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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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"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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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"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.

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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