Marina Library

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Marina Library

Location: Seaside, CA
Architects: Noll & Tam Architects
Photography: Tom Rider

The new, 19,000 square foot Marina Library in Seaside, California, synthesizes all of the modern amenities of a contemporary library into a craftsman style shell in keeping with the architectural context of the surrounding area. The project houses adult and children's collections as well as the city's administration offices. O'Mahony & Myer was commissioned to design the electrical and lighting systems by the architect so that these two systems would be seamlessly integrated into the building. By understanding the characteristics of electricity over distance, we turned the difficulty of the electrical service location at the end of the nearly 300 foot long building into an advantage. The main service panel at the loading dock contains only two breakers; one serving the Library power needs, the other serving the Administration power and whole building mechanical and lighting power needs. This quick reduction of electrical cabling sizes greatly reduced the available short circuit at the downstream panels, reducing cost. The illumination systems consisted of energy efficient light sources using the task/ambient lighting approach. Light is more intense where the task is more demanding which reduces energy consumption. A combination of lighting layers were employed; ambient systems illuminate the space, task lighting pendants illuminate the stack areas and create "sparkle" for visual interest.