Bunche Hall and UCLA's Architectural Evolution: A Story of Modernism, Murals, and Memory
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), has a rich history intertwined with architectural evolution, reflecting the changing times and aspirations of Southern California. From its humble beginnings as a teacher's college to its current status as a world-renowned research institution, UCLA's campus architecture tells a compelling story. Among the many buildings that contribute to this narrative, Bunche Hall stands out as a significant example of mid-century Modernism, while a hidden mural within its walls offers a unique glimpse into the artistic and cultural landscape of Los Angeles.
From Normal School to Westwood: The Genesis of UCLA
UCLA's origins can be traced back to March 1881, when the California State Legislature authorized the creation of a southern branch of the California State Normal School in downtown Los Angeles. This institution, aimed at training teachers for the growing population of Southern California, opened its doors in August 1882. In 1919, a bill was signed into law to establish the Southern Branch of the University of California. As the university broke ground for its new Westwood campus in 1927, the UC Regents formally adopted the "University of California at Los Angeles" name.
In 1925, UCLA was relocated from its campus on Heliotrope and Vermont Avenues to a large campus in Westwood. The early campus buildings are in a Northern Italian Romanesque style because the University of California Regents thought that Westwood's mild climate and rolling hills were reminiscent of Northern Italy. As UCLA rose in stature and enrollment, it outgrew its location on Vermont Avenue.
The first structure built on campus was the Arroyo Bridge. Though hidden today, the bridge spanned a ravine that has since been filled in. In the fall of 1927 the bridge was dedicated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony with California Governor C.C. Young. Move in day took place over Memorial Day weekend in 1929. In 1929, UCLA’s campus officially opened, moving from its Vermont Avenue location to a then-barren desert. The original four buildings of UCLA were Royce Hall, the College Library, the Chemistry Building and the Physics and Biology Building.
The Architectural Vision Takes Shape
The initial master plan for the Westwood campus was supervised by architect George W. Kelham. It was assisted by David Allison of the Los Angeles firm Allison & Allison. Allison envisioned the Romanesque style of the Westwood campus.
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After World War II, the campus supervising architects abandoned the Italianate theme and campus expansion since that period has included buildings of varying styles. The buildings on campus work well together and are unified by their cream, rose, and red color schemes. The campus also has beautiful landscaping, a lovely sculpture garden devoted to 19th and 20th century works, and a small botanical garden.
The Modernist Shift: Wurdeman and Becket's Influence
In 1948, the architectural direction of the campus shifted toward Modernism when Wurdeman and Becket took over as supervising architects. Welton Becket and Associates continued after Wurdeman’s death. This transition marked a departure from the original Romanesque style, resulting in a number of Modern designs that were carefully incorporated into the landscape designed by Ralph D. Cornell.
The first major Modern building on campus was the Schoenberg School of Music (1955), now known as Schoenberg Hall at the Herb Alpert School of Music. In 1959, the completion of the UCLA Faculty Center signaled the use of a different flavor of modern architecture: the Contemporary Ranch house.
Bunche Hall: A Waffle in the Modernist Landscape
In 1964, UCLA's first major Modern high-rise, Bunche Hall, was constructed. Designed by Maynard Lyndon, this twelve-story Social Sciences building stands on two-story-high concrete pillars to facilitate foot traffic between the north and central parts of campus. It is a simple rectangular tower distinguished by its uniform grid of unusual square protruding windows that earned the building its nickname "The Waffle." The windows are made of a glass specially designed to filter sunlight and reduce air-conditioning costs.
At the time of its completion, everybody hated this building and referred to it as "the waffle." One former faculty member, referring to the pillars, described the building as "death on little pig's feet." Regular people and architectural critics continue to hate this building, but I love it.
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UCLA named this tower for Ralph Bunche (1904-1971), a 1927 graduate of UCLA, and an acclaimed political scientist, intelligence officer, civil rights activist and diplomat, who was awarded the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his work mediating a truce between the Israelis and Palestinians. He worked in the United Nations for many years, serving as the Under-Secretary-General in 1955. Bunche attended some of the most important civil rights events of the 1960s, and was a close ally of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968).
Bunche Hall is an imposing structure on the UCLA skyline; when erected, it contained approximately 229,000 gross square feet, (185,217 net usable square feet) and cost $7,862,684; its elevated concrete base ("pilotis") strongly resembled that of Le Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation in Marseilles, France (1946-1952). It contained 854 rooms when built, most of which were faculty and departmental offices for scholars in the social sciences. The departments of Political Science, Economics, History, Geography, Communication Studies, and a number of cultural and gender studies programs had space in Bunche Hall in 2013. Bunche Hall featured two different sections, a 12-story tower, and a shorter office section joined to form an "L." The Palm Court, a four-floor courtyard planted with palms and smaller plants, was positioned between the building's two sections.
"S.P.Q.R.": A Hidden Mural and its Apocalyptic Vision
Hidden away in the history department student lounge on the sixth floor of Bunche Hall is one of UCLA’s greatest treasures, but not many people know it. Enigmatically entitled “S.P.Q.R.” (initials that refer to the ancient “Senate and People of Rome”), the mural depicts the UCLA research library in ruins, presumably after a big earthquake wipes out Los Angeles and the language of the region mysteriously reverts to Latin.
Schoonhoven and the LA Fine Arts Squad were responsible for a number of murals that once freckled the streets of Los Angeles in brilliant colors. Their works focused on apocalyptic topics that placed Los Angeles in shocking climates and scenarios. Their 1970 mural “Venice in the Snow” presented the vibrant, sun-soaked Venice Boardwalk covered in snow. “Isle of California,” perhaps their most well-known piece, features a shattered fragment of a freeway overpass hanging precariously off the side of a mountain. But their murals, along with many others crafted over two decades, have now faded along with the memory of the acclaimed art troupe’s legacy.
“The thing that makes this [mural] so important is that it’s not exposed to the elements - it’s still there,” said Hines, who’s penned several books on modern art and architecture in California. “We need some record so that everything isn’t obliterated or torn down with each generation,” said Hines. “The Fine Arts Squad was a part of a cultural layering, and they were very important in the '60s and '70s in Los Angeles, and, with Schoonhoven, into the ’80s. If everything were intact, you’d write a story of their work, with [“S.P.Q.R.”] being one example.
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Over the years the mural had suffered some wear and tear as students, unaware of its importance, backed chairs and tables into it. Hines and Myers decided that it was time for the mural to undergo a restoration. Now the mural sits as vibrant as ever behind red velvet stanchions. On display is an introductory piece written by Hines detailing the painting’s place in the history of L.A.
“[The mural] has an interesting mix of allusions to the past and the future, and I think, in a certain sense, that’s what we are concerned about in the history department today,” Myers said. ”We’re passionately concerned about understanding the past but with the ultimate goal of better understanding the future.
Campus Expansion and Evolving Aesthetics
As UCLA's student population expanded in the 1960s, there was a necessity to accommodate the increasing need for parking while not using up limited land space. One solution was moving parking lots underground and on top of buildings to allow for heavy traffic. In the early ‘70s, a postmodernist period began. Architects wanted to break away from the gridlike and blocky appearance of modernist architecture and return to ornamentation and attention to small details. Even the way buildings are named has changed over time. In general, buildings originally were named based on the subjects taught inside. Later, buildings became more commonly named after notable professors.
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