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Story 1
Date: Jun 08, 1997Page: B-1
Headline: The public checks out designs for new library | Reaction is positive, but questions ariseAuthor: ROGER SHOWLEY | Union-Tribune architecture critic Ann Jarmusch contributed to this
report.
San Diegans got their first look at three proposed designs for the new main
downtown library yesterday and had as many questions as compliments for
lead architects Rob Quigley and Cathy Simon.
Gathering at the B Street Pier cruise terminal, more than 200 people showed
little interest in the cheapest concept -- an unadorned box that one
attendee dismissed as a "bread loaf" or "refrigerator."
They were more taken with the other two eight-story options, one topped by
a flat trellis and the other by a dome, and both featuring a rooftop
reading room, a ground-floor plaza and an interior atrium.
The project, due to open by 2001 just east of the Santa Fe Depot, goes back
before the City Council tomorrow for approval of $585,000 in additional
design funds.
Yesterday's preview showing prompted questions about the project's
estimated costs, which range from $83 million to $97 million, and about
parking, maintenance and additional space and expansion needs.
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City Council member Byron Wear seemed to sum up most opinions in his
opening comments at the morning session:
"This is an exciting time for San Diego. At last, you will have a taste for
what our future library will be like. So far, they're (the architects) on
the right course."
The unveiling of the designs, followed by the opening of a monthlong
exhibit of models and drawings at the Museum of Contemporary Art's downtown
facility, was officially a joint meeting of the Board of Library
Commissioners and the Citizens Design Review Committee.
The seven commissioners advise the council on library issues, and the
eight-member committee was appointed by Mayor Susan Golding to watch over
the main library design process.
The members present voted unanimously to endorse the extra design funds and
urged the council to take immediate steps to provide for a library annex
once the main building reaches capacity in about 25 years. The building
could range from 280,000 to 320,000 square feet.
The city manager's office recommends that the block bounded by Kettner
Boulevard and A, B and India streets be acquired for the library's
expansion. The Centre City Development Corp., which oversees downtown
redevelopment, already has entered informal discussions with the property
owner about trading the site for other downtown property.
3
City library director William Sannwald welcomed this approach, adding that
the 43-year-old, 144,600-square-foot Central Library at 820 E St. long ago
reached capacity. In addition to crowding, the building suffers from
millions of dollars in deferred maintenance and lack of parking.
"Fifty years from now," Sannwald said, "we don't want to have the dilemma
we have with our present building."
The architects and city officials defended the latest cost estimates as
more realistic than the $62 million identified as available for the library
in 1995. But they said more study is needed to determine exactly how much
the project will cost when the city seeks construction bids in about a
year.
Library commissioner Charles Elster called the potential $35 million
increase in the original budget "mildly alarming."
"The more the council can put a lid on the price, the better it would be
for the project," Elster said.
The city manager has proposed financing the project with downtown
redevelopments funds, donations and the city's hotel/motel room tax.
The library would be built on a site bounded by Kettner, India, Broadway
and B Street, just north of the One America Plaza office tower, where a
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hotel was earlier planned.
The existing underground parking garage serving the tower includes 113
spaces formerly set aside for the hotel and now reserved for library users.
But several speakers yesterday said much more parking will be needed,
especially since other cities' new main libraries have drawn crowds much
greater than their old libraries ever saw.
Peter Q. Davis, chairman of the Centre City Development Corp. and a member
of the design committee, said a forthcoming parking study will identify
ways to serve the library. Officials also said the proposed expansion area
could provide extra spaces until an annex is built.
The dome or trellis top of the structure would shade a proposed
glass-enclosed reading room overlooking San Diego Bay.
But the extensive use of glass prompted several questions about the
building's maintenance. The architects said glass is nearly as worry-free
as stone.
They also said the city will have to weigh the added costs of
low-maintenance features, which result in lower operating expenses,
against using cheaper materials and paying more later for repairs and
maintenance.
5
The design team of three architectural firms, selected last year from among
27 applicants from around the world, spent the last several months
developing numerous models and sketches of what the library might look
like.
Assuming the council authorizes additional design work, the architects plan
to spend the next four months developing a final design and determining the
costs of construction and various optional features.
