Architecture students explore Kauai

For six days last quarter, UCLA students carefully sliced away
at the tendrils and vibrant petals of rich tropical foliage on the
garden island of Kauai.

The students, however, were not majoring in botany, but instead,
all were intent on applying what they learned about plants to
architectural principles and design.

Bridging the gap between botanical mechanics and architectural
forms, students in Professor Jason Payne’s technology seminar
last quarter took advantage of a unique opportunity when they
traveled to Hawaii last quarter. From the graceful curve of orchid
petals, the students extrapolated and tweaked plant composition
until their own designs only vaguely reflected the plant’s
basic form.

“The main thing is that we totally immersed ourselves. The
colors, the smells, the sights, everything,” said Jason
Locke, who participated in the seminar and is pursuing an advanced
masters-of-architecture degree. Now the end results of the
knowledge they gained and the skills they applied are being
showcased in Perloff Gallery in an exhibition titled
“Manifold Destiny II.” Running throughout most of
February, the show tracks the progress the students made last fall
through drawings, photographs and models. The School of Arts and
Architecture at UCLA offers three types of seminars and
Payne’s was one devoted to the use of cutting-edge technology
to solve one-of-a-kind dilemmas in architecture. Focused on the
technical problems associated with “edge conditions” in
plastics, students were, at a basic level, asked to think about how
the edges of plastics could be combined and melded in new ways,
Payne said.

Plastics have been used in everything from water bottles to
medical supplies, and for decades have been a critical component in
architecture. With this seminar, Payne wanted his students to add
to the discourse in plastics.

“I wanted them to think about how to get edges and think
about new edges, … but instead of opening up textbooks, we
decided to do something different. Going to Kauai immediately made
sense,” Payne said.

For students, the trip was an exciting way to step outside the
conventional realm of architectural principles.

Instead of thinking about plastics as a simple material for
tabletops, students were encouraged to think about how the material
could be manipulated and put together in exotic ways, Locke
said.

For example, one simple way to piece together the edges of two
plastic sheets is to place the sheets against each other and lock
them into place. After examining the intricate composition of
tropical plant life, however, some students were inspired to come
up with a comb-like mechanism for putting together the sheets that
mirrored the look of plant ridges. The ability of Locke and his
fellow students to experiment was largely facilitated by the wide
range of experiences and experts they encountered on their trip. A
main highlight of the trip included access to the Kauai National
Tropical Botanical Garden, where scientists were willing to
“chop up” any specimens students saw on their walks
through the gardens and wanted to study in further detail, Locke
said.

In addition, students received lectures from a wide range of
experts, including ethnobotanists and plant physiologists.

At one point, a rugged-terrain biologist ““ someone who
searches for exotic species in hard-to-reach locations such as the
undersides of cliffs ““ took the class on a guided tour of the
rainforest.

The whole trip was financed in part by the UCLA Charles Moore
Traveling Studio Fellowship, according to the UCLA architecture
school Web site. The 20 or so students in the class received $4,000
to share.

Two such grants are awarded every year to UCLA architecture
faculty. One grant allows a faculty member to take their class
anywhere in the world to study architecture, while the other limits
the class to outings within the U.S.

Originally, Payne considered applying for a grant to visit
Timbuktu and study Malian mud temples, whose heavy slumming and
interplay of weight and gravity makes for “incredibly
beautiful” architecture. But the proposal was ultimately
drawn up for a trip to Kauai, which is internationally renowned for
its lush rainforests.

Payne said he was pleased with the “great results,”
and plans on teaching the course again next year if he
doesn’t come up with something even better.

The Perloff Gallery is located on the first floor in Perloff
1318. The exhibition is free and open to the public
weekdays.

9 a.m to 5 p.m through Feb. 24.