A Library With a Sense of Place
One of the most beloved buildings of Michael Graves’s early career, the library expresses the historic context of its picturesque surroundings and embodies essential ideas about the library as a building type. Graves received the commission through a competition that specified that the design needed to adhere to the prevailing Spanish Mission style of the context. Rather than simply imitate the formal attributes of the style, Michael looked to its roots in the Renaissance and its transformations in response to the climate of California and elsewhere in the New World.
The control and treatment of natural light was a shared theme, leading Michael to explore a courtyard scheme with a surrounding arcade, and rooftop monitors that introduce controlled light into the interiors.
Project Lead
Michael Graves, FAIA. Current staff who participated: Karen Nichols, FAIA, Patrick Burke, AIA
Location
San Juan Capistrano, CA (Americas)
Size
18,000 SF
Completion Date
1983
Awards
National AIA Honor Award, AIA New Jersey Design Award
Legacy Projects
At Michael Graves we create design that clients dream of. We not only care about what we create we care about who we create it for.
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Calistoga, Napa Valley, California
Louisville, Kentucky
Princeton, New Jersey
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
Denver, Colorado
The Hague, The Netherlands
La Jolla, California
Fukuoka, Japan
San Juan Capistrano, California
Portland, Oregon
