This is an interior and exterior shot of the new Seattle Public Library, which was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, whose highly imaginative work is said to be is as much about ideas as it is buildings, and which opened in 2004. As one can see, it is magnificent. That the people of Seattle would invest in such a structure says much about them and about how much libraries are valued by them.
A while back, I picked up Koolhaas's book Contact, and started reading from it. I found it to be dense, brilliant, and dedicated to both the future, and the imagination. Like sociologists in the field, Koolhaas is preoccupied with how our environments shape us, and with how these environments get transformed. As a builder/creator, though, he occupies a unique position and from here, can experiment with bringing about changes in environments, such as with the Seattle project; and the success of this project can transform our understanding of libraries, and thus our relationship with knowledge and ideas.
Some more Koolhaas links here
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