For the next month, their concepts will be on display at the Museum of
Contemporary Art's downtown location, where the public will have free
access until July 13.
Comments from the first visitors yesterday were generally positive.
"I think it's inviting," said Christine Hartley, a library technician at
the Santee County Library. "The outside will distinguish itself (with a
dome). "The main thing I'm interested in is the inner workings of the
library."
Mary Elizabeth North, who already has promised a donation for a fountain at
the library, declared the initial designs "magnificent" and said she hopes
the public will not engage in excessive "nitpicking."
Lee Trahan, who participated in one of five focus groups gathered by
librarians to discuss what services and facilities the library should
6
offer, brought her three children to see how her ideas figured into the
work.
"I really think it's pretty neat," said her son Alex, 8, "because I read
books."
Of the designs presented, he said, the domed one was his favorite.
And that was the opinion of many onlookers. Former library commissioner
Betty Sherman said she was afraid the flat trellis would be blown clear to
Santee in a strong wind.
End-of-Story
Story 2
Date: Jun 07, 1997Page: A-19
Headline: Dome design a true work in progressAuthor: ANN JARMUSCH
In the next century, it seems natural that the sun may rise and set behind
another monumental dome in San Diego.
The design is still evolving for a main library, which would be built
7
downtown across Kettner Boulevard from the twin-domed historic Santa Fe
Depot.
Yesterday, the library architects unveiled for the media what they consider
a work in progress: two preliminary, unfinished versions of an eight-story
building with an inviting tree-shaded public plaza at the entrance off
Kettner.
A third design, a box-shaped building with zero personality, also was on
display to show what $62 million, the money originally allocated for the
library, would buy.
The design team of Quigley-SMWM-TS&A Collaborative is expected to return
later this year with a polished design, if directed to do so by the City
Council.
One version of the preliminary library design would be crowned by a
see-through dome-shaped structure 75 feet tall and 150 feet in diameter.
The other would be shaded by a large flat trellis, reminiscent of the
pergolas of Irving Gill, an early San Diego modernist architect.
The dome or trellis would shade the library's great reading room, which is
proposed for the top floor. The airy glass-walled and cube-shaped room
would offer sweeping views of the city and San Diego Bay. It would also
serve as a beacon, glowing from within when illuminated at night.
8
The necessary sunshade structure over the reading room would constitute the
most visible and distinctive part of the library architecture. The
building's profile on top will be a major factor in how successful the
library is as a symbol of the city and as an addition to the skyline.
The architects' studies indicate that a dome would have significantly more
visual impact from multiple directions. For this and sentimental reasons
that link the dome to San Diego's historic Spanish-Colonial and
Mission-Revival architecture, the dome is the better choice for the
architects as they refine their design from its bare-bones state.
The dome's cost -- estimated at $1.5 million to $2 million more than the
trellis scheme, out of a total estimated cost of $83 million to $97 million
-- would be worth the extra money. It's a timeless design associated with
noble buildings everywhere.
But San Diego's library dome must be executed in a distinctly contemporary
form, maybe even as a work of art. It must be powerful and memorable in its
own right, not an inflated clone of familiar domes around town. If the dome
turns out to be the version preferred by the majority of residents and
public officials, the architects have pledged to make it remarkable and
unique.
The design proposals go on public view today through July 13 at the Museum
of Contemporary Art's downtown branch. Among those who previewed the
exhibit, which chronicles the architects' work to date, the dome is the
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overwhelming favorite.
That goes for Mayor Susan Golding; most City Council members; Thea Quigley,
the 10-year-old daughter of the library's co-designer, Rob Wellington
Quigley; and Quigley himself.
San Diego is "a city of domes" said Cathy Simon, Quigley's San
Francisco-based co-designer and an architect of San Francisco's year-old
main library. She vowed to produce a fresh variation on this classical
form.
For inspiration and architectural continuity, the design team looked to
landmarks such as the see-through Botanical Building and tiled domes of
Balboa Park.
Specifically, a domed library seen together with the towering One America
Plaza building, directly to the south, could echo a similar duo of dome and
tower across town: in Balboa Park, the historic large-domed Museum of Man
stands in the shadow of California Tower.
