Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library at CSU Monterey Bay
3054 Divarty St., Seaside (831) 582-3000, csumb.edu/library
With its modular furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows and half-arch atrium roof, the sleek design of CSUMB’s library could easily be the blueprint for all future buildings of the next Martian or moon colony. The site of several reading rooms and classrooms, the library also offers an in-house Peet’s Coffee, reservable study rooms, rows of books and computers. It’s the best kind of hideout for studious Earthlings during finals. Plus, the 137,000-square-foot building was certified in 2010 by the U.S. Green Building Council as LEED silver.