FLEETING ART; PUTTING HEADS IN SAND.

Byline: Michael Coit Staff Writer

It was a bug's day at the beach Sunday.

Y2K bugs and VW Bugs in all sizes took shape on the sands of Zuma Beach, dominating the designs of architects who sculpted the sand to raise money for student scholarships.

One of the buggier entries in the 18th annual sand castle competition, hosted by the American Institute of Architects/LA, featured a giant caterpillar extended along a calendar taking a sizable bite out of the Y2K bug, symbolized by a computer keyboard. Architects with Flewelling and Moody, a Los Angeles firm, only needed a lunch hour to complete the design - but considerably longer to execute it.

``We sweated a lot in the beginning, piling it up, and now it's artistry. Thankfully there's a nice breeze,'' said Ara Zenobians, one of the architects.

Even more ambitious was the design by the Jerde Partnership. The Venice firm's team spent three hours in meetings drafting and completing the design, about as long as it took to build it.

``Oh my goodness, we had planning meetings and then we had last-minute meetings to get the final design,'' recalled Lisa Salmans, an executive assistant on the firm's team.

Winning yet another first-place finish in the large-team category, the Jerde builders carried out an elaborate design of a VW Bug and a traffic-yield sign with Y2K written on it - a reference to the millennium computer bug and an abbreviation for ``Yield to Kenny,'' a character and frequent decedent on the ``South Park'' television cartoon.

The cartoon's four principle characters were sculpted in all their round details. The Bug, though, did not yield to Kenny, a victim again.

``You always work up to the last minute with little touches,'' Salmans said.

From children to the large teams of professionals, there were nearly 20 entries in a variety of categories. The event raised about $2,000 for Southern California students in architecture and related fields.

Taking on the challenge of sculpting a large VW Bug without any trappings, other than extended insect legs, was enough for 10-year-olds Neda Hooshiar and Sogol Shantiyai.

``The hardest part is getting the shape exactly right. We're trying to make it look like a bug, which is hard,'' Neda said.

Keeping the sand wet to preserve the sculpture was a constant task for every team. Spray bottles, large canisters with hand pumps and a fine-spray hose were critical tools.

There also was an an assortment of old-fashioned tools in most of the roped sculpting areas.

There were boards lined up to the Pacific Ocean's edge for easy access to bucket after bucket of water, wheel barrows and shovels for the heavy lifting and mixing.

Trowels and strips of wood were used to create the finer details.

Bill Mount spent as much time shaping and touching up the face of a Sphinx with a trowel as he did creating the mythical creature's entire body. The theme was ``Ocean view,'' with a bulldozer cutting the Sphinx in half so that homes on top of a leveled pyramid have an ocean view.

``First it's a lump, and then all of a sudden it's something. It's amazing how it all comes together,'' said Mount, a senior designer for the Cunningham Group in Marina Del Rey.

Teams from the firm have hit the beach for the competition since the AIA began the fund-raiser. Reflecting the experience of its creators, the work looked as sturdy as any in the competition.

``Sand has the tendency to not do what it doesn't want to do,'' Mount said.

Winners in addition to the Jerde Partnership were the Luckman Partnership among teams of medium size, Matt Construction among small teams and the Herron family in children's competition.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) Dominque Abbriano sprays water on an award-winning sand sculpture Sunday in contests sponsored by architects at Zuma Beach.

(2) Teams from architects' firms build elaborate sand sculptures in a fund-raiser for scholarships.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer