hung up on bulletin boards, instead of painted on the walls directly. Bechtel Residence The Bechtel Residence started construction in late 2016, and began housing undergraduates in Fall 2018. It is by far the largest housing option on campus, at over 200 beds. However, it is not a House, lacking the self-determining political systems, defined membership, and collection of dues like those of the existing 8 houses. Bechtel additionally has apartments for various live-in staff and faculty, specifically a professional staff member called a residential life coordinator, six graduate students employed as Residential Associates (RAs), and two faculty-in-residence. Other "off-campus" housing Caltech-owned housing that is not part of any of the eight houses is known as "off-campus" housing, even if it is actually physically located on the Caltech campus (non-Caltech owned housing is called "off-off-campus" or "off-squared"). These housing units do not maintain memberships or have the community or traditions that the other houses have. Off-campus housing besides Bechtel currently consists of Marks House and Braun House. Freshmen will not rotate into these. Historically, before the advent of Bechtel, they included Del Mar apartments, Chester apartments, and a number of "Off-Campus Alleys" (OCAs) nicknamed e.g. Batcave, Fort Knight, Hazard, Munth, ROCAs, and Watchtower. These other resources have now been re-allocated towards graduate student housing. Until the mid-1980s there were literally off-campus houses for undergraduates at 317 and 360 South Holliston Avenue associated informally and formally, respectively, with Dabney House, the distinction being that rooms in 360 were considered part of the house's yearly, seniority-inflected, room allocation scheme. References External links The Interhouse Committee (IHC) – committee of the presidents of the houses; plans and supervises Rotation, inter-house sports and activities, and works closely with Housing and some Faculty Board committees as the representative of the undergraduate body Welcome to Undergraduate Housing at Caltech – from Caltech's housing department A History of Undergraduate Self-Governance at Caltech; Part II, A