Major contemporary architectural developments from around the world. The 1960 library went under the wreckers ball in november 2001. Order online tickets tickets see availability directions location. When built in 1966, the original building was an engineering feat. Offers selfguided tours, author programs, free internet, wifi, gift shop, cafe and bus schedules. Seattle public library designed by the firms oma office for metropolitan architecture and lmn architects, constructed by hoffman construction company and completed in 2004.
Library attendance was down, particularly with younger generations. The existing library, designed by lawrence architecture firm robertson, peters ericson, williams p. Opened in 2004, the steel construction is meant to provide protection during an earthquake, and 10,000 glass panels reflect light outside, insulated to keep some of the weather from seeping in. The current central library opened to the public on may 23, 2004. Introduction the seattle public library was opened in may 2004. Weve selected what we feel are the most important examples of library buildings. The seattle public library gives you 247 free access to books, music, movies, tv shows, classes and more. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled gnu free documentation license. The 26 branches have roughly one million cataloged physical items including books, cds, dvds. We proceed with a case study of the seattle central public library, designed by the office for metropolitan architecture and completed in 2005.
Seattle central library is a 11story highrise building in seattle, washington, u. The entire print archive 19832009 is available in pdf format. Oct 03, 2007 seattle public library detailing the skin continued using this delivery method, the design team, a joint venture between architect office for metropolitan architecture oma and lmn architects, hoped to gain greater control over the systems final outcome by having technical expertise available during the design process. Architecture, was selected to design the project because of his innova tive approach to place. The librarys various programs are intuitively arranged across five platforms and four flowing in. The new fivestory library possessed a modern, international design with functional, open interior spaces. Before completing the design of the building, koolhaas met with representatives of microsoft, amazon and other organizations to discuss. Innovative in both form and function, the contemporary, glass and steel building is the third central library to occupy the city block between fourth and fifth avenues. Library buildings libraries architecture earchitect.
Designed for function and aesthetics, the building also incorporates many sustainable elements. Seattle public library central library visit seattle. Reconceptualizing space, community, and information at the central library1 karen e. Bird library bird library is the main branch of the syracuse university library, which houses materials in the humanities and social sciences. The seattle public librarys central library is the flagship library of the seattle public library. The seattle central library applied for and received silver certification from the. At a moment when libraries are perceived to be under threat from a shrinking public realm on one side and digitization on the other, the seattle central library creates a civic space for the circulation of knowledge in all media, and an innovative organizing system for an evergrowing physical collection the books spiral. The design of the architect s career clinched rem koolhaas because it is an impressive building that combines futuristic lines with the functionality of a library. Seattle central library, seattle, washington prepared for seattle public library january 16, 2001.
Social staging is construed by describing routes taken by users as they carry out specific, contrived tasks that are germane to the library program. Central library architecture the seattle public library. Mark rahner talks to architect rem koolhaas, who designed the central library. On the level 5 of the building they have six large lcd display screens dedicated to provide visualizations of data like what people are reading, which books are checked out in the last hour etc. It has an area of 38,300 square feet that includes the reading room. Talking with rem koolhaas, the architect behind the. The current seattle central library is the third library building to inhabit the city block between fourth and fifth avenues. Architectural photographer lara swimmer has assembled a visual record of the creation of one of the worlds most daring public edifices, the rem koolhaasdesigned seattle central library. These images have been rendered to wireframe in 3d computer assisted drawing software, which in this situation was used to calculate the different perspectival views of the east and south elevations of the library, as well as of the surrounding buildings. It is difficult to overestimate the significance of finlands libraries. The same can be said for the experience of a piece of architecture like the seattle central library. How the new central library really stacks up by lawrence cheek, special to the pi published 10. Similar programs were consolidated together, forming five stable.
The seattle central library is the flagship of the seattle public library system. The library that puts on fishnets and hits the disco ny times article by herbert muschamp. Pdf metadata innovative architecture for the contemporary library keywords. Its special collections include an oral history collection, the state document depository, the federal document depository, an aviation history collection, genealogy records, and historical documents about seattle. Seattle public library detailing the skin continued using this delivery method, the design team, a joint venture between architect office for metropolitan architecture oma and lmn architects, hoped to gain greater control over the systems final outcome by having technical expertise available during the design process. The original 1966 library structure was constructed to iconically straddle the cedar river with views to the water, railway, and active salmon habitat.
Seattle central library at a moment when libraries are perceived to be under threat from a shrinking public realm on one side and digitization on the other, the seattle central library creates a civic space for the circulation of knowledge in all media, and an innovative organizing system for an evergrowing physical collection the books. About the seattle central library articles posted on the spl website. Art and architecture resources are housed on the fourth floor, in both the general collection and fine arts limited access room. Fred schlipf has been hanging out in library buildings since the early 1940s at about the age of four, he turned out all the lights in the detroit lakes minnesota public library one eveninga happy moment that is still both bright and dark in his memory, and has been working for libraries and teaching about libraries and consulting on library buildings since he was 17. As of 2006, the seattle public library system had 699 staff members 538 fulltime equivalents. Rem koolhaas,oma, joshua princeramus, lmn architects location. A view a detailed profile of the structure 100524 including further data and descriptions in the emporis database. More than 90 spectacular images, spanning the entire 32 months of construction. Around that time, i was a member of the architecture for public libraries. Public library design selection of preliminary designs and realised projects bilkent university,faculty of art, design and architecture fada iaed 302 interior design studio iv january 2017 2. He has a phd from the university of illinois library school.
Central library history the seattle public library. At a moment when libraries are perceived to be under threat from a shrinking public realm on one side and digitization on the other, the seattle central library creates a civic space for the circulation of knowledge in all media, and an innovative organizing system for an evergrowing physical collection. The reason why i choose this structure is its unique approaches regarding creating a floating space with minimum supports but without losing the purpose of providing. Seattle central library in the usa, designed by rem koolhaus.
