Seattle Public Library

Rem Koolhaas

Daisy Jazmín López Rodríguez

A00515582
History and Architecture of the City IV
Rem Koolhaas
• Rem Koolhaas, one of the world's leading
architects and urban theorists, became known
after he cofounded OMA (The Office for
Metropolitan Architecture) in 1975.

• He also heads AMO, the research-oriented,

conceptual division of OMA, which focuses on
social, economic and technological solutions to
urbanization.

• The award-winning Dutchman is a Professor in

Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at
Harvard's Graduate School of Design

• Has published a number of books,

including Delirious New
York (1978), S,M,L,XL (1995) and Living Vivre
Leben (1998).
Description of the Building

• Architects: OMA + LMN

• (Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Prince-Ramus (Partner-in-Charge), with Mark von

Hof-Zogrotzki, Natasha Sandmeier, Meghan Corwin, Bjarke Ingels, Carol
Patterson)

• Location: Seattle, Washington, USA

• Program: Central library for Seattle’s 28-branch library system, including

33,700 sqm of hq, reading room, book spiral, mixing chamber, meeting
platform, living room, staff floor, children’s collection, and auditorium, and
4,600 sqm of parking.
Constructive system

• In general the structure is composed of both load-bearing and seismic systems.

The load-bearing system, in the form of columns and beams, supports the
elevated platforms containing program spaces.

• The seismic structure — I-beam steel arranged in lattice like geometry — connects
platform to platform, providing bracing during a seismic event. While both
systems exist to ensure the building’s stability, they each create different
conditions for the support of the curtain wall.
• The predominant mullion system, sloping in
both an overslung (skylight) and underslung
(reverse skylight) orientation, became the basis
for many design development studies. The final
design incorporates a diamond module that
marries the most efficient use of nonstandard
glass panel shapes with adequate steel spanning
capacity.

• Since it is directly supported on seismic steel,

this particular system incorporates a thinner
overall depth with a thickened aluminum
section to allow for greater spanning ability and
fewer support connections. As a result, the
engineered mullion system relies on only two
connection points per diamond.

• The slots provide multiple planes of

adjustment, allowing holes connecting steel and
aluminum to align.
• A different mullion system had to be
developed for the vertical glass facades.
Unlike the sloping facades, seismic
steel is not needed for structural
support.

• When viewed from the exterior, the

appearance of both the vertical and
sloped mullion systems match. On the
interior however, the deeper aluminum
profile of the vertical mullion body
adds sufficient strength to sustain
lateral curtain-wall loads between
floors.

• Except for the roof, louvers, and

exposed concrete foundation walls, the
exterior envelope is comprised entirely
of vision glass.
• To combat increased solar heat gain
experienced during the summer months, an
aluminum expanded metal mesh interlayer
was chosen for the glass panels receiving
the most sun. The mesh’s mini-louvers
provide shielding of direct sun as well as
views to the exterior through the mesh.

• To waterproof the building in Seattle’s rainy

climate, Seele designed three levels of
defense into the system: the exterior
aluminum mullion cap with premolded
silicone gaskets; insulated glazing panels
with flexible butyl tape applied along every
joint between panels; and silicone gaskets
molded to fit the interior surface of the
mullion body. While the mullion cap, seals,
and glass keep most of the water from
entering the system, the next two layers
channel any remaining moisture to weep
holes along the lower edge of each façade.
Formal composition

• Programs are not separated, rooms or individual spaces not given unique
characters. In practice, this means that bookcases define generous (though
nondescript) reading areas on opening day, but, through the collection’s
relentless expansion, inevitably come to encroach on the public space.
Ultimately, in this form of flexibility, the library strangles the very
attractions that differentiate it from other information resources
• Instead of its current ambiguous flexibility, the library could cultivate a more
refined approach by organizing itself into spatial compartments, each dedicated
to, and equipped for, specific duties. Tailored flexibility remains possible within
each compartment, but without the threat of one section hindering the others.
 Spatial attributes

• Each platform is a programmatic cluster that is architecturally defined and

equipped for maximum, dedicated performance. Because each platform is
designed for a unique purpose, their size, flexibility, circulation, palette, structure,
and MEP vary.
• The spaces in between the platforms function as trading floors where librarians
inform and stimulate, where the interface between the different platforms is
organized—spaces for work, interaction, and play.
• In 1920, the Seattle Public Library had no classification for Computer Science; by
1990 the section had exploded. As collections unpredictably swell, materials are
dissociated from their categories. Excess materials are put in the basement, moved
to off-site storage, or become squatters of another, totally unrelated department.
• The Book Spiral implies a reclamation of the much-compromised Dewey
Decimal System. By arranging the collection in a continuous ribbon—
running from 000 to 999—the subjects form a coexistence that approaches
the organic; each evolves relative to the others, occupying more or less
space on the ribbon, but never forcing a rupture.
Section.
Elevations.
Floor plan.
Level 13
Floor plan.
Level 7.
Quote…
Yet, in Seattle, Koolhaas has attempted to find a new
relationship between the virtual and the actual. This
is clearly illustrated by the somewhat unprecedented
containment of all books on a long ascending ramp
and the centralization of all resources (digital,
human and traditional) in a fi fth-level “Mixing
Chamber” — “where the chattering of 132 computer
keypads adds a modern sound to the coughs and
whispers of a library.”

Tom Haines, “Seattle Still Percolates Behind this Artful Project,” Boston
Globe, August 21, 2005
References.
• "Rem Koolhaas." AskMen. Web. 08 May 2012.
<http://www.askmen.com/celebs/men/business/rem-
koolhaas/index.html>

• Seattle Public Library - Detailing the Skin. Architectureweek.com.

Web. 7 May 2012.
<http://www.architectureweek.com/2007/1003/building_1-
3.html>

• "ArchDaily: The World's Most Visited Website for

Architects." ArchDaily. Web. 08 May 2012.
<http://www.archdaily.com/11651/seattle-central-library-oma-
lmn/>.