Expressions Presents: Spaces that Define Us: King Library’s Design Secrets

By Joshua Chand

This article was originally published by the College of Humanities and the Arts in the summer 2024 edition of Expressions, a newsletter created by students in HA-187: Creative Team Practicum. The internship course gives students the opportunity to gain professional experience in writing, graphic design, photography, and video production.

The multi-paned glass wall stood in front of a Humanities and the Arts student—stretching several feet above and side to side on the eighth floor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. It was a sunny afternoon in San José. Airplanes flew in the distance against the cloudless sky. People typed away at their keyboards and turned the pages of their textbooks as the student continued staring down at the corner of East San Fernando Street and South Fourth Street. Different types of people cross the busy intersection, walking, biking or skating. Many were heading toward the entrance of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.

King Library. Photo by Josefina Valenzuela.

For Diana Seah, an interior design professor at the College of Humanities and the Arts in San José State University, this is a calming scene. Design aspects like color and horizontal geometry, as opposed to vertical geometry, “can create a calming environment,” states Seah. Furthermore, Seah explains that her feelings reflect the intentions of the artists and architects who created this space. Depending on its intended purpose, a space can be designed very differently to affect those within it and evoke different feelings. Without those considerations, some spaces can prevent people from participating in its intended activities. King Library is an example of a well-designed space.

Take color. The library’s floors mostly consist of warm browns, clean grays, and pastel blues. These colors were picked purposefully. According to Seah, color directly impacts a person’s mood. To illustrate, Seah points to her office: one wall is painted a bright yellow while the other three are a muted gray. Yellow, Seah explains, is the “sunshine color,” representing happiness for students who come and talk to her. Gray, explains Seah, epitomizes calm. Like Seah’s gray walls, King Library uses gray for the same effect, producing a healthy work environment for students while reducing stress. Clark Hall, the original library used by SJSU from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, also used gray for this same effect. Every color in the library serves a distinct purpose. Color should not be disregarded when it comes to defining a space. Seah explains that color can create and change moods, making someone “feel at ease [or] warmth.” Additionally, Associate Professor of Art and Art History, Anthony Raynsford brings up another aspect of interior design that should be considered, namely lighting.

Artwork in King Library. Photo by Derick Truong.

“Bright fluorescent lighting everywhere is uncomfortable for most people,” Raynsford states. “Most people prefer lighting that is uneven.” With this in mind, King Library uses uneven lighting to make students feel comfortable. Examples can be found on several floors, including the eighth floor. Between rows of bookshelves, the lights turn off unless someone enters between them. Additionally, small lamps accompany the desks found in the Grand Reading Room, distributing uneven lighting for maximum comfort. Uneven lighting also enables students to engage with the art hidden in the library, another aspect of how the design of spaces can affect people.

Artist Mel Chin created 34 art pieces for King Library. Some pieces are embedded in the architecture like True and Through, the veneer of a redwood tree cut down to construct the library. The tree begins at the bottom floor and punctures every floor in the atrium. Art pieces like this transform a space for people like artist Oscar López, ’21 MFA Pictorial Arts. As a muralist, López is familiar with and understands the power of art in public places. López emphasizes that “art is essential for the development of the human imagination and creative process.” As a result, Chin’s artwork—specifically the pieces that are part of the architecture—bleed into the library’s atmosphere, stimulating curiosity. López recalls how he “stopped” when he spotted the redwood tree, and it made him question its place in the library. Undoubtedly, López’s experience is shared with many other students as well. Exploration and curiosity are reflected in the library’s architecture, which is intentional.

University Library Dean Michael Meth takes things a step further. To Meth, art, in general, “teases out creativity.” Not only does the library’s art ask people to wonder and investigate, but also generates creativity for those difficult assignments and projects students tackle within the library’s walls. Looking for inspiration, students can look at Mel Chin’s art and the other art installations located in King Library to spark the flame of creativity.

King Library. Photo by Derick Truong.

While the art, design and architecture of the library affect and transform its space, Raynsford stresses considering King Library’s relationship with its surroundings, which is reflected in the overall shape of the building. “While parts of the building follow the lines of the street, other parts are angled at 45 degrees; hence the complex shape,” he says. “Once you understand that the library building also connects the campus and city at this angle through the atrium, then this angle makes sense.”

Drawing a line from one entrance to another, King Library’s entrances are aligned diagonally. “That was very purposefully designed,” says Meth. “It’s this symbolic, poetic ‘passing through’ that happens through our library.” From one end, San José citizens enter—children, teens, parents—and out the other entrance exits SJSU students. Some of these students, remarks Meth, were once children who visited the library. In that sense, the library’s entrances represent a library’s ability to “transform,” according to Meth. Meth also stipulates that the library’s entrances create a gateway: one side has San José while the other leads to SJSU, representing the 20-year joint management of the library between SJSU and the city of San José.

From its sense of color, lighting, art and relationship to the broader community, King Library’s design sets out to provide something for everyone. Without certain design choices, like windows and uneven lighting, people can be left feeling uneasy. Design and architecture are crucial when creating a comfortable atmosphere. The absence of one or both formulates discomfort. King Library, by contrast, succeeds in creating a space. The humanities and arts student, no longer staring down at the intersection, sits and begins their homework as the lights between bookshelves flicker to life and the artwork unknowingly inspires them. Spaces define more than some may realize. As Raynsford says, “We’re surrounded by architecture all the time. We live in it, we work in it and we walk through it.”