Seattle's New Library

[monsoon]

[Neo]

That's one crazy looking building! Not so sure there is anything quite like it anywhere else.

[monsoon]

[cityboi]

actually I like it, its very different and it has the draw to attract people inside.

[Allan]

actually I like it, its very different and it has the draw to attract people inside.

I agree. Actually I think the uniqueness of the building would draw me inside.

[KCghettoboi]

It is a very modern looking building!

[Delta]

Cool site: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/local/library

Lots of natural light for reading! It's a very 'smart" building indeed.

[cityboi]

This certainly has the potential to become another Guggenheim Museum.

[BrandonTO416]

Does not look like a failure to me.

[Brickell]

I've read some about the building, and from all accounts the interior is amazing. From the renderings/photos though, it looks like a modern piece of brutalist mish mash. Brutalism like all styles can be beautiful when done right, but I don't feel this hits the mark at all.

It's an eyesore. The shape isn't even that interesting to me.

I guess I'm more of a tradionalist and like my buildings to look like buildings. Just because it can be built that way, doesn't mean it should.

[KCghettoboi]

we recently got a new DT library but nothing like that...

[wolverine]

I am really not a fan of super modern architecture, but this library is cool. It looks alright in relation to the surrounding buildings. But it does look boring walking along it on the street. There is no eye candy from the sidewalk, just a bunch of diamond shaped squares. The inside, however, is amazing. I would definitely enjoy studying there. As a college student who studies for all my college exams at the university libraries, I get bored of staring across a flourescent lit room with a lame drop ceiling. This library has a bunch of cool spaces, and a great view of the city from all directions. On second thought, I doubt I'd get much studying done there!

[Allan]

Yeah...they always say to study in a boring place. Let's just say that I doubt I'd get much studying done there.

[pwright1]

The Project for Pubic Places has said this library is a failure in terms of connecting with the rest of the city. The architects really should have done more to connect it to the street level if it is to be truely a community hub.

More information can be seen in this article

Have architecture critics forgotten how to judge public spaces?

What an absolute masterpiece. I was there today (July 20th) and its a great addition to Seattle's financial district. Pretty filled with people inside and out. The greenery on the outside is great too. I love it to the max. Another great addition to our already great downtown.

[BrandonTO416]

You guys know I'm a fan of retail on the ground level that is friendly to pedestrians. That's the only complaint with this building - the blandness from the ground level.

[wolfdawg54]

I like its style! it is a pretty neat building. Speaking of the Guggenheim, I just went out to Scottsdale, AZ and visited the Talisien West building designed by Wright. I thought that it was cool.

[Southron]

What an eyesore. Another monument to degenerate modernism. It looks like some kind of attempt at a chicken-wire insect gone badly wrong.

From the Project for Public Spaces:

"When the hype has died down, what will remain is another self-contained architectural object that adds little to public life around it. And this certainly shouldn't come as a shock, given that Koolhaas himself once famously proclaimed public space to be obsolete."

James Howard Kunstler's comments on this "Eyesore of the Month":

"Another monumental tech box celebrating the victory of the machine over the human spirit: the new Seattle public library by Rem Koolhaas....

The gigantic signage is necessary because otherwise library patrons might think they had mistakenly stumbled into the receiving department of a US Army ordnance installation or the basement of a commercial laundry.

Koolhaas has named this top floor salon "the living room," an interesing confusion of typology. Guess what? This is not your home. This is a place of public assembly. But guess what also? There's only enough furniture for five people to sit down. It's not a reading room (no chairs and tables). It's not a lecture room (slanted atrium ceiling can't be darkened.) What the f*ck is it?"

[tocoto]

I bet just about anyone could find the door so I guess the building is probably connected to the street.

[KoRn_Snake]

hey while my moms still in bellevue, ill ask her if she saw the new library in seattle! that thing looks awesome!

[urban addict 20324]

Nice 'futurism' library; it's not an everyday sight.

[Inkdaub]

The library is awesome. I am not usually a big fan of the super modern look but this building makes such a huge statement that I have to like it.

The inside is far stranger than the outside, one of the strangest buildings I've been in.

One problem is that the dirty windows can be seen clearly when the sun shines through...and I bet the thing is a beotch to clean.

[gs3]

A couple of pics of the library. This builiding is fantastic! Spent most of a morning here just exploring the building. I didn't understand with the building being so new, why is the main level under construction? Was it not finished on time? Are they reworking the original layout? I should have ask, but was too busy admiring the architecture.

View from inside:

[Charlotteman]

I must agree with some earlier observations that the entrance to the library doesn't seem very accessable. It is not a street friendly building, but then the surrounding area and buildings aren't either.

The pics don't show it well, but the library sits on a very steep street. Gives it even more drama when you see it in person.

[DigitalSky]

I was here last week. I love this library

[fmaieriii]

The new downtown library is awseome. Think of a building with a skin over it that fits the shape of the biulding.