engineering

Old Scripps Building

Old Scripps Building is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Old Scripps Building rather than just read about it. In short: The George H. Scripps Memorial Marine Biological Laboratory, known as the Old Scripps Building, is a historic research facility on the campus of the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla, California.

Key takeaways

Old Scripps Building belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Old Scripps Building to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Old Scripps Building from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The George H. Scripps Memorial Marine Biological Laboratory, known as the Old Scripps Building, is a historic research facility on the campus of the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla, California. Built in 1909-10, it is the oldest oceanographic research building in continuous use in the United States and the historic center of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It is architecturally significant as a work of Modernist architect Irving J. Gill and for its early use of reinforced concrete. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1982. It now houses Scripps administrative offices.

Description and history The Old Scripps Building overlooks the Pacific coast near the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier on the campus of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It is set on a terrace about 15 feet (4.6 m) above the shore, and is a fairly undistinguished concrete structure, two stories in height, measuring about 50 by 75 feet (15 m × 23 m), with the long axis oriented roughly east–west. Windows are set by pairs in recessed bays, giving the surrounding concrete the appearance of structural piers. The interior plan has a wide central hall on each level, with areas on either side historically used for a variety of purposes. A lecture hall at the western end of the second floor once afforded views to the ocean. Scripps Institution of Oceanography was founded in 1903 as the Marine Biological Association. It operated a laboratory in the Hotel del Coronado's boathouse at Glorietta Bight until 1905 when it moved to the "little Green Laboratory" at La Jolla Cove. In 1907, the association purchased a 170-acre (0.69 km2) site, Pueblo Lot 1298, with financial support from E. W. Scripps and his half-sister Ellen Browning Scripps. The large tract of land, formerly owned by the City of San Diego, provided space for future expansion and isolation from the inevitable growth of La Jolla. Ellen Browning Scripps gave a substantial endowment that made possible the construction of the George H. Scripps Laboratory, or the Old Scripps Building, in 1909-10. The Old Scripps Building was designed by Irving J. Gill, a San Diego–based architect who was a proponent of modernist architecture. It is an early example of reinforced concrete construction techniques. In its early years, the building housed laboratories, offices, and also the residence of the institution's director. For a number of decades, it was used entirely for laboratories and research, and was vacated in 1977 after new facilities were built nearby. The university proposed its demolition, in part because the building did not meet modern seismic codes. Local preservationists banded together to raise funds for the building's restoration, including the reversal of alterations that interfered with the architect's original vision.

See also List of National Historic Landmarks in California San Diego Historical Landmarks in La Jolla, California La Jolla, San Diego-related topics

References

External links

Timeline of Scripps Institution of Oceanography history

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Old Scripps Building

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Old Scripps Building claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Old Scripps Building before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Old Scripps Building ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Old Scripps Building

In research: Old Scripps Building appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Old Scripps Building in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Old Scripps Building is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1909 establishments in California, Buildings and structures in San Diego County, California, Irving Gill buildings, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Old Scripps Building outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Old Scripps Building in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Old Scripps Building means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Old Scripps Building out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Old Scripps Building in simple terms?

Why does Old Scripps Building matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Old Scripps Building?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Old Scripps Building.