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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.
The five upper stories (comprising the tower) house collections, individual study space, and group study rooms.<ref name="adgeisel"/> Within the two-story base 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).
[[File:Read-Write-Think-Dream Interior, UCSD.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|left|''READ / WRITE / THINK / DREAM'' seen from the library interior]]
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"/>▼
===Expansion===
Within a few years of the library’s opening in 1971, it was considered too small. Student enrollment had more than doubled, library staff numbers had increased, and the collections had grown so quickly that more than 300,000 volumes had to be stored off-site.
▲It was envisioned that future additions to the original building would form terraced levels around the tower base descending into the canyon, with the first of these planned for completion in 1976. The expansion project was ultimately funded in 1990, at which point the original plan had been discarded in favor of a subterranean addition onto the front of the library, designed by architect Gunnar Birkerts. In keeping with the original master plan,
During planning in 1968, Pereira was approached to design an annex which would house the Samuel I. Barchas Science Library, a collection of rare historic science books that was planned to be donated to UCSD. The building designed would have been a two-story structure seated to the front right of the main library, with its upper floor being a half-scale version of the tower's floors. The proposed building was cancelled for being too small, and the Barchas collection now resides at Stanford University.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://exhibits.ucsd.edu/starlight/shaping_a_library/feature/planning |title = Planning - Shaping a Library |access-date = 2025-05-11 |author = UCSD Libraries}}</ref>
[[File:DrSeussStatue.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Bronze statue of Dr. Seuss and his character The Cat in the Hat outside the library|Bronze statue of Dr. Seuss and his character The Cat in the Hat]]
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