University of California Los Angeles - Bruin Life / Southern Campus Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

Page 32 text:

[Rnyr, ' Hall, north of tlir mitiii quadrangle, s wii:. an almost comf lrtr symposium of llir Rnmancsquc-Ilalian school of anli ' itccturc.} t5hc Jiyth XttX x Inspiration of TS7cstwoocl HK ARCHITECTURAL treatment of the Education Huildiiig adheres essentially to the same tradition as that of Royce Hall and the Library, hut it is handled in a more modern manner, due to the symmetrical plan necessary. Two corresponding auditoriums, one on each side of the building, require that the wings be in balance, and the dis- similarity evident in the facade of Royce Hall is obviously omitted. The introduction of a greater amount of terra cotta in decorative treat- ment is instrumental in forming a pleasant contrast to the other buildings, as is the execu- tion of texture pattern brickwork on the main entrance gable, and in the second story frieze which bands the entire structure, the latter giv- ing an impression of inlaid Italian mosaic. An- other interesting innovation is encountered in the octagonal columns which support the arches over the main entrance. Q. Throughout the entire building there is a subtlty and maje.sty of color that produces a feeling of greatest impression, and dignity is the keynote of the auditoriums in this structure. The larger of the two, with its entrance vestibule, is panelled with walnut-col- ored mahogany, blended into a time-mellowed dull shade. Highly decorated mahogany beams in the ceiling, supported on either end by brack- ets in relief, give the room a distinctly Spanish character. On the sides of these three beams are painted a number of tablets, each symbolically representative, including a horse rampant, signi- fying strength ; a lion rampant, signifying brav- ery; a peacock, for pride; a rose, typifying .sec- recy ; a griffin, for guardianship ; a pelican, for charity; and a lily, for purity. The brackets, as well as the moulding below the rafters, are of wood carved in design of Byzantine origin. CI. The other auditorium is smaller, with decora- tion of the more conventional modern fashion, its almost plain colored walls, with terra-cotta and frescoe reliefs in the ceiling, giving it an even more distinctly Spanish flavor. The buff tones of the halls, cloistered and arched like Mediter- ranean monasteries of the past, also assist in this effect. Q. Inspiration for other features of the building are found to exist particularK ' in the church of San Lorenzo at Mantua. ;i ' w- ? 3TCT ' ir £r 5 [22}

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[St. Slefano (li ' ft) was the inspiral ' wn for many of ihr desiijns of Royir, v:lnlc San Zi-no-ve ((en- ter) and till- Court of Pilule (riylit) arc reminiscent of the Library. ' ] architectural Inspiration of Wcstwood HF DESK N of Royce Hall especially niay be traced to examples of past art. Its de- sign is reminiscent of the Church of San Ambrogio in Milan, excepting, however, that its two towers are of equal proportion if not of similar design. An almost complete symposium of the Romanesque- Italian Gothic school of architecture utilized here may be traced to the Cathedral of SS. Pietro e Paolo, built in the IV century, in the Church of II Santissimo Crocifisso, and particularly in the interior of St. Sepolcro, in Church of St. Stefano. The similarity is most strong in the arcade of the upper ambulatories, in the lack of unity of the two towers, in the multi-pillared columns of the colonnade, and in the treatment of the facade. Q. On the beamed ceiling of the foyer are designs in red and gold portraying the shields of the twelve earliest foreign universities, including Bologna, Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Prague, and Heidelberg. The principle feature of Royce Hall consists of two triple-vaulted open loggias, super imposed. For the ceiling of the three lower vaults a design has been utilized which symbolizes the twelve branches of learn- ing, including the graphic arts, education, philos- ophy, chemistry, and languages, each subject per- sonified by a half-figure, below which is inscribed the name of a great man of the past who was remembered in connection with that subject, the richness of color and design reminding one of the painted vaults in the lower church at Assisi. CI. The ceilings of the upper three vaults have been painted to portray the three periods of that movement, and that by representing four great leaders from each period. In the first are Jesus Christ, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; in the sec- ond, Petrarch, Abelard, Melanchthon, and Loy- ola; in the third, Kant, Darwin, Einstein, and Eliot. These murals, below each of which an inscription is painted, recall the glowing mo- saics of Ravenna. Q. A modern essence among the ancient is brought by the depiction of a bear ' s head in a medallion in the spandrel above the main entrance, symbolic of the bond between past knowledge and present learning. Motifs in running design and relief panels on the colonnade arches are of Spanish and Saracen origin.

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; its uppiT and lonL-er vaults anJ its two towers, was undoiihtedly t ir inspiralioit for Roycr.} t5hc H chitcctural Inspiration of Wcstxvood HF: chemistry and FIu- 7 U j -J sics Buildings are designed in ' T r i L -g,.y ,in,(-h the same style as the Education Building, but are much more simple in detail and form, acting as steadying and flanking factors to the more elaborate central group. Each of these struc- tures, however, lacks a side wing facing the axis upon which the quadrangle of the campus exists, the same to be constructed later as growth of the institution requires. (D. These buildings are fin- ished more plainly than the others, to accord strictly with the needs of the sciences housed within them, and are designed as laboratory structures of more practical and modern type. Both contain excellent auditoriums in miniature, to be used in demonstration and instruction of the sciences. CI. The Chemistry Building, less ostentatious in external design of the two, is particularly interesting in its main entrance, where the trim around the door depicts birds and beasts of typical pre-Renaissance art from Italy and Spain, fomiing contrast to the Renais- sance design in the brick work about the win- dows. CI. Probably the most interesting piece in the more prevalent decorative trim of the Physics Building is that of a relief terra cotta design along the base of the exterior, where a history of the state is illustrated in the depiction of eight figures in interlocked circles. A ranch house, covered-wagon, railroad locomotive, ships, and a mission represent the conquest and settling of the state; while the political history is found in the figure of a bear, emblematic of the state, and an eagle, typifying the bond with the Union. CI A panel insert showing a football player studying in a reclining position presents a unique, if not rare, situation. The value of college edu- cation is further suggested in a terra cotta block above one of the doors, in which the traditional tortoise and hare scene is deliniated. CI As in the Chemistry Building, terra cotta and brick design of Renaissance age are utilized around the windows, while medallions of the same ma- terials represent various factors in the field of education. (S. Truly the Romantic style of these bu ' ldings, emblematic of the period that saw the end of the Dark Ages, typifies the University motto, Let There Be Light.