Awhile back I got to visit the architectural oddity that is the Seattle Central Library-
It was completed in 2004 - to both acclaim and ridicule,,,
They have maps at the front door - which you totally need. It is huge, and oddly laid out. And as you can see, the upper floors are all angled. If you drop a marble on the top floor, it would roll all the way down to the bottom.
The escalators leading up to these angled floors are a brightly lit frighteningly acrid yellow-green. You can't miss them at least.
You pass one level, known as 'the red floor' (and walls and ceilings and doors and stairs) which looks for all the world like walking through an enormous intestinal tract...
The multipley-manned information desks came complete with moving LCD text boards...
The view as you get higher - the floors and books are all around the perimeter, which become more and more industrial looking. The center is empty all the way up...
The view down to one of the reading areas...
The view into the central 'courtyard' (see the fluorescent escalators??? They might blind you!). The other things are bookshelves - arranged rather haphazardly...
And as you get near the outside walls, it feels rather like an atrium...
So I've seen it. Twas interesting to see to be sure. What is less sure is if I ever need to do it again...
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6 comments:
It is... erm... striking. But my theory is that it's designed to drive us all shrieking to Kindles. Not that that's likely to happen in my case. I'm too much of a book nerd.
Thanks for showing your view of the library. It was illuminating.
Read the wiki link (at the very beginning of the post). Lots of very interesting info on it.
Thanks for the tour - I'd love to see it in person when we (finally) make it up to visit.
OMG, it is an intestinal tract! Somebody gave that architect way too much license to have fun! Love all the glass, though. It's so nice to have public buildings that bring the outside in and connect with their surroundings.
I love this library! It's light, airy and surprising on so many levels (!)
Jeff - come soon!
The Garden Ms. S.- to me, that was the best part.
Rebecca - I suspect I'd go more often if I lived closer, but it's far enough away that once was maybe enough...(and I'd much prefer the graduate library on UW campus...)
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