The Santa Fe Depot, the library site's nearest historic neighbor, has the
respect of the library architects. In their explorations for a library dome
and proposed street-level arcades, the design team has been careful to
honor, not mimic or overwhelm, the Mission Revival-style station, which
features both domes and arcades.
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The architects have responded thoughtfully to other neighbors so as to
weave the library into a dynamic corner of the city that includes an
open-air trolley station, the Museum of Contemporary Art branch and a
handsomely landscaped plaza across India Street.
The design team also has borrowed from people-friendly design successes at
other urban libraries built in recent years. They propose a three-story
atrium to greet library visitors at the front door and a uniform floor plan
on all floors to make it easier for visitors to find their way around.
There would be special places to bring people together, including a
ground-floor cafe and a top-floor glass-enclosed community room
overlooking the bay. At least one roof terrace and reading garden is
planned.
Remember, the architects are not finished designing the library or its
surroundings. They deserve a salute for offering the public a rare chance
to comment on and influence their work-in-progress.
So far, it looks very promising indeed.
End-of-Story
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Story 3
Date: Jun 07, 1997Page: A-1
Headline: 3 plans range from basic to extra-deluxe
Author: ROGER M. SHOWLEY
A box. Or a trellis. Or a dome.
That's the choice the architects laid out yesterday for a new main library
downtown that could cost nearly $100 million by the time it opens at the
turn of the century.
The undetailed models and rough drawings by lead architects Rob Quigley and
Cathy Simon -- which were presented at a press conference -- remain sketchy
even though $695,000 has been spent.
Yet Mayor Susan Golding pronounced them "terrific," endorsed the dome
concept, invited the public to submit their own ideas and called on the
City Council to add an additional $585,000 for design development when the
council discusses the project Monday.
"I am very excited about it, and I think when the public has a chance to
see it, they will be equally excited about it," Golding said.
The public will get its first chance to critique the designs at a joint
meeting of the Board of Library Commissioners and the Citizens Design
12
Review Committee at 10 a.m. today at the cruise ship terminal at B Street
and Harbor Drive. Quigley and Simon will present three proposals for a
library of nearly 336,000 square feet that could open within four years:
[] The cheapest would be hardly more than a multistory box, similar to the
existing Central Library, a 144,600-square-foot structure built in 1954 at
820 E St. with $2 million in voter-approved bond funds.
Quigley said this design could probably be built for $62 million, the
initial budgeted amount, and accommodate most of the desired features
needed for a main library, from computer terminals and excess book stacks
to meeting rooms and staff work space. But he said it would not result in
the high-tech, "world-class" landmark and cultural center many residents,
civic leaders and library supporters believe San Diego needs in the 21st
century.
[] The next option is an eight-story building with a three-story atrium. At
the top would be a flat metal trellis to shade the glass-enclosed reading
room, where about 100 users could enjoy sweeping views of San Diego Bay.
Other features would include a ground-floor auditorium; computer,
photocopying and meeting rooms; and plenty of space to accommodate the
library's needs until 2025.
"This building itself is straightforward, flexible, compact, efficient,"
Quigley said.
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[] The clear favorite is a similar structure featuring a metal dome
framework shading the rooftop reading room. Optional items include an
atrium extending to the roof; a mezzanine for the children's library;
escalators; and an ecology-minded "green building" that also minimizes
operational costs.
"This library will be a symbol of the value that we as a city place on
knowledge and education," Golding said, "and it will be a landmark for our
community, a place where San Diegans can gather and learn and, at times,
socialize."
But the vision comes with a price tag ranging from $83 million to $97
million. The original budget identified only $62 million available from $15
million in downtown redevelopment funds, $10 million in hoped-for donations
and $37 million from the proceeds of bonds to be repaid with hotel room tax
revenue.
Now, City Manager Jack McGrory has found $89 million that could be
available by tapping more hotel taxes and increasing the donation target to
$15 million.
While most City Council members said in interviews that they support a
bigger budget, several expressed concern that the costs could increase even
more once the design is completed and construction bids are received a year
from now.
14
"I want to know what the bottom line is going to be," said Councilwoman
Christine Kehoe. If there is no limit established soon for design and
construction, she said, "That's a recipe for disaster."
