An Interview with the Architect of the $185 Million San Diego Public Library

A Library Grows in the East Village. Architect Rob Quigley takes a moment to discuss the new Central Library that will be 16 years in the making. (San Diego Magazine, August 2011)

Excerpt: San Diego is hoping to add its name to the list of cities with central libraries boasting national, or even international, architectural acclaim. And the city’s ambition is riding on the vision of Rob Quigley, the local architect who designed the nine-story, $185 million building rising out of the ground in downtown’s East Village.

Quigley’s firm was hired in 1996 to design the new library but had to wait 14 years before the City Council finally voted to allow construction to begin on the project.

Now the library, which will open its doors two summers from now, is expected to stimulate $500 million to $1 billion in economic activity. Can Quigley's building deliver? He is circumspect.

Related posts:
As San Diego builds a new central library, mayor Proposes to cut hours at all branches in half. (5/29/2011)
Ebooks, Netflix, and library building projects, part 45.  (5/29/2011)