Rem Koolhaas

Central Library
1000 Fourth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98104
206-386-4636

Directions...
http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=branch_central_directions&branchID=1

Definately a must see if you go to Seattle!
Make sure you check in advance about touring the facility...they do offer tours daily, I believe.

Building in context...

...

Wonderfull use of color...

...

Bringing the outside in...

(notice the grass carpet in the middle of the lower stacks)

A shot (bad one) up the continous ramping main stacks...

You gotta love his supergraphics...

More photos here if you like...
http://dehon.org/antoine/Alaska2004/Koolhaus-SeattleLibrary/index.htm

Dad,

Very nice post, but don't link the images to other sites.
Please upload them here from your computer.

Thanks :cheers:

nice images!

In the exterior shots i noticed that some glass panels are different, opaque not transparent...why is that?....or just that some pieces broke and those are bad replacements?

Dad,

Very nice post, but don't link the images to other sites.
Please upload them here from your computer.

Thanks :cheers:

Noted! Thanks - that's a noobie for ya. On a forum I moderate they have the option to upload from a url - is that not a setting that can be activated on this forum? (we use the same software). It would be easier than downloading all the images from my server then using the browse feature to upload them. Just a thought.

nice images!

In the exterior shots i noticed that some glass panels are different, opaque not transparent...why is that?....or just that some pieces broke and those are bad replacements?


They are screens for air intake and exhaust for the mechanical systems.

Very nice pictures. I love the scale reduction at the entrance. Seems to suck you in.

It would be easier than downloading all the images from my server then using the browse feature to upload them. Just a thought.

I know that it is tedious, but it is worth it in the long term. Ease is not why they should be uploaded. What happens when the url goes belly up? bad links and not a very good collection/forum of wealth and knowledge, IMO.

tr

marvins dad

thanks, I love OMA and Rem Koolhaas, colors, forms...Wonderfull ! :)

More photos here if you like...
http://dehon.org/antoine/Alaska2004...brary/index.htm
Seattle Library
Rem Koolhaus ---> Rem Koolhaas (error)

take a wirtual tour (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/local/library/)

Building a New Central Library (http://www.spl.org/lfa/central/buildinganewcentral.html)

structural image :

marvins dad

thanks, I love OMA and Rem Koolhaas, colors, forms...Wonderfull ! :)


---> Rem Koolhaas (error)


Thanks to who ever corrected it for me....

marvins_dad


;)

Found a good link for a bunch of info on concept, context, etc. from the proposal:

http://www.spl.org/lfa/central/oma/OMAbook1299/page2.htm (http://www.spl.org/lfa/central/oma/OMAbook1299/page2.htm)

BTW, :bump: Can we get this post corrected? Or does anyone else have any more thoughts or photos to share?

Posts fixed.

I met the curtain designer for this project at one point a few years ago...he described the museum as the three-dimensional resolution of a programmatic bubble-diagram, and claimed rather breezily that what he got from Rem's office was a fairly simple mesh model with some gridded texture thrown over it. Interestingly enough, the curtain wall is backed up by huge w-sections in diaper pattern, painted with intumescent and even doubled in places...it is self-supporting, I was told, and is largely structurally independent of the floor systems.

I've since visited the Library (I have relatives in Seattle), and found it be quite a fascinating place, full of interesting little details which argue (despite the cw designer's disparagement) that someone in Rem's office (Joshua Prince-Ramus seems to be credited for a lot of this) put much thought into it. For instance, the balcony railings are galvanized grating like that found in fire-escapes, but cleverly turned to the vertical. The uncarpeted part of the floor is surfaced in an unusual textured byproduct of local lumber production that is normally considered waste...etc.

The architect apparently was given incorrect usage figures...there aren't enough elevators or escalators, and the rather crude fire stair in the concrete core quickly became a public circulation route.

I met the curtain designer for this project at one point a few years ago...he described the museum as the three-dimensional resolution of a programmatic bubble-diagram, and claimed rather breezily that what he got from Rem's office was a fairly simple mesh model with some gridded texture thrown over it. Interestingly enough, the curtain wall is backed up by huge w-sections in diaper pattern, painted with intumescent and even doubled in places...it is self-supporting, I was told, and is largely structurally independent of the floor systems.

I was under the impression that the lateral structure (the angled W sections creating the lattice work) is 'secondary' and was therefore not required to be fire rated.

This would really be an interesting building to teach creative approaches to code issues. It has tons of floor to floor vertical shafts, which can be very complicated. I am no code expert, but as issues come up in my own projects I think back to my time at the library, and think; "How did they do that?"

so nice

can you add plan plz........or give me link..

thank you

thanks
ya great photos

can you add plan plz........or give me link..

thank you

I was interested in its plans too and searched alot but i couldn't find any . i hope some one find them . i could only find these diagrams :(

Hi there
I couldn't find any too, but I did something...I got some pictures from a book translated in Farsi (Persian), sorry for the bad qualities...It's just what I could do.:(

another plans

3

a section

I'm very like the babble floor. It makes inspiration.

and how'd they do it?

I stopped there this past summer.

The floor was one of my favorites too. I suspect the used a cnc router.

Edit: I thought I'd throw a couple of my shots into the thread.

Nice space but somewhat disorienting to photograph.

...

thanks
ya great photos



I was interested in its plans too and searched alot but i couldn't find any . i hope some one find them . i could only find these diagrams :(

Love the section volumetric study. Well shot, thanks for sharing.

I, too, visited this magnificent project last July. I must say, it's one of the most impressive spaces I've ever experienced. To this day, I rave about it. If you go to Seattle, please make it a priority to see this important piece of architecture.

I also snapped some shots that y'all might find interesting...

elevator control panel @ the lower parking level...

book return...

book return (cont'd)...

children's centre...

"mixing chamber". i love how the gyp board stops short of the ceiling plate, creating the illusion of an unsupported, floating plane...

stairway down to the anthropomorphic "meeting room" level...

the "living room" from an overlook, waaaaaaaaay up on the "reading room" level. this vantage point really made my butt clench. who knew you could check out a book AND tempt fate, all within the same building?..

human scale above and below...

more "reading room"...

"books spiral" level (detail). check out how the slab steps an inch at a time. this helps mask the fact that you are either ascending or descending a ramp while on any one of these "levels". this way, you can walk up a few levels virtually without even noticing it...:clap:

"books spiral" level (cont'd)...

looking down into the "mixing chamber". now that's an odd way to lay out the offices, wouldn't you say?...

study models. i found these OMA original study models tucked away in a glass case on the "reading room" level. i appreciated the fact that they didn't just toss these things out...

study models (cont'd)...

well, that's all i have... moral of the story: get your ass to the SPL or else! :D

I just ran across a blog about this Library. Also a co-worker was just there and said it is an incredible building...

anyhow, back to the blog... this is from a flickr photographer I have kept up with. the guy is basically a flickr legend. Anyhow, eats, sleeps, and probably showers with his camera. The amount of shots this guy takes is simply insane. Anyhow, I thought it would add as an interesting perspective to add his take and links to some of his shots of this building.

He states... This library is a testament to contemporary architecture and design. I could spend weeks shooting just this one building -- it is my most favorite building I've ever photographed.... not bad...

Blog About Library (http://thomashawk.com/2008/07/seattles-central-library.html)

Thomas Hawk Flickr Link (http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/sets/72157606120749788/)