Today is one of the most treasured of all days for teachers and students: a snow day! Actually, its a ‘cold day’, with wind-chills at -19 degrees...brrrrr. A perfect day to stay inside, sip hot coffee and visit the library. I headed to Seattle (it is a toasty 46 degrees).
The story of the Seattle Public Library is one of growth, progress and the love of books. This is a city that has its priorities straight and when it came time to come up with the cash to build their ‘temple’ they did it. In 1998 the voters approved a $197 million bond issue (there was a 69% approval rating) - the largest ever for a library. In addition to the bond (called ‘Libraries For All’) the library foundation raised $82 million from 22,000 donors, including $22.5 million from Paul Allen and $20 million from Bill & Melinda Gates.
The architects, OMA in partnership with LMN Architects in Seattle, created a modern library masterpiece - winning the Pritzker Prize, Time Magazine’s building of the year (2004) and the hearts and minds of the world. Joshua Prince-Ramus served as the partner in charge of the project and when I headed to his video at ted.com I was completely captivated by his intelligence, enthusiasm and thoughtfulness (you thought I was going to say his stunning good looks, but that was just a bonus). I immediately decided to spend my ‘cold day’ morning with him...isn’t the Internet wonderful?
Ramus talks about the creative journey his firm and the library team embarked on during the creation of the library. The journey resulted in two main ideas: books and socializing. At the heart of project is the word BOOKS, which, he reminds us, are technology, and are now learning to share their dominance with other kinds of information technology. The second idea, and he asserts that it is equally important, although at first the librarians were unconvinced, was to foster socialization.
As background Ramus explains that the idea of ‘high modern’ design. In a nutshell this idea asserts that spaces should have complete flexibility so they can be used for any activity - the starting point is the design and not the function of the space. This leads to spaces that are generic and nondescript. “Aha,” I said to my laptop, “ that is the feeling that I often get from modern libraries, although they are beautiful there is no personality or soul in the space.” Ramus explains that in high modernism the reading room looks just like the copy room, the furniture is just different. He goes on to explain that his firm took a compartmentalized approach and examined the specific uses of each space in the library.
The library team initially identified all the ways they wanted to use the library and then OMA created five functional boxes. The boxes, each with their own specific function, are at the core of the design. They are stacked, off kilter like a tower of presents and covered by a skin that provides structural stability and holds panes of treated glass (opaque from the outside and transparent from the inside). In my simple mind, I see the library as five shoe boxes, stacked up and covered with plastic wrap and now it makes perfect sense and is delightful. The library is not an abstract, modern marvel beyond my understanding...it is a series of spaces for people to meet, read, learn, and think, just like it always has been, this one, thanks to Ramus and his team, just happens to be stunning.
The story of the Seattle Public Library is one of growth, progress and the love of books. This is a city that has its priorities straight and when it came time to come up with the cash to build their ‘temple’ they did it. In 1998 the voters approved a $197 million bond issue (there was a 69% approval rating) - the largest ever for a library. In addition to the bond (called ‘Libraries For All’) the library foundation raised $82 million from 22,000 donors, including $22.5 million from Paul Allen and $20 million from Bill & Melinda Gates.
The architects, OMA in partnership with LMN Architects in Seattle, created a modern library masterpiece - winning the Pritzker Prize, Time Magazine’s building of the year (2004) and the hearts and minds of the world. Joshua Prince-Ramus served as the partner in charge of the project and when I headed to his video at ted.com I was completely captivated by his intelligence, enthusiasm and thoughtfulness (you thought I was going to say his stunning good looks, but that was just a bonus). I immediately decided to spend my ‘cold day’ morning with him...isn’t the Internet wonderful?
Ramus talks about the creative journey his firm and the library team embarked on during the creation of the library. The journey resulted in two main ideas: books and socializing. At the heart of project is the word BOOKS, which, he reminds us, are technology, and are now learning to share their dominance with other kinds of information technology. The second idea, and he asserts that it is equally important, although at first the librarians were unconvinced, was to foster socialization.
As background Ramus explains that the idea of ‘high modern’ design. In a nutshell this idea asserts that spaces should have complete flexibility so they can be used for any activity - the starting point is the design and not the function of the space. This leads to spaces that are generic and nondescript. “Aha,” I said to my laptop, “ that is the feeling that I often get from modern libraries, although they are beautiful there is no personality or soul in the space.” Ramus explains that in high modernism the reading room looks just like the copy room, the furniture is just different. He goes on to explain that his firm took a compartmentalized approach and examined the specific uses of each space in the library.
The library team initially identified all the ways they wanted to use the library and then OMA created five functional boxes. The boxes, each with their own specific function, are at the core of the design. They are stacked, off kilter like a tower of presents and covered by a skin that provides structural stability and holds panes of treated glass (opaque from the outside and transparent from the inside). In my simple mind, I see the library as five shoe boxes, stacked up and covered with plastic wrap and now it makes perfect sense and is delightful. The library is not an abstract, modern marvel beyond my understanding...it is a series of spaces for people to meet, read, learn, and think, just like it always has been, this one, thanks to Ramus and his team, just happens to be stunning.
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