REM KOOLHAASREM KOOLHAAS

REM KOOLHAAS

Architecture & Engineering

A throng of about 1,200 people packed into Benaroya Hall Wednesday afternoon to hear architect Rem Koolhaas offer an update on the design of the Seattle’s new $159 million Central Library.

Koolhaas’ firm, the Office of Metropolitan Architects based in Rotterdam, and LMN Architects of Seattle are joint venture partners on the project.

There is little discernible change from the preliminary design unveiled in December, when an overflow crowd attended the first public presentation of the radical design. Aspects of the design, such as the interior configuration, landscaping and the specific slope of floors, are now being fine-tuned.

Koolhaas, the recent winner of the Pritzker Prize of architecture, reminded the audience that libraries must evolve both in terms of expanding their function and embracing new technology if they are to survive.

Unflattering descriptions of the unusual structure have abounded in the media and, in some cases, among Seattle residents. But, Koolhaas, who

radiates intensity and serenity at the same time, is unfazed. “We really like criticism,” he said. “Architecture is born in confrontation.”

When asked about the infamous Seattle process, Koolhaas said that he’s “never been involved in such an elaborate system where so many voices are

raised.”

REM KOOLHAAS

Engineers from Seattle-based Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire and international engineering giant Ove Arup offered a brief overview of the mechanical and structural elements of the building. The most visible design feature of the building, its steel tubing, also provides the building’s structural support, which has given many in the design community pause. The message from Jon Magnusson, principal of SWMB, to the skeptics: “Yes, it will stand up.” Structural engineer for the curvilinear Experience Music Project, SWMB is no stranger to challenging projects.

“ We really like criticsm. Architecture is born in

confrontation.”-rem koolhaas

Magnusson noted that of the five most seismically active geologic zones in the country, Seattle is ranked fourth. Koolhaas said at the December presentation that the irregular angularity of the building would resist seismic movement: Atila Zekioglu of Ove Arup confirmed that, saying, “We feel very confident that the library possesses a seismic system that far surpasses the quality of typical buildings.”

Stephen Jolly, mechanical engineer with Ove Arup, said despite being surrounded by larger buildings, the new Central Library will get a lot of sun

exposure. To mitigate the effects of heat and light, the inside and outside glass panes used in the building will be double-insulated with a special solar coating. He said the engineering team is developing a unique laminate to coat parts of

the metal that will be most subject to high temperatures.The building, in keeping with the city’s sustainable design goals, will use free

cooling and a rainwater reclamation system.

The radical design, whether it’s adored or despised, is certain to put Seattle on the design world's map. The angular building appears transparent, clad in two layers of glass, which are supported by a lattice-like system of steel tubing encased in copper-colored mesh.

REM KOOLHAAS

Model of the new $159 million Central Library

Koolhaas described the skin as the weaving of two metal elements — I-beams and hollow steel tubes sandwiched between two layers of glass. The effect, he said, will be a “textile-like sheen, creating a rich series of conditions of reflecting light.”

The general form of the building is a marked departure from the typical symmetrically stacked high rise. It features 15 floors that span five main “platforms,” or levels that are designated for primary library functions. Between these are areas that appear to float. These in-between spaces will house public uses, such as a children’s room and a socially interactive space, termed the “living room.”Design development of the new library begins June 1.

At 355,000 square feet, the new library will be about 72 percent larger than the existing library. It will also house more than 1.4 million books; the existing library has room for less than 800,000. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2001 and end in 2003. The construction cost is $90 million. The new library will be built on the site of the existing facility at 1000 Fourth Ave.

REM KOOLHAAS

Koolhaas joins the roster of high-profile architects now shaping the Puget Sound’s urban landscape — including Frank Gehry for the Experience Music Project, Peter Bohlin for Seattle’s new City Hall, Terry Farrell & Partners for the new aquarium on the city’s waterfront, Antoine Predock for the Tacoma Art Museum, and Stephen Holl for the Bellevue Art Museum.

