UCLA Starts Work on Book Storage Facility in Westwood

Completion is scheduled for October on the $11.9-million Southern Regional Library Facility near the intersection of Veteran and Gayley avenues on the UCLA campus in Westwood Village.

The building, designed by Leidenfrost/Horowitz & Associates and built by Tutor-Saliba Inc., is the first phase of a state-funded, three-phase project designed to provide additional book shelving space for libraries throughout Southern California.

Primary users of the facility will be libraries on the five UC campuses in the Southland, but storage space will be available to other colleges and universities and to public libraries on a cost-recovery basis.

In addition to an environmentally controlled compact shelving facility for lower-use books and other library mateials, the initial building will include space for staff an on-site users.

The first building will provide space for 3.5 million books; Phases 2 and 3 will bring the facilities’ total capacity to 11 million volumes.

The design of the building emphasizes design elements and uses a landscaped berm to reduce its impact on the site. A portion of the facility will be below the existing ground level.