The seattle central library redefines the library as an institution no longer exclusively dedicated to the book, but as an. A drivein service window designed to offset the lack of parking. The central library moved to temporary quarters in the washington state convention and trade center at 8th avenue and pike street. Feb 11, 2012 completed in 2004 in seattle, united states. It was in the nineties that the public library consolidated its identity, as a service for the community, linked above all to reading and as a support for scholastic and. The new central library gives seattle both a civic icon and a functional, userfriendly building that offers many different services and spaces.
See more ideas about modern library, library design and architecture. Central library, 19602001, the seattle public library. The seattle central library redefines the library as an institution no longer exclusively dedicated to the book, but as an information store where. Central library s program area is 362,987 square feet. Bown crossing public library bown city, us 2015 preliminary design 3. Instead of this ambiguous flexibility, the library couldorganize itself into spatial compartments, each dedicated tospecific duties. This sequence of images illustrates the approach to the seattle central library by a pedestrian walking north on 5 th avenue. The library s various programs are intuitively arranged across five. Pushing the envelope civil engineering magazine article by mkas derek beaman,p. Designed with growth in mind, the 11story central library has the capacity for more than 1.
He has been active in state and national library associations. Seattle central library in a nutshell the seattle central library was opened to public in may 2004. When a person engages an interactive digital installation such as shown here with an installation of work by the labyrinth project, their experience is contingent on the actions of others accessing the same database simultaneously. After the initial international competition in 1998, the building opened to the public in may 23, 2004. The seattle public library celebrates the completion of its libraries for all building program saturday. The seattle public library spl is the public library system serving seattle, washington. Org online encycopedia of washington state history, central library, 19602001, the seattle public library by david wilma and seattle public library housed in yesler mansion burns down on january 1. Mar 12, 2014 seattle public library rem koolhaas g. Central branch, the seattle public library rem koolhaas, 2004, august 2, 2011. Innovative architecture for the contemporary library. An engineering challenge article and diagrams published in the seattle pi. Mar 11, 2008 this sequence of images illustrates the approach to the seattle central library by a pedestrian walking north on 5 th avenue.
In its first year of operation, it attracted more than 8,000 visitors a day double the average attendance in the old building. Siddharth 12rbar033 slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Permission is granted to copy, distribute andor modify this document under the terms of the gnu free documentation license, version 1. When not working with buildings, he developed a specialty in legislative. Talking with rem koolhaas, the architect behind the central. Seattle central library curtain wall design lmn architects. It has an area of 38,300 square feet that includes the reading room, mixing chamber, meeting platform, living room, staff floor, childrens collection and an auditorium. While these two frameworks help explain how libraries as places provide social and economic benefits and. Visualizations at seattle public library central branch. A planning outline was a kind of guerilla pamphlet developed in the early mid1980s, outside of dpis official publication process.
Many of the seattle public librarys facilities are notable works of architecture. Central library, 2002present, the seattle public library. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. Theres no real way to tell which hallway youve turned down, and you have to search for the light of the floor above to figure out how to get back to the stairwell. The new library became overcrowded after just 30 years, and the city added a 18,000 sq. Rem koolhaas and joshua princeramus of omalmn were the principal architects, magnusson klemencic associates was the structural engineer. Projects built projects selected projects cultural architecture library museums and libraries seattle top100 united states cite. The form of the building embodies this tension, centering on a reflected pair of exceptional spaces.
The architects conceived the new central library building as a celebration of books, deciding after some. Standing at fourth avenue in downtown seattle, central library, our largest city library, resembles a modern prism of glass and steel. Designed with growth in mind, the central library has a capacity for more than 1. Datong library aims to resolve the tension between the two major roles of a central library. Mar 10, 2008 the new building of the seattle central library is located in downtown seattle 4 th avenue and occupies a full city block delimited by 4 th and 5 th avenue, and madison and spring street. New library is defining seattles urban vitality lawrence cheek, special to the postintelligencer published 10. Publicity, posturing, and politics in public design when they voted to tax themselves to support the overhaul of their citys library system, seattleites expected to play a leading role in deciding how those funds would be spentparticularly in the case of the citys new central library. Imaginative content and building form in the seattle public library.
The 2004 annual report pdf of the library system includes many images of the library, brief biographies of the artists. Mixing room, central library, the seattle public library, may 2004. Seattle central library 3d model architecture on hum3d. Innovative architecture for the contemporary library bid. Seattle public library s central branch not only boasts unique architecture but also world class visualizations of library data. Renowned architect rem koolhaas, of the office for metropolitan. Moorman has worked as director of five public libraries and a multitype library system, most recently the decatur illinois public library and the williamsburg virginia regional library. Seattle public librarycentral library, seattle, washington. Seattle central library, seattle washington architecture. Edelman harry, finnish association of architects, safa. Seattle public library general information ideas included books vs media, flexibility, and public vs private domain. Central library for seattles 28branch library system, including 33,700 sqm of hq, reading room, book spiral, mixing chamber, meeting platform, living room, staff floor, childrens. The new building of the seattle central library is located in downtown seattle 4 th avenue and occupies a full city block delimited by 4 th and 5 th avenue, and madison and spring street.
See more ideas about library design, architecture and beautiful library. As of 2011, the central location of the library contained about 930,000 books. The reason why i choose this structure is its unique approaches regarding creating a floating space with minimum supports but without losing the purpose of providing functionality. So red that it dulls the senses and makes you feel lost. Green stairway leading to the 10th floor reading room, central library, the seattle public library, may 2004.