Quigley and Simon said their cost estimates are based on careful analysis
of six large libraries built elsewhere. But they along with city officials
declined to release even preliminary details gathered by cost estimators.
They promised more detail in September, at the end of the next design
phase.
Councilman Harry Mathis said he understands the cost increase, calling the
earlier $62 million figure "overly optimistic."
"We either build it or we don't," Mathis said. "We should have something we
can all be proud of, and clearly cost will be the big issue."
Councilwoman Valerie Stallings expressed concern about the perceived "cost
escalation," while Councilwoman Judy McCarty said she wanted assurances
that "these numbers are real."
Councilman George Stevens questioned incurring the additional cost to
operate a bigger building when current library needs downtown and in the
branches aren't being met.
The city manager estimates that operating the new main library will add
15
about $3.7 million to the Central Library's annual operating cost of $4.4
million.
In addition to money, there is the question of voter approval. Golding has
called for seeking voter approval for all future city building projects of
$50 million, including the library. But she has yet to appoint a task force
to study the idea or set a deadline for making a decision.
Councilman Byron Wear, echoing the sentiment of most council members, said
he opposes a vote. He said that the library does not require a tax increase
since it simply replaces an outdated facility and that it is too far along
to be stopped so a vote can be scheduled.
"This is the closest we've ever been to a (new) downtown library in my
lifetime, and we need to keep moving with the process," Wear said.
Councilwoman Barbara Warden added that the vote question "puts a cloud over
fund-raising," which officials are counting on for $15 million of the
project. Half of that is needed by July 1, 1998, the target date for
issuing construction bonds.
City officials say a public vote may come anyway if the state Supreme Court
rules the financing plan for the convention center expansion requires the
approval of voters. And even if the court declares no vote is necessary,
officials say, the library could be the subject of a referendum just as the
stadium expansion was until Qualcomm Inc. donated $18 million to close a
16
funding gap, making a vote unnecessary.
End-of-Story
Story 4
Date: Nov 24, 1996Page: B-1
Headline: Design of downtown library is pet project | Architects spark public imagination as forum draws 400
Author: ROGER M. SHOWLEY
Devon Hansen, 4, of University City nominated an octopus as the symbol for
a new main library for San Diego.
Coronado's Kaitlin Freeberg, also 4, liked a bunny and elephant.
Other animals favored yesterday by nearly 400 people taking part in a
library design workshop included the turtle for its "wisdom and
adaptability," a cockroach because "it can't kill us," and King Kong
because he "always chose his own landmarks."
Lead architects Rob Quigley and Cathy Simon listened attentively to the
design professionals and interested residents who filled the B Street Pier
Cruise Ship Terminal for the daylong session.
17
The new library, to be built downtown at an expected cost of $62 million,
is due to open in five years.
The name-the-animal game was among several exercises participants used to
give form to what all hope will be a building that serves the region's
information needs well into the next century.
Tacked to a wall were "idea cards," on which designers, library lovers,
planners and others wrote three-word messages to the architects. The notes
included such phrases as "noncheesy-navigable-helpful," "give it warmth,"
"keep it quiet," "friendly-comfortable-local" and "move the site."
Quigley said some things, including the library's future location just east
of the Santa Fe Depot, were not debatable. But otherwise, he urged
participants to let their imaginations soar.
"This process will be immensely helpful in going in the right direction, so
we don't burn up your money in the wrong direction," Quigley said.
The architect said he hopes to have as many as four design schemes for the
public to review next spring. Once the City Council choses the one it
likes, the architects will work out details and costs.
"We want this building to be the one that the rest of the country will have
to catch up with," said Chica Love, summarizing what her after-lunch
18
discussion group had to say about the library.
But since the starting budget will pay for a library of only 260,000 square
feet when library consultants have recommended one with 400,000 square
feet, virtually all groups recommended planning now for expansion.
The most favored option was to buy the full city block to the north, now
occupied by a couple of buildings and parking lots. Also backed were
extending the space into Kettner Boulevard and B Street, adding extra
floors to be finished later and occupying the historic but now-empty San
Diego Gas & Electric Station B power plant on Broadway at Kettner.
