Otay Mesa
Branch Library

City of San Diego

Area: 10,000 s.f.

Cost: $1,200,000

Occupancy: 1985

Capacity: 45,000 volumes

The Otay Mesa Branch Library serves the Mexican border community of Otay Besa as a regional branch. Situated on a steep site at a major intersection this 10,000 s.f., cne-story plaster and glu-lam structure can be expanded to 14,000 s.f. as the community needs dictate.

Energy efficiency was a key element in the conception of the plan. The "saw-tooth" roof allows natural daylight to come in overhead and flood the spaces below. Natural ventilation is achieved by low operable windows which intake the cool ocean breezes and through the "chimney effect" the air is exhausted across the space at high operable windows. The minimizing of air conditioning and lighting requirements has led to an anticipated reduction of energy costs by approximately 30% over other similar branches.

The Otay Mesa Library accommodates three primary areas: a reading room, a community meeting hall and several employee work stations. The reading room utilizes large book stacks as partitions, creating zones for adults and children. Large, panoramic windows at the north face of the reading room offer relaxing views of a landscaped meadow. The overall result is an award-winning project that stands as one of the truly ouststanding public libraries in San Diego.