 Exterior image of the Mission Valley Branch Library. Along San Diego's trolley line, Mission Valley Branch
Library is a shiny example of community progress. Located in the
Fenton Marketplace the library is 20,000 square feet of literary
playground. The City of San Diego charged the design team to design
the library to respect the past and represent the present with
an eye toward the future. Syska Hennessy Group provided electrical
engineering and architectural lighting design services with this
objective in mind.
In addition to its new stacks, the easy-access library has a large
community room, two seminar rooms, a children's library and a computer
lab. Its entry is marked by a metal roof and clock tower, which
hints at the library's modern design reflecting Mission Valley's
river-central, agricultural past.
One of the more enchanting places is the east garden opposite
the children's library. This garden oasis comes complete with a
shallow linear reflecting pool meandering its way toward the San
Diego River.
 The tree column branches arch out in mechanical
formations to support large steel plates cut to resemble a sycamore
tree canopy. The grand tree columns are a special feature of the Mission Valley
Branch Library. The tree column branches arch out in mechanical
formations to support large steel plates cut to resemble a sycamore
tree canopy. Our lighting design team was able to create an award-winning
dramatic effect with their lighting of the sycamore canopy.
The project received an Orchid Award from the San Diego AIA for "Best
Institutional Design" and "Best Divine Details" for
the lighted tree sculptures throughout the library. Syska Hennessy
received awards for both exterior and interior architectural lighting
design from IESNA.
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