The look of the building brought many suggestions, ranging from a copy of
the Mission Revival style of the 1915 Santa Fe Depot to cladding the
exterior in glass.
"At night it should be a beacon," said one group. "When the lights (in
nearby commercial buildings) go off, it's important the library lights are
still shining."
But many said the interior services and features are more important than
the exterior look.
And Quigley got the message: "This has to be a functional library, not an
architectural ego trip."
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However, many participants asked for domes, waterfalls, indoor-outdoor
terraces (warmed by exterior fireplaces, several suggested) and a rooftop
garden or restaurant.
The children's room should have a bit of Dr. Seuss, the San Diego Zoo or
Sea World, some said, and there should be areas for both noise and silence.
But many yesterday did not endorse San Francisco's approach, which set
aside rooms for groups that raised funds to build and outfit their own
special-interest areas.
Instead, several participants said, San Diego's new library should reflect
the city's diversity without physically cubbyholing groups and interests.
Quigley said he will welcome other general comments for the next three
weeks before the design team begins mulling over the possibilities.
The questions posed at the workshop are available from the Centre City
Development Corp. Call 235-2200. Information also is available on the
library's Internet's home page at
http://www.sannet.gov/public-library/newlib
End-of-Story
20
Story 5
Date: Aug 08, 1996Page: B-3
Headline: San Diego architect selected to design $62 million library
Author: ROGER M. SHOWLEY
After searching globally, the San Diego City Council settled this week on a
local architect with a growing international reputation, Rob Wellington
Quigley, to design a new main library for the 21st century.
Quigley, 51, was chosen Monday over other architects with established
global reputations. He expressed great passion in the job and promised
extensive public participation.
He credited two other architectural firms with giving him the needed
stature to compete with other applicants. Simon Martin-Vegue Winkelstein
Moris from San Francisco, which helped design that city's new $137 million
main library and has designed two-dozen other libraries, is listed as a
collaborator with Quigley.
Tucker, Sadler & Associates of San Diego, architect on the San Diego
Convention Center expansion and many other large local buildings, will be
responsible for detailed construction drawings.
"I wish you well and, in fact, we demand a fabulous library," Mayor Susan
21
Golding told Quigley.
Councilwomen Judy McCarty and Valerie Stallings were the only ones to
oppose Quigley's team, saying they wanted to hear from the other
competitors. Joined only by Councilman Harry Mathis, they had failed to get
the issue postponed until next month.
A Golding-appointed Citizens Design Review Committee had reviewed 27
applicants from Europe, Asia and North America before narrowing the field
to nine to interview and four to make public presentations in June.
Besides Quigley, the finalists were Argentina-born Cesar Pelli of
Connecticut, Moshe Safdie of Massachusetts, who designed the new Vancouver,
Canada, library, and William Bruder, the Phoenix architect responsible for
that city's new library.
"I think we have a world-class architect in Rob Quigley," said Councilman
Juan Vargas, "and I'm happy to support him."
At one point, Vargas put city librarian William Sannwald on the spot, when
he asked him his preference. Sannwald, who has been careful to keep his
views private, acknowledged that his first choice was Bruder, known for
working within tight budgets, and his second was Pelli, whom Sannwald said
he thought he could work with best.
On other occasions, Sannwald has said he worked well with Quigley, who
22
designed the award-winning Linda Vista branch library several years ago.
The library, talked about for the past 20 years, would replace the
42-year-old, overcrowded central library at 820 E St. The $62 million
projected budget would come principally from hotel room taxes, downtown
redevelopment funds, federal grants and donations.
The new-library site at Kettner Boulevard and B Street, northeast of the
Santa Fe Depot, is next to the 33-story One America Plaza office tower, a
trolley station and the Museum of Contemporary Art. The opening is expected
in 1999 or 2000.
Several council members expressed concern that the budget is not sufficient
and Sannwald said after the meeting it will be "tough" to build what is
needed, based on the cost of other libraries built elsewhere.
Golding said the budget is not fixed and seemed to put pressure on former
library commissioner James Dawe, head of a new foundation to support the
project, to raise even more than the $10 million he already has been
designated to find.
