LINES IN THE SAND : Architetects Ready to Do Battle on the Beachfront in Corona del Mar

Corinne Flocken is a free-lance writer who regularly covers Kid Stuff for The Times Orange County Edition. Tell Dale Feutz and his pals to pound sand, and they won’t be offended at all. In fact, they’d like you to watch.

Feutz (pronounced fites ) is the head man of this year’s 1991 Invitational Sandcastle Competition, presented by the American Institute of Architects/Orange County. On Sunday, the competition will draw more than 200 sand sculptors and an estimated 2,500 spectators to Corona del Mar State Beach for an afternoon of sandcastles, live music and end-of-summer fun. The public is invited to watch construction of the sandcastles from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and participate in the judging from 2 to 3 p.m.

About 20 12-member teams representing Orange County architectural firms and affiliated businesses will compete in the event in an effort to “enlarge the public’s awareness of the architectural profession,” Feutz said.

Spectators “get to see the whole process of design, from the two-dimensional plans to the three-dimensional finished product,” he said.

Most teams post detailed plans of the sculptures in front of their work areas, allowing the public to review the final work while the sculpting is under way, Feutz added.

So why would someone who designs structures meant to last decades want to make something that will wash away with the next high tide?

“Day to day, architects just get to do plans, and they never really get to construct what they design,” Feutz explained. “Creating a sandcastle gives us the opportunity to do that.”

Along with their shovels and buckets, many of the competitors pack some pretty impressive credentials. Leslie and Gregory LeBon, for example, a husband-and-wife duo who will work on opposing teams Sunday, formerly competed at the prestigious Sand Craft Festival in Kamaishi, Japan, and the International Sandcastle Competition on Imperial Beach in San Diego County.

But despite the lofty credentials, the methods these professionals use are about as sophisticated as those of your average 10-year-old. According to Feutz, there are basically two ways to make a sandcastle: the “wooden” and “volcano” methods.

In the first, participants design and build forms, fill them with a mixture of sand and seawater, “pack it down, kind of like grape- stomping,” then carve from that their desired image. In the volcano method, sand is piled to the desired height while being saturated with seawater, forming a volcano shape with a crater in the center, which is then used as the basis for carving. The latter works best with more horizontal images such as lobsters and mermaids, he added, whereas the more time-consuming form method yields a “more dynamic vertical design.”

When the sand stops flying, the entries will be judged in one of two categories: sand sculptures, which tend to be more whimsical, free-flowing designs; and the traditional sandcastles. The judging panel, which includes Paul Apodaca, curator of Native American art for Bowers Museum and a Navajo sand painter, and Laguna Art Museum director Charles Desmarais, will choose first-, second- and third-place winners in each category as well as an overall grand-prize winner. Members of the public will vote for a People’s Choice award.

According to Loralyn Reif, chairman of the event’s publicity committee, viewers can expect a pretty fantastic mix of designs. “Castle of the Gods,” last year’s grand-prize winner created by Newport Beach architectural firm Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo, was a 6-foot-tall spiral with numerous cut-throughs that “pushed the limit of sand to the absolute extreme,” Reif said.

According to Reif, live rock by Indio (11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.), volleyball league competition among the architects (2 to 3 p.m.) and free snow cones (11 a.m. and 1 p.m.) will add a beach-party feeling to this year’s competition.

What: AIAOC 1991 Invitational Sandcastle Contest.

When: Sunday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Where: Corona del Mar State Beach.

Whereabouts: From Pacific Coast Highway, drive west to Marguerite Avenue and turn right. Turn right on Ocean Street, then veer left into the parking lot. (Lot and street parking is limited, so arrive early.)

Wherewithal: Free; lot parking is $5.

Where to call: (714) 557-7796.