This listing is for private meeting rooms at the downtown location of the seattle public library. Upon the opening of the seattle central library, the spiral s 6,233 bookcases housed 780,000 books, and can accommodate growth up to 1,450,000 books in the future, without adding more bookcases. 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. The 11floor building contains an innovative books spiral, a 275seat auditorium, and open spaces where patrons can meet, study, search the web or read. We look forward to your visit and offer several options for you to take a selfguided tour of the central library.
This room sports the best views in the building, and has the most natural light of all of our meeting rooms. This lets the nonfiction collection exist in one continuous run, and avoids the problem of having to move books. Reading room, central library, the seattle public library, may 2004. The majority of the library s nonfiction collection is on the fourlevel book spiral. The building is divided into eight horizontal layers, each varying in size to fit its function. Book spiral seattle central library the books spiral is four floors of book stacks, connected by gentle ramps. Project team identified five stable programmatic clusters parking, staff, meeting, book spiral, hq and arranged them on overlapping platforms, and four unstable clusters kids, living room, mixing chamber, reading room to occupy interstitial. The seattle public library s central library is the flagship library of the seattle public library system. To request a group tour, please complete our tour request form on. Revisiting rem koolhaass central library and peter bohlin. The majority of the librarys nonfiction collection is on the fourlevel book spiral.
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. Introduction the seattle public library was opened in may 2004. The iconic seattle central library, principally designed by dutch architect rem koolhaas and joshua ramus from oma in a joint venture with lmn architects of seattle. The library has centers for children, teens and adult readers, along with expanded collections and a. The books spiral 6 meeting room seats up to 12 around a fixed conference room table. Books spiral 8 meeting room at seattle central library. Repeat rem koolhaas seattle public library sleekness in seattle.
Books spiral 9 meeting room the seattle public library. The seattle central public library opened to the public in may of 2004. And dont worry, we wont suspend your account or charge you for late items. The diagrammatic form of the seattle public librarys glass and metal skin began with the simple concept of wrapping the entire building in a continuous layer of transparency. The organisation of books in traditional libraries is. Escalator through the book spiral, central library, the seattle public library, may 2004. The first operation was to comb and consolidate the seattle librarys apparently ungovernable proliferation of programs and media.
Joshua ramus calls it probably the most unique koolhaas seattle public library book spiral element of this building. Book spiral seattle central library the books spiral is. The books spiral 8 meeting room seats up to 14 around a fixed conference room table. This layer, with its faceted planes, outlines elevated platforms of program spaces on the exterior while creating a variety of interconnected spaces on the interior. The book spiral is not a literal spiral as i thought but a designed flow of nonfiction from levels 69. After researching koolhaus seattle central library, the architects thought process was questioned as to whether the project qualified as successful. Nov 27, 2018 on saturday, april 14, staffers at the downtown seattle library discovered two alarming objects on its thirdfloor shelves. The librarys various programs are intuitively arranged across five. One incredible design manoeuvre that compartmentalised flexibility afforded for the seattle central library was in its one of a kind book spiral. Much like that landmark, the seattle library is a building of its timealthough of a different time. Book spiral seattle central library the books spiral. Rivaling the space needle and the museum of pop culture for architectural ingenuity, seattle central library looks like a giant diamond thats dropped in from outer space.
Books spiral 6 meeting room the seattle public library. Seattle public library central library visit seattle. Revisiting rem koolhaass central library and peter bohlins. The seattle central library is the flagship of the seattle public library system. Take a tour of the central library the seattle public. At this point, theres probably little or nothing that anyone could say to add to the conversation or the photographs already taken. The 11floor building contains an innovative books spiral, a 275seat auditorium, and open spaces where. Mar 11, 2008 in this instance the seattle central library is represented by a physical model of the interior of the book spiral, the four story high floating box between the 6th and 10th floors. Look for cell phone tour stop signs posted throughout the building. This space can accommodate up to 14 people and is available for the following types of activities. The current seattle central library is the third library building to inhabit the city block between fourth and fifth avenues.
It isnt often that the library is considered one of the coolest joints in town, but seattles downtown library is such an architectural wonder that it is one of the citys highlights. The seattle central library by rem koolhas is deconstructive. 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 collection, and auditorium, and 4,600 sqm of parking. A staircase at the center can be used as a shortcut between spiral levels. Take a tour of the central library the seattle public library. Seattle public library oma washington architecture e. Olson, sheri, thanks to omas blending of cool information technology and warm public spaces seattles central library kindles book lust, architectural record, 192. The organisation of books in traditional libraries is plagued with flatness. For example, a major section of the building is the books spiral, designed to display the librarys nonfiction collection without breaking up the dewey decimal.