In addition to Sannwald's moment of truth, another came from Pelli's local
partner, Jack McKeown, a principal in the KMA Architecture and Engineering
firm. Last week, McKeown acknowledged, he mailed out letters critical of
Quigley's work and urged supporters to contact the council.
23
In architectural circles, this form of campaigning is considered unseemly,
if not unethical, and McKeown issued a public apology after Golding chided
him.
"I got caught up in my passion for this great city," McKeown said.
End-of-Story
Story 6
Oops: CORRECTION | A story yesterday about libraries said incorrectly that the San Diego City Council today will consider increasing the sales tax to 8 percent from 7.5 percent to finance improvement of branch libraries. In fact, the proposed increase is to 8 percent from 7.75 percent. The San Diego Union-Tribune regrets the error. (960624, B-2)
Date: Jun 23, 1996Page: B-3
Headline: Competing architects detail strategies for libraryAuthor: ROGER M. SHOWLEY
On a sunny, warm summer day, when many San Diegans were at the beach or in
the garden, more than 400 residents sat enraptured in the darkened Lyceum
Theatre downtown as four world-renowned architectural teams vied for the
chance to design the city's new main library.
"I have to tell you," said Manuel Oncina, one of the competitors at
yesterday's eight-hour forum, "this is a very exciting moment in my life."
Said Rob Quigley, the co-leader on another team, "I plan to alter my way of
24
life," even regularly donning a tie, he joked, if selected to design the
library. Many are calling it San Diego's most important public building for
the next hundred years.
On a more serious note, the architects touted their accomplishments
elsewhere, answered written questions from the audience and outlined in
general terms how they would approach the projected $62 million, six-story
project at Kettner Boulevard and B Street, northeast of the Santa Fe Depot.
Some invoked local landmarks, such as the depot and County Administration
Center, while others reached back to ancient monuments and European models
to describe how the library, due for completion in 1999, could set a
worldwide standard.
The Citizens Design Review Committee, appointed by Mayor Susan Golding,
plans to wait for public feedback before reviewing the choices on July 20
and, two days later, announcing its top choice. The City Council is then
expected to review the decision and presumably ratify the top selection in
early August.
Of the four teams, Cesar Pelli, the Argentinian-born, Connecticut-based
designer of New York's World Financial Center and Winter Garden, is the
only lead architect with no major urban library to his name. But he said
that shortcoming is an asset because he would approach library design fresh
and without any preconceptions.
25
"There is no overall vision," he said. "I am anxious to work with you so
together -- the library, city, citizens -- we can resolve what this place
will be."
In answer to a question that his other buildings appear to have a
corporate, formal look, Pelli, perhaps the most cheerful of the presenters,
said he has designed "playful buildings." He said he knows San Diego from
the 12 years he lived in Los Angeles before moving east.
But unlike the other design teams, Pelli's San Diego partners from KMA
Architecture and Engineering had little to say about what they would add in
the design phase of the project.
San Diego architect Quigley has designed a local neighborhood library but
leaned on his San Francisco collaborator -- architect Cathy Simon, who
helped design that city's recently opened new main library -- as evidence
that he could tackle a bigger job.
Quigley lauded his competitors for displaying great talent.
"It's more than talent," Quigley said, "it's enormous commitment to the
project."
Simon, borrowing an analogy from design committee chairman Mike Madigan,
said the library could become a "flower" in the "forest of buildings" that
surround the site. She spoke of the new library as offering "great magic
26
and welcome."
Moshe Safdie, the Israeli-born architect living in Boston, was an audience
favorite, as he reviewed his much-lauded and recently opened main library
in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Roman Colosseum shape grew out of a need to incorporate enclosed
reading and public gathering space, he said, but he did not propose to
duplicate that effort here.
"If we are entrusted with the design," Safdie said, "we will do all in our
power to design a landmark, but this has to be quintessentially a library
and quintessentially San Diego."
Besides his local partner, longtime architect Homer Delawie's firm, Safdie
said his local connection is his daughter and her family living in Mission
Hills, as he put it, "within jogging distance of the site."
Neither Safdie nor any of the other architects submitted preliminary
drawings for the library because city planners want the winner to work with
local groups and come up with a feasible and affordable plan.
