SearchResearch Challenge (5/31/24): Curious questions that come up during travel?

 I'm constantly wondering... 

... what is that building?  Or... Why is this like that? Or.. What else is nearby?  

You know, the kind of questions kids ask when they're traveling--the really good ones that parents usually decline to answer.  

This week I had a great time traveling to the University of California San Diego campus.  (Which, for interesting / odd historical reasons is actually in La Jolla.  Yeah, go figure. But you could look it up!)  

I was on campus to give an invited lecture at the Design Studio.  Here's the link to my talk--the video is here, should you be interested. It was great fun, especially as a visitor walking around the campus which has some extraordinary architecture.  (To be honest, it also has some eminently forgettable buildings, the epitome of unmemorable.)  

But THIS building (show above) is pretty remarkable.  Once you see it, you don't forget it.  

Naturally, I'm curious... and I have SearchResearch Challenges for you that grow out of my visit to UCSD and San Diego--the kinds of questions that kids have, and that we adults tend to forget to ask.  Be curious! And let's see what we can learn! 

1. What building is this?  But why is it that particular dramatic shape?  It's a striking, powerful building--what's the architect trying to communicate?  What's the story here?  

2. As I walked past the building, I found a truly extraordinary path on one side of the building.  Without me telling you any more... can you find the "extraordinary path" and find out why it's there?  What's the story here? 

3. I chatted with a student who told me that about there's a "fantastic piece of art" that's about 500 feet (152 meters) away from the path.  "Just keep going," he said, "you'll find it."  With just that direction I DID find it, but the artwork was a bit of a surprise... and it took some funny search skills to locate it.  Can you find this artwork? What is it and where is it? 

4.  Lastly, on the night flight home (I flew from San Diego to San Jose, CA),  I was looking out the windows on the right hand side and noticed the street lights extending northward from San Diego towards LA.  About 12 mins into the flight, I saw a HUGE gap in the lights.  It was dark, so I wasn't sure of exactly where I was, and I couldn't figure out why that place was so devoid of lighting.  Can you figure it out?  Where is that blank spot on the map?  Why is it blank?  

Let us know what you find, and HOW you found it!  (I'm especially curious how you figure out the blank space in particular.  It took me a few minutes.)  

Keep searching!  

(And I'll post more about the Venetian cappuccino this weekend.  Ciao!)