Renowned architect who designed San Juan Capistrano’s library has died at 80 years old
By Jan Siegel
On Thursday, March 12, the world lost a great architect—and San Juan Capistrano lost a friend—Michael Graves.
The San Juan Capistrano Library opened its doors in 1983. Prior to that date, the library had been housed in existing structures in town which were clearly too small for the growing community.
Following the passage of Proposition 13 in 1979, the Orange County Public Library was directed by the Board of Supervisors to develop a joint funding program in conjunction with local cities to build four new libraries. The libraries were to be around 10,000 square feet, housing 50,000 volumes with basic funding at $800,000. The city of San Juan Capistrano wanted something more, so $1 million was added to the cost and extra land was given to the project. Local members on the Library Selection Committee were tasked with choosing an architect.
The committee announced plans for an international competition to determine the final design for the project. One hundred-forty applications were sent to the city, and the majority of the committee members selected Michael Graves for the design. On Jan. 5, 1981, it was unanimously carried by the San Juan Capistrano City Council to accept the committee recommendation and authorize staff to prepare a contract between the city and Michael Graves.
Michael Graves had his own architectural firm and was a professor of architecture at Princeton University in New Jersey. At the time that he received the contract for the library, it was his first public building and the first building he designed in California. It was also the first public building built in San Juan Capistrano. It won Graves an award from the American Institute of Architects in 1985.
In designing the library, Graves knew that a new church was going to be built across the street, and thus, a theme was born—“If the church is a temple to God, then the library should be a temple to learning.” Since this was a public project, it was important to keep costs down. Graves did that by use of light and color, and by using geometric shapes to take the patron from room to room. He also knew that for the next century the library would have to be more than a repository for books in order to attract patrons, so he created La Sala, where concerts, lectures, exhibits, meetings and movies are held. A 1984 Architectural Review Magazine stated that “the San Juan Capistrano library is a casebook demonstration of the uses of space, scale, light, floor and processional circulation devices in a public building.” The library continues to be an international landmark, with groups of architects visiting from Europe and Asia.
Eight years ago, the Friends of the Library board was interested in expanding the library. An architect was hired and plans were drawn. According to the contract with Graves, any improvements, changes or alterations in the library had to be approved by him. Since he was a now a world-renowned architect, we could no longer afford his services. However, when the library board submitted the new plans to him, he totally rejected them. We told him that we could not afford his services, but he said that he would draw the plans for free and we would only have to get an architect to implement them.
On his last visit to San Juan Capistrano in 2013, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the library, he said this library was an important part of his professional life. The world will not forget the amazing accomplishments of Michael Graves. San Juan Capistrano will not forget the architect who built his first public building in our town.
Rest in Peace, Michael Graves.