But Safdie said he will draw his inspiration from downtown's waterfront
location, San Diego's proximity to Mexico and the Pacific Rim and the
presence of lush gardens and Spanish colonial architecture.
27
Where Safdie was reserved and businesslike, the final presenter, Will
Bruder of Phoenix, was blunt and informal. More than the other team
leaders, he generously shared his 50 minutes with other team members,
including engineers, landscape architects and his local architectural
collaborators, Oncina and Ken Baldwin.
Asked if he could stay within budget, Bruder, who designed Phoenix's
no-frills but highly workable library, responded, "Damn straight!"
He promised to squeeze extra space out of the money available, which for
the moment is expected to produce a 260,000-square-foot building to replace
the existing, 42-year-old library of 144,000 square feet at 820 E St.
"If I don't get 320,000 square feet out of it, I wouldn't be doing my job,"
Bruder said.
While attention was focused on the downtown library, the City Council will
turn its attention tomorrow to the need for improving overcrowded, outmoded
branches. The council is being asked to endorse a five-year, countywide
increase in the sales tax from 7.5 to 8 percent.
A third of the $180 million would be used to expand or replace 20 of the
city's 32 neighborhood libraries. The rest would be placed in an endowment
with annual income augmenting regular city library budgets for improved
staffing, maintenance and service.
28
Unlike the downtown library, being financed primarily from tourist taxes
and redevelopment funds, the branch plan requires two-thirds voter approval
countywide this November.
End-of-Story
Story 7
Oops: CORRECTION | An article and photo caption last Sunday said incorrectly KMA Architecture & Planning was involved in preparation of the new downtown library site when it was planned for a hotel. In fact, it was Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker & Bretton Associates of San Diego who worked on the planned hotel parking garage and foundations. Working with the firm was the now defunct Architects Collaborative. Also, another caption said architects at Delawie Wilkes persuaded their client, the Metropolitan Transit System, to paint its new trolleys red to match the red-trimmed MTS building. In fact, MTS officials chose red for the trolleys first, then asked the architects to use the same red in their headquarters building and clock tower. The San Diego Union-Tribune regrets the errors. (960623, H-3)
Date: Jun 16, 1996Page: H-1
Headline: TEAMS OF ARCHITECTS COMPETING TO DESIGN SAN DIEGO LANDMARK ARE DOWN TO ... THE FINAL FOUR | Rival designers make book on visions
Author: ANN JARMUSCH
Designing a major regional library is a dream of many architects and
librarians.
The plum opportunity to create a $62 million main library for the San Diego
region drew 27 international architectural teams, most with outstanding
credentials. Most had a star architect -- such as Michael Graves, Philip
Johnson, Richard Meier -- at the helm.
San Diego's spectacular setting and multicultural population, the chance to
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create a building of enduring social value, and, it must be said, the
recession, which badly hurt design firms nationwide, all played a part in
attracting a star-studded roster.
Now, after private interviews and deliberation, four teams remain under
consideration for the main library, potentially a six-story building at
Kettner Boulevard and B Street to be open by the end of 1999. The Citizens
Design Review Committee, appointed by Mayor Susan Golding to select an
architect and oversee other aspects of the library project, announced the
four finalists last month.
On Saturday, the four teams will speak publicly for the first time of the
expertise and vision they would offer San Diego and its new library. Their
slide talks will take place during an all-day meeting at the Lyceum Theatre
at Horton Plaza.
Following their presentations, which are to include details of their
experience working with public artists, team members will answer written
questions from the audience. Time slots are also reserved for public
comment about the library project in general.
Naturally, the design review committee zeroed in on the teams' experience
in library design, which can vary greatly. A neighborhood branch library
needs to be quite different from a main public library. A university
library is yet another animal.
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Experience happens
The committee surprised some observers when it included among the finalists
Cesar Pelli, because his illustrious career -- recognized by the American
Institute of Architects 1995 Gold Medal for lifetime achievement -- does
not include designing a major public library.
Obviously, this gap in Pelli's record could hurt his team's chances to win
the library commission. It could also help, as San Diego could claim a
Pelli "first."
