Spotlight: The New Library
For a while, libraries seemed to be on the decline as new technologies and easier, more personal ways of consuming information became widespread. In reality, these institutions and community spaces were not disappearing, but rather changing face. New library and learning center designs now often have open, expansive spaces with airy, light-filled aesthetics, seemingly fewer books, and more gathering spaces. They are social spaces with far more than just reading going on in them; which sounds a lot like what’s happening in workplace design. Libraries are becoming “hubs” that must be carefully designed to bring people together in ways that make sense in each space, and workplace design professionals have very similar challenges and goals. To see one of the coolest libraries around, head to Seattle, WA. The city’s flagship public library, designed by Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Prince-Ramus of OMA/LMN with structural engineering by Magnusson Klemencic Associates and Arup, …
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