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== Design ==
[[File:GeiselHDR.jpg|thumb|Geisel Library seen from the canyon]]
The distinctive original building was designed in the late 1960s by [[William Pereira]] to sit at the head of a canyon. The building's arches, in combination with the design of the individual floors, are intended to look like hands holding up a stack of books. William Pereira & Associates prepared a detailed [http://libraries.ucsd.edu/speccoll/DigitalArchives/z679_2u54w7_1969/ report] in 1969.
Pereira originally conceived of a mushroom-shaped, steel-framed building, but the projected construction and maintenance costs forced him to switch to a reinforced concrete structure. This change of material presented an opportunity for a more sculptural design, as well as opening up interior spaces that would have been bisected by steel trusses. Prior to construction, a 1/2-scale model of one of the outer columns was built and subjected to various tests. It was envisioned that future additions to the original building would form terraced levels around the tower base descending into the canyon. In keeping with the original master plan, these are "deliberately designed to be subordinated to the strong, geometrical form of the existing library."<ref name="test">[http://libraries.ucsd.edu/about/us/geisel-building.html Link text] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102200755/https://libraries.ucsd.edu/about/us/geisel-building.html |date=2014-01-02 }}, additional text.</ref> Within its two subterranean levels are the other library sections as well as study spaces and computer labs. The building has been described by ''Architecture Daily'' as occupying "a fascinating nexus between [[Brutalist architecture|brutalism]] and [[Futurist architecture|futurism]]". Its tower rises 8 stories to a height of 110 ft (33.5 m). The five upper stories of the tower house collections, individual study space, and group study rooms.<ref name="adgeisel"/>
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