Perhaps offsetting the negative aspects of this dilemma is the technical
experience Pelli's San Diego-based teammates, KMA Architecture & Planning,
would bring to the project. Of all the firms in the running for this
project, KMA is the most familiar with its site, foundations and
surroundings, based on the firm's past work on the same spot for a proposed
hotel.
Passion and poetry
Two of the four teams -- those led by William P. Bruder, who is based near
Phoenix and designed the Phoenix Public Library, and collaborating
architects Rob Wellington Quigley of San Diego and Cathy Simon of San
Francisco -- are inspired, innovative regionalists. Their passion for and
understanding of coastal California and the Southwest can be seen and felt
in their architecture.
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These two teams also have proven themselves effective at working with
diverse community groups to gather design input and set collective goals
and priorities. The charismatic Quigley and his band of young designers,
for example, prefer to work collaboratively with the people who will use
the buildings they create. A prime example is Sherman Heights Community
Center/Centro Comunitario de Sherman Heights, which incorporates residents'
requests for areas to garden, mosaic artworks and a community room,
elevated to the second floor to indicate its social prominence.
Simon, the only woman among the finalists, helped make library history with
her firm's design work on San Francisco's library, which opened in April.
Dubbed "The New Main," the library is the first to include specially
appointed study centers for ethnic and cultural groups that helped
underwrite their center's construction cost and collections.
Worldly and wise
By contrast, the other two teams include prominent firms that operate
internationally from East Coast offices. The acclaimed Cesar Pelli and
Moshe Safdie, who formed a joint venture with Homer Delawie's San Diego
architecture and planning firm -- bring considerable luster to their
respective teams.
Both Pelli and Safdie are adept at designing large-scale, fine-tuned
architecture that also adds vitality to its surroundings. The rival team
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members can design stand-alone jewels, such as Safdie's mixed-use Library
Square in Vancouver, Canada, or transform with watchmaker precision a
significant existing building without destroying its character or adjacent
open space. That's what Pelli did when he compatibly expanded two New York
landmarks, the Museum of Modern Art and Carnegie Hall, with residential
towers.
Sweet chemistry
The production side of any building project may not be glamorous, but it is
essential that it be done accurately and in coordinated fashion. The design
review committee took into account each team's ability to deliver not only
an uplifting and handsome library design, but also its capacity to handle a
big job like this one on time, on budget and without incurring setbacks and
snags with city building officials.
The roles that San Diego architects play on the final four teams vary
greatly, from lead designer to project manager and producer of construction
drawings.
Quigley, the city's most prominent and honored architect, would design the
library in collaboration with Simon, whom he met when both were teaching
architecture at Harvard.
Tucker, Sadler & Associates, a well-connected local firm that designed the
expansion that will double the size of the San Diego Convention Center,
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would handle the production end of the library project.
Delawie, a respected elder among San Diego architects, gets co-billing with
Safdie, an international name ever since he designed Habitat '67, a
much-discussed innovative housing complex unveiled at the Montreal world's
fair. The two firms have joined forces in recent years to pursue other
public projects, so far without success.
Bruder's team plays to the strengths of his San Diego colleagues,
especially architect Manuel Oncina. The Spanish-born Oncina admired
Bruder's desert architecture, which has been published in national design
magazines. Eventually the two met and struck a bond based on mutual respect
and passion for architecture.
Oncina designed the new Malcolm X Library and Performing Arts Center in
Valencia Park. A dynamic geometric composition, the library and literacy
center smoothly incorporates such varied elements as a cozy children's
reading tower, computerized link to City Hall, music practice room and
memorial fountain to Malcolm X beneath a large skylight.
Ultimate quest
The winning design team will be expected to produce an uplifting
architectural symbol that conveys the essence of San Diego to the world --
and to San Diegans.
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The new library also must function well for librarians and library users of
all ages, embrace 21st-century technology, and remain flexible to meet
unknown future public uses and information needs.
Each of the four teams has much to offer San Diego. We probably wouldn't go
wrong with any of them, but that's not good enough. This library --
wellspring of human potential and knowledge -- should outlive us all.
We need an architectural team that will create an indoor-outdoor library
that feels exactly right for San Diego, yet is so extraordinary that we'll
be exhilarated and refreshed each time we visit.
End-of-Story