Special Section Index   DJC.COM 

May 20, 2004

A Special Section of
DJC.COM


Seattle Central Library


"Do we really need libraries anymore?"
By MICHAEL EISENBERG,
UW Information School

"Nuts and bolts shape the library's unique design"
By JOSHUA RAMUS and SAM MILLER,
Special to the Journal


"Divining the cost of an oddball building"
By DAVID HUDD,
David Langdon Adamson


"Intuitive design yields unlikely results"
By DEREK M. BEAMAN,
Magnusson Klemencic Associates


"Library's tech system is also daring and elegant"
By SCOTT ROBERTS and NATHAN LARMORE,
Sparling


"Libraries: the next must-have amenity"
By JON SILVER,
Journal Staff Reporter


Library design and construction


"Dozens of library projects on tap for Seattle, King County"
By JOURNAL STAFF


"Living rooms for urban neighborhoods"
By BRAD MILLER,
Miller Hayashi Architects

"Neighborhood libraries get big-city treatment"
By PAUL ANSEEUW,
Keen Engineering


"College libraries cater to widening needs"
By KACEY JURGENS,
Thomas Hacker Architects


"Library lights lift a heavy load"
By MARY CLAIRE FRAZIER, Candela


Seattle Central Library


Welcome to Rem's House of Style

Seattle Central Library
Photo by Pragnesh Parikh, OMA/LMN
The Seattle Central Library stands near completion, viewed from the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Spring Street.


The new central library is the stylish centerpiece of Seattle Public Library’s $196.4 million “Libraries for All” program.

Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas, the library’s angular glass exterior houses a unique offset-platform system that organizes the building.

The staff platform at the library’s base includes the colorful children’s area and an English-as-a-second-language room with maple flooring carved with texts from around of the world. A 275-auditorium connects to the living room, a soaring space that visitors can enter from Fifth Avenue.

The assembly platform comprises the meeting-room floor — a sensuous red cocoon — and supports the hub of the library, the mixing chamber.

central library
Photo courtesy of Seattle Public Library

The books platform includes the nonfiction collection, which is arranged along a spiral that leads to the reading room, where visitors can enjoy dramatic views of the city and Puget Sound.

Above, the headquarters platform contains office and conference space.

King County, over the past 15 years, has seen a boom in library construction. With more projects to come, this Seattle Central Library special section also looks more broadly at library design and construction.

Central library fast facts


Location: 1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle

Cost: $165.5 million (includes Temporary Central Library)

Size: 363,000 square feet, plus a 49,000-square-foot parking garage

Opening: May 23



Photo courtesy of Seattle Public Library

Project team


Owner: Seattle Public Library

Development manager: The Seneca Group, Seattle

Architects: Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Rotterdam; in joint venture with LMN Architects, Seattle

General contractor: Hoffman Construction Co., Seattle

Structural engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Seattle; with Arup, Los Angeles and London

Mechanical/electrical engineer: Arup, Los Angeles and London

Civil engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Seattle

Geotechnical engineer: Hart Crowser, Seattle

Acoustical engineer: Michael R. Yantis Associates, Seattle

Steel erection: The Erection Co., Arlington

Cost estimation: Davis Langdon Adamson, Seattle

Landscape architecture: Inside/Outside, Amsterdam; Jones & Jones, Seattle

Interior design:OMA/LMN joint venture; Inside/Outside, Amsterdam

Graphics: Bruce Mau Design, Toronto

Lighting: Kugler Tillotson Associates, New York

Life safety: Pielow Fair Associates, Seattle

Information technology consultant: Sparling, Seattle

ADA: McGuire Associates, Newburgh, N.Y.