SEATTLE CENTRAL LIBRARY (THE SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY) SEATTLE, WA, USA (1999-2004) The principle that underlies the design of the Seattle Public Library by Rem Koolha<strong>as</strong> of OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) is the equivalence between books and digital media. The building, which occupies a whole block in Seattle’s city centre, is spectacular. It’s an awkward, exciting combination of materiality and immateriality - an urban icon amidst several anonymous skyscrapers. The staggered layers, some transparent, others open, are stacked one upon the other. The construction looks like a skyscraper that h<strong>as</strong> been pressed together. The metal lattice enc<strong>as</strong>ing it seems to prevent it from springing back into its original shape. In response to the library’s diversity of functions, the team at OMA opted for organisation. They deconstructed the programme and rearranged it into clusters of related functions. Each layer accommodates one such cluster. The new organisation, which creates clarity and intensifies the programme, prevents rooms from becoming clogged with bookc<strong>as</strong>es. It also helps to prevent chaos, to ensure openness and to create an environment in which books and multi- media facilities are truly equivalent. The various elements strengthen one another instead of standing in each other’s way. The closed layers of the building differ in height. Because each part of the programme is clearly distinguishable, people do not get e<strong>as</strong>ily confused. These closed layers contain popular reading matter and multimedia facilities (store), meeting rooms and networking facilities (<strong>as</strong>sembly), the books on loan and - right on top - the offices (headquarters). The layers in between are transparent so that everything that occurs inside is clearly visible from the outside through the metal lattice. They’re like trading floors - open and public - where there’s room for interaction between the various layers. Here people can find information and stimulation. These floors also accommodate the reception room, the café and the ‘mixing chamber’ for information exchange and technical facilities. Further up are the reading room and the terrace. The transparent intermediate layers let in daylight and advertise the building <strong>as</strong> the l<strong>as</strong>t b<strong>as</strong>tion of public accessibility. 14 Architects: Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), Rotterdam, The Netherlands in a joint venture with LMN Architects, Seattle Landscaping: Inside/Outside, Petra Blaisse, The Netherlands Jones & Jones, Seattle Interior design: OMA/LMN Architects, Inside/Outside Photos: Pragnesh Parikh, OMA/LMN Architects Courtesy of The Seattle Public Library Toyo Ito’s architectural approach is totally different. Ito is not interested in the programme. His focus is on flexibility. Even a short time before the completion of his multimedia library in Sendai (Japan), the purpose of the centre w<strong>as</strong> still unclear and the discussion about the programme still going on. With six multipurpose floors, the building permitted that. All options had been left open - a plan libre, the revitalisation of Maison Domino by Le Corbusier and the extreme consequence of the library <strong>as</strong> a supermarket. The building’s b<strong>as</strong>ic principle is familiar: six floors of different heights, thirteen columns to support them and a transparent skin. It’s not so much the architecture <strong>as</strong> the furniture - desks, bookc<strong>as</strong>es, tables, chairs and couches - which h<strong>as</strong> been given a role to play in determining the space, with huge freedom for the interior <strong>as</strong> a result. Ito worked on this project with other architects - Ross Lovegrove, Karim R<strong>as</strong>hid, Kazuyo Sejima and K.T. Architecture - each of whom designed a floor in order to provide it with a distinct signature. Together, the layers are, <strong>as</strong> it were, city fragments, one stacked upon the other. SENDAI MEDIATHEQUE SENDAI, JAPAN (1997-2000) More than any other library, the Sendai multimedia centre represents the immateriality of digital information. Transparent, weightless and with floors seemingly suspended, it looks more like a fata morgana than a building or an object. It’s amazing that Ito h<strong>as</strong> been able to deny the constructive nature of architecture <strong>as</strong> much <strong>as</strong> possible, using such materials <strong>as</strong> gl<strong>as</strong>s and steel. The skin, the floors and the columns seem to exist separate from one another. The skin is thin and graphic, and each facade h<strong>as</strong> been given a different character. The floors differ in height and have been kept <strong>as</strong> thin <strong>as</strong> possible. The most striking features are the thirteen hollow-tube columns: they are open, twisted, distorted, honeycomb-like structures. Like trees, they penetrate the floors and break through the roof. It’s <strong>as</strong> though they’re there just for themselves, seemingly without any supporting function. The columns accommodate stairc<strong>as</strong>es and elevators, and they conduct light, air, cables and people. The building’s programmic generosity in combination with its ephemeral, immaterial appearance make it a model and prototype of new library architecture. Architect: Toyo Ito, Toyo Ito & Associates, Tokyo, Japan Interior architects: Kazuyo Sejima, K.T. Architecture, Karim R<strong>as</strong>hid, Ross Lovegrove Photos: Hiro Sakaguchi Multimedia centre architecture 15
PROJECTS 16 Marmoleum real 3146 Marmoleum real 3127 SIDDALL HALL Dining Facility, University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH, USA Michael Schuster & Associates, Dougl<strong>as</strong> Richards Dupont Flooring Systems, Cincinnati, OH Adam Dryer (M<strong>as</strong>ter Mechanic) 670 m2 Location Architect Flooring contractor Installation Flooring material Marmoleum real, and Marmoleum dual 2,5mm Marmoleum dual 614 Photos: Ron Forth Photography Marmoleum real 3048 Marmoleum real 3139 Marmoleum dual 766 Photos: Pierre Halmaï, Montreal MONTREAL (DORVAL) INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT International Terminal - Jetée Transfrontalière Montreal, QC, Canada Association from Provencher Roy, Cardinal Hardy, Jodoin Lamarre Pratt, and Arcop 12.540 m2 Location Architect Flooring material Marmoleum real, and Marmoleum dual 2,5mm 17
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