University of California
San Diego

Humanities Library

The program called for the development of an undergraduate library of 45,000 s.f. (net) with an ultimate collection of 250,000 volumes. The Humanities Departments utilized an area of 25,000 s.f. in the form of classrooms and dry laboratories. Flexibility of utility arrangement, partition placement and mechanical systems was essential for the accommodation of undefined, future programs.

The design concept following this criteria was organized on the basis of a large structural pavilion within which the Library functions and departmental offices are situated. This pavilion is surrounded at the ground level by a large platform containing the classroom spaces, and forming the Library deck. the building is placed into a wide court, recessed into the sloping site. High stone walls form the sides of this recess providing shelter from the prevailing winds and serving to furnish a lower level circulation space around the facility. The structure faces onto a central plaza and is the visual terminus of the College plan-axis.

The basic structure is composed of a sandblasted reinforced concrete rigid frame organized from the primary building module of 3'-6". Columns are clustered to allow open span spaces within which the classroom-corridor-utility core arrangements are placed. The primary roof supports are extended beyond the wall lines and large 18' overhangs protect an exterior corridor system. A long span, precast series of concrete shells provide a skylighted central reading room, around which the principal library functions (main level) and stacks (mezzanine) are oriented.

All of the utility systems on the lower floors are carried along horizontal cores to four vertical shafts at the exterior of the structure. Floor panels over these cores are removable so as to permit eventual expansion of the classroom-laboratory spaces vertically. The structure is designed to accommodate the future addition of floor slabs across the mezzanine spaces, thereby giving a potential area expansion of 10,000 s.f. Materials include bronzed aluminum, bronze glass, aggregated and sandblasted concrete, and quarry tile.