News Scrapbook 1980

BLADE TRIBUNE AUG ;;: 1980

F-6

lHli SAN DIEGO UNION Mission Arches (Continued from F-1) "After 1910,'' writes the professor, "the widespread ac- ceptance and enthusiasm for the mission image broad- ened to include the whole of the Mediterranean tradi- tion." Thus was the mood set for, among other flamboy- ant constructions, the 1915 exposition in Balboa Park whose remnants are still a popular treasure. The popularity of the "mission image" in everything from houses to railroad stations has to be seen as a major media success of the Roman Catholic Church, reaching the hearts of millions who had nothing to do with the church. When the Catholic University of San Diego was being planned in the 1950s, there was no question whether to go modern or historical. Gebhard judges that "one of the great assets of the mission image was that it referred exclusively to a build- ing as an object in the landscape." What we got in USD was a supermission superimage in the landscape. As I wrote in 1959 (San Diego magazine): "The hilltop site is so exposed to view that no one traversing the San Diego scene can fail to notice the installation proudly rising as certainly the most favorably located institution in the entire region ... Seen from a distance the universi- ty is impressive ... " However, I called the architecture a failure, mainly because the styling interfered with good space planning. And my points were reinforced surprisingly by a San Diego architect whose finest work had been done in the mission manner. Richard Requa, writing in 1929 long before USD was conceived, said: "The greatest obstacle in the path of architectural progress in America is the prevailing notion that a building of architectural pretension must be de- signed in some recognized ancient and exotic style. "It is the established custom to decide the question of exterior design even before the plan and practical re- quirements of the building are given serious considera- tion. "Then follows the painful operation of distorting the plan and subordinating the purposes of the structure to the correctness of its external treatment. Seldom is such a building in harmony with its environment or a true expression of its materials and purposes." Clearly, in 1929 Requa had been swept up by the rising tide of modern architectural thought that was saying in effect: "Go easy on history! There's a new world to malce by thinking everything through again." In his own case, the new thought led him to make much weaker designs than when he was steeped in the Spanish. If Requa were alive today he probably would be prospering as a Spanish-accented designer, for "period" sentiment is "in" again and bare-bones modern is on the defensive, as reported here July 27. "Bare-bones" is certainly the nature of our mighty sta- dium. It seems to be a masterpiece of macho Nosturing to match the macho posturing of the sports-business con- ducted therein. Its fitness to purpose would have to please Richard Requa, though I doubt he would settle for its fierce ap- pearance as an object in the landscape. The stadium was designed by architect Gary Allen while he was working for the Hope group. Now that he ha his own office, Allen is seeking to be recognized as the best-qualified person to design the enlargement of the stadium to superbowl size. His chances are not too good because he has not been cultivating the inside political track. One thmg working in Allen's favor is that he has just

Sunday,, August l0, 1980

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• • • designed for Sacramento a stadium that is a considerable improvement on ours. The improvement lies in the aston- ishing new notion of combining a stadium and an office building in one structure - the idea of a young en- terpriser, Gregg Lukenbill. The offices consist of rings of comfortable floor space tucked under the ramps that hold the seats. That may not be just the ticket for our stadium enlarge- ment, but it does suggest that rentable space (profitable for the city) of one sort or another could be built into the enlargement plan here. At a minimum, parking struc- tures should be built so that much of the present blacktop can be converted to green park land along the river. And the parking structures could have rentable superstruc- tures. The surround of new structures might eventually cause the stadium to disappear as a bare-bones image in the lands~ape. Rounded arches might even make an appear- ance m that area one day. I, for one, wouldn't mind that, for the arch is an everlastingly satisfying element of visual design, universally pleasing. An increase of arches i~ our Mission Valley could help unify what is now a display ground for the confusions of the architectural world. The vety best we could do in the very special landscape (Continued on F-8, Col. 1) of Mission Valley is to continue playing variations upon the mission inheritance while not distorting the plan. That applies to individual buildings and it applies to the valley as a whole. Perhaps the stadium remodeling could trigger a revision of the entire valley. A really compre- hensive plan is long overdue. The Harvard Architecture Review, Volume One, is rec- ommended for anyone wishing more detailed reports from the war front. The theme of the issue is "Beyond the Modern Movement." Many good professional voices are heard, most of them supporting the various efforts to give more human inter- est to contemporary building by - paradoxically - pay- ing more attention to what was done in past periods. The review, launched by students, represen a set of views largely opposed by Harvard's dean of urban design, Moshe Safdie. Both sides will bring their arguments to San Diego in the next few months. La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art will show the work of anti-Safdies, so to speak, in September. Safdie himself is being sought by UCSD's Ex- tension Division for a lecture in the spring.

- NITE LIFE REVUE - August 7 - August 20 r---... '----''-' =- > >~ I GALLERIES Founders' Gallery: Paintings and - sculpture by Neil Boyle, thr~agh Sept. 9. University of San Diego. Mon.-Fri., 10-4. 291-6480.

