The Seattle Central Library in Seattle, Washington was designed by Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Prince-Ramus and features a postmodern architectural style. The 11-story glass and steel building opened in 2004 and aims to reinvent the library as a flexible space for information across various media. Key features include a central atrium allowing views between floors, a spiral ramp providing access to different collections on four floors, and maximization of natural light through its exterior glass walls and interior skylight.

1. SEATTLE
LIBRARY,
WASHINGTON
ARCHITECTURAL
DESIGN
ARCHITECTURE IS A
VISUAL ART, AND THE
BUILDINGS SPEAK FOR
THEMSELVES.
Kshitija D
Mrunal J
Ravindra K
Siddhi P
Chaitrali P
Pushkar S
VISHWANIKETAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

2. The Seattle Public Library's Central Library
is the flagship library of The Seattle Public
Library system. The 11-story glass and
steel building in downtown Seattle,
Washington was opened to the public on
Sunday, May 23, 2004.
Address: 1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104,
USA
Architectural style: Postmodern Architecture
Architects: Rem Koolhaas, Joshua Prince-Ramus
Architecture firms: Office for Metropolitan
Architecture, LMN Architects
Climate : Mild , humid, summer days above 26 C
Winter days seldom drop below 8 C

3. “The new library does not reinvent or modernize traditional, they are just
packaged in a new way ,” by OMA study.
To realize this, Koolhaas applied its interpretation of the feature set and
architecture for the project that the building would be flexible for future
expansions, with the possibility of grouping of spaces according to the needs
of the building and the platforms connected to the study would provide open
spaces, work and social interaction.
The Seattle Central Library redefines the library as an institution no longer
exclusively dedicated to the book, but as an information store where all potent
media, new or old forms, are presented equally and legibly.
Flexibility in contemporary libraries is conceived as the creation of
generic floors on which almost any activity can be developed. form of
flexibility, the library strangles th attractions that differentiate it from other
information
The concept involves the reinvention of the library as an access
point to information presented in a variety of media.Concept

5. Before After

6. Inside the building, a spiral structure provides a continuous
surface with coated side shelves that offer different themed
collections. This spiral that rises four floors, has required
the creation of a system of zigzag ramps accessible to all
ages and needs. These ramps are supported on slender
columns constructed economically.
The interior is divided into 5 distinguishable blocks from the
outside :
The third floor of the library is called “living room “.
The library does not consistently use traditional names that
help make your stay exciting. The location of the book
series is called ” spiral ” and computing space is called ”
mixing chamber “. Shelves have the panels in extreme
indicators that help in the organization.
SPACES
1.The parking area
2. Public reading area
3. Café deployed in the large atrium
4. Main library and reading room.
5. Administration.

8. LEVEL 0
At level 0 the garage that can be reached from Spring Street is located,
has 143 seats.
LEVEL 1
Accessible via Fourth Avenue at this level is the large hall of 1200m2
public computer section, a front desk, public phones and playground.
Playground
Children have their own library within the library. The seats are blue,
the floors are bamboo with large circles in pink rubber strong and
yellow acid. Children naturally have their own space for computing, as
well as an area of green mossy stories.
The area has 22 computers, a family bathroom, toilets for children, and
parking space for strollers.
Auditorium
On this floor is also the Microsoft Auditorium with 275 seats. The back
of the enclosure can be expanded, adding 150 additional seats for older
programs.
Idioms Section

9. LEVEL 2
Level 2 is for staff and is not open to the public. From this level the sending, receiving, sorting and
technical services of books and collections are performed.
LEVEL 3
The living area of this level is called “living room ” ( Living Room), and includes areas of reading or
meditation. It is a spacious and airy space, with a maximum height of 15m. The patterns
correspond to bright outdoor rugs plantations located at the entrance to the library on Fifth Avenue.
In this plant, also found the receipt or delivery of books, gift shop, cafe, collection of videos and
DVD collections, new books, magazines and popular newspapers and public payphones.
The base of the atrium is located on this level. The dramatic space allows visitors to look up to see
the meeting rooms on level 4, and the Charles Simonyi Mixing Chamber at level 5.

10. A House Mixes, 1811.61 m2, visitors flock to for help in general and research issues. In
this plant the largest computer lab, the Employment Resource Centre, workbooks and
study, scanners and image editing, updated telephone directories, encyclopedias, bulletin
board community, and public review documents are located tax, Legrady Installation Art, ”
Making the invisible visible ” and study tables.The space character is silver and high
technology, the roof is black and aluminum floor. This plant also has the highest
concentration of technology library, 140 computers, and is the gateway to the area known
as ” book spiral ”
LEVEL 4
LEVEL 5
Level 4 has four large meeting rooms. The hallway walls, floors and ceiling are painted in deep shades
of red and pink, while meeting in appeasing colors and neutral tones like brown and gray. Two
laboratories Technology Training Centres Boening are used for public and personal computer
instruction.

