SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY

SEATTLE, U.S.A.
BUILDU3
NARCISO, NOEL
BLANCAFLOR, ALEJANDRO
YAP, IRA

SOURCES
http://oma.eu/projects/seattle-central-library
https://www.archdaily.com/11651/seattle-central-library-oma-lmn
https://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/seattle-library/
https://archibillion.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/seattle-central-library-by-oma-lmn/seattle-library-mixing-chamber-interior-photo-2/
http://www.paramountlighting.com/learn/2017/08/09/seattle-central-library-shines-brightly-lighting-innovation-energy-environmental-design/
http://lynnbecker.com/repeat/seattle/seattlepl.htm
1 | COVER
https://lmnarchitects.com/case-study/seattle-central-library-curtain-wall-design
1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
2 | LOCATION
 “At a moment when
libraries are perceived to be
under threat from a shrink-
ing public realm on one
side and digitization on the
other, the Seattle Central
Library creates a civic space
for the circulation of
knowledge in all media, and
an innovative organizing
system for an ever-growing
physical collection – the
Books Spiral. The library's
various programs are
intuitively arranged across
five platforms and four
flowing "in between"
planes, which together
dictate the building's
distinctive faceted shape,
offering the city an inspir-
ing building that is robust
in both its elegance and its
logic.”

3 | BUILDING
DESCRIPTION
“The predominant
mullion system sloping
in both an overslung
(skylight) and under-
slung (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
non-standard glass
panel shapes with
adequate steel span-
ning capacity.”

4 | EXTERIOR
“Black wall tiles were
made from a porous
bead foam sound
silencer called
EPP-ARPRP sold by
Acoustical Surfaces.
Carpets were designed
by Petra Blaise of
Inside / Outside in
Amsterdam, using Ege
carpet of recyclable
nylon or polyamid,
from the UK. Level
10’s ‘pillow’ ceiling is
acoustic panels
wrapped with ripstop
nylon.”

5 | INTERIOR
“Black wall tiles were
made from a porous
bead foam sound
silencer called
EPP-ARPRP sold by
Acoustical Surfaces.
Carpets were
designed by Petra
Blaise of Inside /
Outside in Amster-
dam, using Ege carpet
of recyclable nylon or
polyamid, from the
UK. Level 10’s
‘pillow’ ceiling is
acoustic panels
wrapped with ripstop
nylon..”

6 | SOUNDS 1/2
“Different areas of
the library have
different acoustics. As
opposed to the
reading room, where
the intent was to
dampen sound, the
mixing chamber has
an aggressively lively
acoustic that seems to
mirror its intense
interactivity.”

7 | SOUNDS 2/2
“These photos are
from the Seattle
Central Library
(called in some news
reports as “one of
the top 30 buildings
in the world) located
in Seattle WA. It
established a signifi-
cant new benchmark
for sustainable
building programs
across the country,
and outperforms the
Seattle energy code
by 10%.”

8 | LIGHTING 1/2
“This job was specified Paramount’s industrial
by Lite Tech in New luminaires not only
Your City, NY. Para- have a reputation of
mount’s A1 Series durable quality, their
Aerolux®fixtures were streamline style makes
utilized in the stair- them fashionable with
wells, and our Wet the ongoing
Location C0 & C2 retro-trends in archi-
Series Craft Lites® tecture. All of these
were used. The 100+ luminaires are now
units use T8 fluores- available with Para-
cent technology with mount’s Starduster®
electronic controls. LED technology.”

9 | LIGHTING 2/2
“The Seattle Central
Library redefines the
library as an institu-
tion no longer exclu-
sively dedicated to the
book, but as an
information store
where all potent
forms of
media—new and
old—are presented
equally and legibly. In
an age where infor-
mation can be
accessed anywhere, it
is the simultaneity of
all media and, more
importantly, the
curatorship of their
content that will make
the library vital.”

10 | CONCLUSION