The Seattle Public Library last year selected Koolhaas from a pool of 29 local, national and international architects. The finalists were Steven Holl Architects of New York, and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca of Seattle and Portland.The project is funded by a $196.4 million bond measure approved in 1998 by Seattle voters to renovate and expand its entire library system.

REM KOOLHAAS’S CAMPUS CENTRE AT THE ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Railway above the

building

Multipurpose hall Lecture hall

Access ramp to the dining hall

Fire place on dark stones in the dining hall

Lighthing in fron of the lecture hall Central communication

space An access ramp

Rem Koolhaas Designs a Death Star for the UAE

The proposed Ras al Khaimah Convention and Exhibition Centre in the UAE bears a striking resemblance to the Death Star. Designed by Rem Koolhaas and Reinier de Graaf as part of their collaboration with OMA, the sphere holds a convention centre, hotel rooms, apartments, offices and retail space.

I can't imagine this building being accepted. It's terrifying and uninviting. They would have a hard time convincing confabs to hold their events in the dark matter. If it does get approved it'll only be because of the Koolhaas name, which would be a huge

shame.

REM KOOLHAAS

Rem Koolhaas Learns Not to Overthink It

The stairs from the ground-level plaza to the main foyer of Rem Koolhaas's Casa da Musica in Oporto, Portugal.

Rem Koolhaas'ın Konferansına Kayıtlar Hızla Artıyor

REM KOOLHAAS OMA SEATLE PUBLIC LIBRARY, SEATLE, WASHINGTON.

"The stacks, arranged along a continuous spiral ramp contained within a four-story slab, reinforce a sense of a world organized with machine-like precision."Nicolai OuroussoffLos Angeles Times

The new Seattle Public Library houses the library's main collection of books, government publications, periodicals, audio visual materials and the technology to access and distribute information from the physical collection online.

The building is divided into eight horizontal layers, each varying in size to fit its function.  A structural steel and glass skin unifies the multifaceted form and defines the public spaces in-between.

Situated on a sloping site between 4th and 5th street the new library will have entrances on both street levels.The entrance level on 4th Street,  one of Seattle's main thoroughfares, houses the Children's Library and foreign-language resources.  Rows of escalators lead to the 5th Street "Living Room" lobby located under a 50-foot-high sloping glass wall.  The lobby can also be reached directly from a covered walkway than runs the length of the 5th Avenue facade.

The carpeted "Living Room" contains the fiction stacks while non-fiction are located on the "Dewey Ramp"; a four-story ramp that allows people to browse through books in a continuos sequence.  The Reading room, on the top floor, has  views of Puget Sound and the surrounding mountains.

Koolhaas sees the new library as a custodian of the book, a showcase for new information, a place for thought, discussion and reflection - a dynamic presence.

The fact that the contents of a whole library can be stored on a single chip, or the fact that a single library can now store the digital content of all libraries, together represent potential rethinking: new forms of storage enable the space dedicated to real books to be contained; new forms of reading enhance the aura of the real book.

Our first operation has been the "combining" and consolidation of the apparently ungovernable proliferation of programs and media. By combining like with like, we have identified five platforms, each a programmatic cluster that is architecturally defined and equipped for maximum, dedicated performance. Because each platform is designed for a unique purpose, they are different in size, density, opacity.

The in-between spaces are like trading floors where librarians inform and stimulate, where the interface between the different platforms is organized - spaces for work, interaction, and play. (And reading).

Rem Koolhaas @ IIT

An amazing building (The McCormick Tribune Campus Center) by Rem Koolhaas which houses the student union and cafeterias for IIT 

REM KOOLHAAS

THANK YOUTHANK YOU

PRESENTATION BY : PRESENTATION BY : HALIMAH,AZEMA N FARIDAHHALIMAH,AZEMA N FARIDAH

BSB 1 2008BSB 1 2008