11. LEVEL 6-9

12. The atrium which rises in level 4 light filled the room 1114.84m2 Betty Jane Narver
Reading, with 400 seats, a roof 12.19m high and overlooking Elliott Bay. The Hugh and
Jane Ferguson Seattle Room rooms are also on this level overlooking the reading room. It
is accessed via escalator or elevator.
Level 10
Level 11
The Level 11 has administrative offices, including the office of the City Librarian, Virginia
Burnside Board Room, Human Resources and the staff cafeteria.
At night, the Seattle Public Library lights highlighting among other buildings. It is an
amazing and functional building of one of the most important architects in the world.

13. Themainfeatureoftheinteriorisits
largepublicspacesandleisure
reading,illuminatedwithnaturallight
comingthroughtheglasswalls.
Alsonoteworthyplantscollections,
consistingofarampthatgoesover4
floors.
AllAreasbindwithbrightlycolored
escalators(exceptcollections),and
thefurnitureandobjectsaremodern
andcolorfuldesign.
Thelibraryprovidesa“meetinglevel”
withcurvedwallspaintedredanda
children’sareawithplayfulinclined
columns.

15. LIGHTING
The building received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver
Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2005, becoming one of the 50
first buildings in the nation to receive a Silver rating.
The light coming from the exterior maze of windows that wraps the entire building, to the
interior 11-floor atrium and polycarbonate ceiling that help to distribute light, to the glass walls
that divide the sides of the spiral stacks, every detail was considered in maximizing the
natural light.
The design team didn’t want the book stacks to create a visual barrier, so they chose a
translucent acrylic material for the top and end panels of the shelving.
The building is sculpted to maximize daylighting opportunities in communal areas like the
'living room' and the reading room (on the third and tenth levels, respectively), and the
designers positioned heavy-use spaces (i.e., book stacks and meeting rooms) in areas
shaded from daylight, further minimizing heat gain and eliminates glare on the monitors of the
400 computers for public use

16. To clad the curtain wall that encloses the reading and heavily trafficked public areas, they
developed a triple-layer glazing system. Embedded with a curved aluminum mesh in the
outer air cavity and filled with krypton gas in the inner, they calls it Metal Glass. This glazing
minimizes glare and diffuses direct wavelengths, which in turn reduces thermal
transmittance, improves UV value, lowers solar heat gain, and lessens the use of cooling
systems.
For the lower level two types were selected: luminous pendants and recessed fixtures. These
fixtures accommodate the building's varying-shaped structural modules. For the first-floor
children's section , where the ceiling ranges from 8 feet to 16 feet, they designed single-bulb
acrylic pendants alternately lit with 55W and 85W Philips QL induction lamps. this source,
enhanced by the use of reflectors, 'provides an abundance of functional light. For the
building's upper levels, such as the four-story switchback-slope spiral-stack area, they
selected 4-foot-long, double-lamp T8 striplights.
The inexpensive fluorescent striplights are hung in the stacks above a polycarbonate ceiling
plane,As polycarbonate diffuses light evenly without producing shadows and provides
enough illumination for visitors to view books on the bottom shelves.

19. DAYLIGHT LIGHTING RECESSED LIGHTING

20. STRIP LIGHTS USED WITH
ACRYLIC SHEET
LUMINIOUS PENDENTS IN
CHILDREN`S LIBRARY

21. There are aluminum floors of minimalist grid pattern. The recycled wood pieces from
the ends chipped and stained in a variety of solid colors. Most carpets are made with
metal wires directly to clean them with water. Then there are the homes in which
concrete is poured covered with thick layers of colored polyurethane.
Koolhaas loves bright colors. The stairs and entrances to public meeting areas are
painted in red and lime yellow. Inside the metal structure is painted baby blue .In the
area dedicated to language learning 669m2 floor is maple wood.
The bright white pillars with bases have high finishes in black, the fire insulation are
sprinkled with glitter.
The escalators are finished in fluorescent lime color, lined with backlit panels.
Koolhaas makes use of concrete slabs of reinforced concrete, with small cracks
binding and flooded with tonal variation.
By use of acrylic sheet shelves and doors are designed in some spaces.
MATERIALS:

22. Polycarbonate sheet used for ceiling Acrylic sheet for shelves

24. Thank You