ARCHITECTURE. WHEN I SAY THAT THIS SPOT IS ABOUT CREATIVE ARCHITECTURE, YOU MIGHT THINK ABOUT BUILDINGS LIKE THIS ONE IN SACRAMENTO, BUT WE’RE TALKING WAY MORE CREATIVE THAN THIS. WALK WITH ME INTO WHAT HAS BEEN NICKNAMED THE ARCHITECTURAL GRAVEYARD, LOCATED IN POLLY CANYON ON THE CAMPUS OF CAL POLY IN SAN LUIS OBISPO. THIS IS SEVERAL ACRES OF UNIQUE, CREATIVE AND EVEN BEWILDERING ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS. DEDICATED IN 1963. THIS IS FORMALLY KNOWN AS THE EXPERIMENTAL PRACTICES LABORATORY. FOR DECADES, STUDENTS IN THE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN HAVE CREATED LARGE SCALE EXPERIMENTAL STRUCTURES. STRUCTURES LIKE THE FIRST OF ITS KIND, GEODESIC DOME ON THE WEST COAST, OR THE BLADE STRUCTURE. THE OLDEST STRUCTURE ORIGINALLY BUILT IN POLLY CANYON. BOTH CREATED TO TEST DESIGN METHODS, AND WHILE A WALK THROUGH HERE CAN FEEL WHIMSICAL, THE WHOLE POINT, AS DESCRIBED ON THE INTRODUCTION SIGN IS TO ABOLISH THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THEORY, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. QUOTE. FOR THE THINGS WE HAVE TO LEARN BEFORE WE CAN DO THEM. WE LEARN BY DOING THEM. THIS ARCHITECTURAL GRAVEYARD ABOUT A MILE WALK FROM THE EDGE OF THE CAL POLY CAMPUS IN SAN LUIS OBISPO, MIKE TESELLE, FOR EXPLORE OUTDOORS. THAT’S GREAT. RIGHT? YEAH. SOME OF THE DESIGNS HAVE BEEN RESTORED BY STUDENTS OVER THE YEARS. WHILE OTHERS HAVE BECOME VICTIMS TO VANDALS. REGARDLESS, THE ROUND TRIP HIKE IS JUST OVER TWO MILES