Online encyclopedia of washington state history, seattle public library a pictorial history of times and tomes past slide show by paul dorpat. Whiteboard, projection screen, and private restrooms. Book spiral seattle central library the books spiral is flickr. The library represents, maybe with the prison, the last of the uncontested moral universes. Since then, its been written about and photographed extensively. Seattle central library book spiral richard eriksson. Central library, 2002present, the seattle public library. The seattle central library redefines the library as an institution no longer exclusively. Seattle central library curtain wall design lmn architects. To request a group tour, please complete our tour request form on this page at least two weeks in advance. At midcentury, the seattle public library had numerous book stations for areas with no branch as such, in locations such as a rented shop space, clubhouse, or hospital, each with a.
Aisles with a gradual slope of about 2 degrees connect the flat tiers of book stacks. The books spiral is four floors of book stacks, connected by gentle ramps. See more of the seattle public library on facebook. You can take a free, selfguided cell phone tour of the central library. Aisles with a gradual slope of about 2 degrees connect the flat tiers of book stacks, creating a continuous ramp winding through the floors. To combat this, oma designed the book spiral a parking garage for books. Books spiral 8 meeting room the seattle public library. The vast overhead space, a thrill to library visitors, works against readers most of us instinctively crave small, private spaces when curling up with a book. Our mission is to bring people, information and ideas together to enrich lives and build community. On saturday, april 14, staffers at the downtown seattle library discovered two alarming objects on its thirdfloor shelves. Rem koolhaas and joshua princeramus of omalmn were the principal architects, magnusson klemencic associates was the structural engineer. In this instance the seattle central library is represented by a physical model of the interior of the book spiral, the four story high floating box between the 6th and 10th floors. You control the pace and the order as you move through the building.
A bomb scare that nearly shut down seattle central library. Knecht, barbara, defining componentbased design, architectural record, 153160, 72004. Apr 22, 20 in many ways, the library and city hall represent two different faces of modernism. T he 362,987squarefoot, stateoftheart 11story facility houses 1. Seattle central library book spiral richard eriksson flickr. Two books, including south of broad, a family drama by pat conroy, that had been hollowed out and filled with what appeared to library staffers to be two primitive homemade bombs, according to an internal library email about the incident. The library has centers for children, teens and adult readers, along with expanded collections and a large computer lab. Red hallway, central library, the seattle public library, may 2004. The library s various programs are intuitively arranged across five. Classinstructions, meetingdiscussion groups, office workstudyings, political gatherings, pressmedia events. Sep 26, 2019 seattle public library architects rem koolhaas. Seattle central library oma, bruce mau design, henkel ag.
This model was created to show the inner workings of this space, particularly the continuity of book stacks, the relation between the rising slabs and the work. Central library for seattles 28branch library system, including 33,700 sqm of hq, reading room, book spiral, mixing chamber, meeting. The seattle central library is the central library for seattles 28branch library system, including a childrens collection, auditorium, staff floor, living room, meeting rooms, information services, publicly accessible book storage spiral, reading room, and administration headquarters. A wide range of facilities is available for use at the central library. Seattle central library in seattle attraction frommers. May 26, 2004 red hallway, central library, the seattle public library, may 2004. The moral goodness of the library is intimately connected to the conceptual values of the book. We also offer free tours for groups of 520 adults between 11 a. The majority of the nonfiction collection 75 percent of the entire collection is located on the books spiral. Seattle public library danish architecture center dac. Olson, sheri, thanks to omas blending of cool information technology and warm public spaces seattle s central library kindles book lust, architectural record, 192.
At a moment when libraries are perceived to be under threat from a shrinking. 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. In many ways, the library and city hall represent two different faces of modernism. The seattle public library houses the librarys main collection of books, periodicals, audiovisual materials and the technology to access and distribute information from the physical collection online. Before completing the design of the building, koolhaas met with representatives of microsoft, amazon and other organizations to discuss. Upon the opening of the seattle central library, the spirals 6,233 bookcases housed 780,000 books, and can accommodate growth up to 1,450,000 books in the future, without adding more bookcases. Central library highlights the seattle public library. Designed by worldrenowned dutch architect rem koolhaas, the awardwinning glass and steel structure of the new central library makes the building seem a little offkilter and translucent allowing passersby on the street to look in. The books spiral 8 meeting room at seattle central library in seattle is a multipurpose room that is available for shortterm rental. Libraries closed through at least may 31 all library locations and book drops are closed until at least may 31. Central library, 19602001, the seattle public library. Due dates are extended until we reopen, so please keep your library materials for now. Seattle central library seattle, usa attractions lonely.
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