Architectural Study at Cal Poly :: Architecture

Architectural Study at Cal Poly Lost in the hills of Poly Canyon lies a land filled with bizarre structure built by past students that make up the architectural study area. This chunk of land is designated for architectural students to build their senior projects on. In the true Cal Poly spirit of learn by doing, students have been building inventive structures as senior projects. However, before 1963, most of these projects were torn down after completion. So the Dean of the college of architecture at the time, asked for land just for the students to build on. After being denied several times, he finally went to the boss for land and got it. After the campus president, heard of this, he gave nine acres of land in poly canyon for the students to build on. The first of eighteen student built structures is an enormous stone arch that marks the entrance. Here there is a map showing all of the projects and their locations. Past the arch is a rock wall where the faces of the creators are engraved in the stone. This wall marks a path leading to Techtite Bridge which was another student project. The next project on the path is the flower. While visiting I was fortunate enough to meet one of the creators. Because the original project is currently falling apart, he funded a group of students this year to rebuild a new one. The project is finished and it was rededicated October sixteenth of this year. Behind the flower, lies the Geodesic Dome. This dome is made of aluminum pipes and is fifty feet in diameter. When I first came across this dome, it looked to me like something I used to play on at the park as a kid. As I walked closer I saw that it was about thirty feet high and that it was no toy. Across from the dome is the sundial which, unfortunately, is no longer standing.