Seattle Central Library -- Rem Koolhass and Joshua Ramus -- Seattle, Washington - Master Architects - Deconstructivism on Waymarking.com

Seattle Central Library was completed in May 2004 at the cost of $165 million. It has 362,987 square feet, 400 computers and a book capacity of 1.4 million. It has a half-million more books than its predecessor. It features an automated sorting system for returned books.

Construction of the 11-story building, designed by famed Dutch architect Rem Koolhass and Seattle architect Joshua Ramus, began in the fall of 2001. It was the work of a joint venture between the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in the Netherlands and LMN Architects in Seattle. The city’s librarians gave their input which played a key role in the design.

The main feature of the library is the “Books Spiral”. Four of the eleven stories of the building are arranged in a gently sloping spiral, allowing people to move from one level to the next without taking the stairs or elevator.

The building’s exterior walls and ceiling are made almost entirely of a honeycomb metal mesh that encases angular glass with views of city streets and surrounding buildings and glimpses of Elliott Bay and Mt. Rainier. To keep the building from becoming a solar oven, a special type of glass was used on surfaces that bear the brunt of the sun’s rays.

The new Central Library is located on the site where Seattle’s first permanent public library was built in 1906. The library is bounded by Madison and Spring Streets and 5th and 4th Avenues.

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Architect: Rem Koolhaas Building name: Seattle Central Library Year built: 2004 Building's primary use: Culture/Entertainment City: Seattle, Washington Country: USA

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