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Photo by United Press lnte ANCIENT CHINESE stone anchors found off coast were there, scientists say, for at least 3,000 years. Chinese Stone Anchors Foun Off Coast There 3,000 Ye

EVENING TRIBUNE 919(1)

o( Michigan, Los Angeles Valley Col- lege and the University of Taiwan, working independently with samples, concurred that the stone came from North China where an outcropping of dolomite has been quarried for con- struction for thousands of years. James R. Moriarity III, University of San Diego professor of history and archeology, and his research assis- tant. Larry J . Pierson, are convinced that the stone and another anchor assemblage found near Palos Altos are of Chinese origin. The Catalina stone, they believe, is a "mess·enger stone" used for defoul- ing lines . In 1975, while diving for lobsters, Redondo Beach scuba divers Bob Meistrell and Wayne Baldwin discov- ered and recovered what the re- searchers take for an anchor assemblage. It was found in shallow water off the Palos Verdes peninsula near Los Angeles. One of the components has been identified as a mill stone used by Chinese to crush grain, which was later presumably used as an anchor component, probably with a wooden shaft through the center. This assemblage, on display at Dive'n Surf, a diving shop in Redondo Beach, has been scientifically dated at 1,500 years old. The San Diego scholars sent word of the discoveries to China, and recently a response has been received from Chinese historian Fang Zhongpu. He

SAN DIEGO (UPI) - Move over Leif and Christopher, America was really discovered by the Chinese; and a Buddhist monk was imparting Orien- tal wisdom to Mexican Mayans a thousand years before Columbus made his noted 1492 landfall at San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. Maybe. What is a proven, to a scientific certainty, say two academics from the University of San Diego, is that a stone artifact, probably a form of anchor, which could only have come from China, lay off Catalina Island for 3,000 years until its discovery by scientists in 1973. · That would date the stone's plunking to the ocean floor at around 1,000 B.C., approximately when the Greeks and the Trojans were battling for Troy. AU.S. Geological Survey team came up with the doughnut shaped object while dredging the Patton Escarp- ment Zone off Catalina, which is 26 miles out. Dr. C. C. Woo of the USGS Oceanographic lnstitution at Woods Hole, Mass., where the man-made object is kept, determined that the stone had a manganese coating averaging three millimeters in thickness. The natural coating is de- posited.by the sea at an approximate rate of one millimeter per thousand years. The stone is very fine grained dolomite, and there are no deposits of this stone on the American Pacific Coast. Geologists from the University

Apartment complex work starts at USD

LEMON GROVE REVIEW UG2

'lie M.H. Golden Co. has bro\en ground on the sec- ond phase of the student apar.ment complex at the Univ1rsity of San Diego. M.P'. Golden is construc- tion hanager and general contra~tor for the project. The ~.I-million project is designel to house 362 stu- dents aid will include two staff apsrtments. Bob '.'udhope, project manager, said the develop- ment, wtich is scheduled for occuprncy in the 1981 school yetr, will include four separate three-story buildings 1otaling 70,000 square feet. An 8,000-s~uare-foot stu-

dent lounge facility com- pleted last fall will perve residents of the project. The Golden Co. was also contractor and construction manager for the initial phase of the apartments, which included 250 IJ]its. Schoell & Paul, architect for the apartmenjs, have designed the cornplex so that many of th second phase apartments Mil over- look Mission Bay. The apartments will have stucco and wood frame on the exterior and the design will use arched windows, balconies and elaborate trimming.

High Praise Voiced Bv USD Grid Coach The first fall intrasquad •~rimmage was the best in the 5 vears tQat head coach Bill Williams '1as been at the U. of Hi~h Praise USD-1-2-18 San Diego. The Toreros held a 110- play-controlled scrim- mage Sunday. "It was by far the best op. ening scrimmage since I have been at the University," said Williams. "The offense was led by in- coming quarterback Steve Loomis who completed 14-17 passes for 195 yards. The of- fense committeed only 4 in- fractions in the 2-hour scrim- mage while the running backs move'l the ball well on the ground."

The monk told of a !>"Opie who chd not wage war and had no 1rof1 but ample supplies of gold and silver It is an accurate descr'ption o{ pre- Columbian Mi>xico Pierson points out sim1lart1c he· tween Oriental and \la) an 30d Olmec calendrical sy~tems and a t forms He also mentions ti'~ comcidenee m approximate histonc dat, s of Huishen's voyage and '\h•x1can ac- counts of QuetzacoaU tli w1 e man who brought mat , bel'.efits, thcr sailed away. Pierson, a certified d v , a d 'We hope publicity will :m,1g put me re sport divers. A11y wn(l ha\ ~ecn curiously shaped nl't.1f et \\ 11 I hope, call us. We prom f I .o\\ JP eve sighting.'

LOS ANGELES TIMES AUG II

Tuesday, August t2, 19B0 The Blad~~b1 e - 7 conversational Russian Is USD Course Topic SAN DIEGO - A 10-week course in conversational Camino Hall at the Alcala Park campus. Afee of $65 will be ·charged.

!OUNDER'S GALLERY (University of San Diego): The West Illustrated," paintings and bronzes by Neil Boyle, through Sept. 9. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

Russian is being offered by the University of San Diego's Office of Continuing Educa- tion. The course will be given on Tuesday evenings from 6; 30 to 9, 30 and will run from Sept. 16- OV 18. USD doctoral candidate Florence Johnson will teach the classes in room 120 of

The focus of the course will be on immediate communica- tion, enabling the student to converse on everyday topics with the average Russian speaker. The method used is one of total immerswn, with students speaking Russian in class from the outset. For more information, call 293-4585.

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