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The Seattle Public Library was designed by a team at Office for Metropolitan Architecture led by Rem Koolhaas. The project was completed in 2004 in Seattle, Washington. As part of Seattle's 28-branch library system, the space features wide-open reading rooms, socializing spaces, computer hubs, an auditorium, and of course, room enough for nearly 1.4 million books and numerous other pieces of media. It was designed as a space for collecting and discussing information and knowledge of all forms, especially as data becomes more readily collected and distributed. While the building is first-and-foremost a library, it also hosts many services offered by other Seattle public libraries: exhibits, business resources, programs for kids and families, and so much more. The Seattle Public library is a space for all members of the community to gather.
Exterior and Material
Exterior and Material
Ground Level Entrances
Ground Level Entrances
The library features multiple ground level entrances, including a covered walkway that leads directly to the lobby.
Glass Curtain at Night
Glass Curtain at Night
The glass curtains create a sense of openness and freedom in the space.
The Exterior Facade and Curtain Wall
The Exterior Facade and Curtain Wall
A steel, glass, and aluminium grid creates a curtain wall around the library. Load bearing columns and beams support the layers, and I-beam steel makes the scaled walls that protect the building. The wall not only surrounds and defines the interior spaces, but it acts as a seismic brace. The glass needed to be specially designed and modified to help regulate temperatures.
Interior
Interior
Books and Print
Books and Print
The library houses an enormous collection of books and printed media.
New Media
New Media
The building was designed to be a center for all types of information and technology.
Open Space
Open Space
The glass curtain walls create open and multifaceted interior spaces.
More Photos
More Photos
Find more photos like this in Pete Sieger's Flickr album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/peterjsieger/albums/72157679181107976/with/32372015866/
Floor Plans
Floor Plans
Location in Context
Location in Context
The library sits at the center of a sprawling urban setting. Sitting amongst skyscrapers, it is relatively short. But compared to its rectilinear neighbors, the unique shape and make of the building makes it stand out, symbolizing its innovative and modern take on the function of a library within an evolving media landscape.
Firsthand Experiences
Firsthand Experiences
My Experience
My Experience
When I visited the building, I was pretty young, though I can still remember being struck by the form and features of the architecture. The walls dynamically move around the floors of the building, helping it feel free and open. At the same time, the repetitive triangular patterns make the whole building feel more cohesive and interconnected. It is easy to see between the floors and notice how all aspects of the library come together. And maybe it's just because I was young at the time, but the enormous panes of glass made the library feel grand and significant. At the same time, I remember getting lost in the details - the exhaustive collections of media are winding and enthralling.
My Father's Experience
My Father's Experience
My father has also visited the building. The most striking feature of the building in his experience was its dynamic nature. He contrasts this with the design of an older Beaux-Arts style of library with grand, strict, symmetrical halls. In the Seattle Central Public Library, there are reading nooks, cozy areas, tall spaces, corridors, and many more types of spaces that cater to different needs and different purposes. Even the multiple entrances reflected this aspect for him. He notes that the wide range of dynamic spaces lends the building to many different functions.
Building Drawing
Building Drawing
With this drawing, I tried to capture the unique and intricate way the planes of the building create dynamic areas of light and dark. Though the walls are made of thick glass and metal, the building appears very light as sections of the curtain hang in the air.
Talking with the Architect About the Library
Talking with the Architect About the Library
Koolhaas was criticized for what was (at the time) a very dramatic and unusual architectural project in downtown Seattle. He stresses, however, that it was not him alone, but the efforts of many designers and collaborators that brought this building into being. He describes how creating the "book spiral" (a helical path through the library that traverses the whole literary collection) makes an undivided sequence of books that allow users to stumble into and explore new areas. He cites Seattle's literary, social, and geographical features as key aspects of architectural undertakings in Seattle.
The whole interview can be found here: www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/talking-with-rem-koolhaas-the-architect-behind-the-central-library/
More About Koolhaas and his Houses
More About Koolhaas and his Houses
Koolhaas has been, and seemingly will always be, an ambitious architect who seeks to create new and mold-breaking constructions. Koolhaas is the founder of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), a firm which employs hundreds of architects. Yet, Koolhaas enjoys entering architecture competitions for the creative freedom they lend him. Although they design many buildings that never get built because of this, he never worries about the profit from his work. He fears that modern architectural practices are becoming more sterile and less experimental. Yet, he constantly pursues new angles and often controversial ideas for projects, even if they are rejected by some clients. His eccentricity and originality earned him not only renown in his field, but a Pritzker Prize.
Reputable Sources and Discussion
Reputable Sources and Discussion
Take One Building : Interdisciplinary Research Perspectives of the Seattle Central Library
Take One Building : Interdisciplinary Research Perspectives of the Seattle Central Library
A discussion of the building from different researchers from numerous fields. The researchers consider this building through numerous lenses: architecture, sociology, environmental impact, and more. By analyzing every aspect of the building, they aim to construct a cohesive image of the whole. This book discusses the interaction between the user and the space in particular. Among many other things, the book discusses how the spatial arrangement of the library fosters social engagement and freedom for the users and programs.
Dalton, Ruth Conroy, and Hölscher Christoph, editors. Take One Building: Interdisciplinary Research Perspectives of the Seattle Central Library. Routledge, 2018.
"The Seattle Central Library: Civic Architecture in the Age of Media"
"The Seattle Central Library: Civic Architecture in the Age of Media"
Advances in technology, especially with regards to information and media, are shaping the way new public buildings are made. The media, especially, is a major factor in shaping day-to-day life. This article discusses how Koolhaas designed the library to reconcile the many different forms of media available today, and how he intended for the building to become a store of a plethora of all kinds of information.
Murphy, Amy. “The Seattle Central Library: Civic Architecture in the Age of Media.” Places, 15 June 2006.
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