From the Guardian Observer UK arts columnist Deyan Sudjic critiques the new Seattle Library. He likes it alot .
Sudjic says, “Inside is a series of genuinely beautiful spaces that despite (Dutch architect Rem)Koolhaas’s reputation for cynical iconoclasm rely on surprisingly traditional devices. Tall, sunlit reading rooms are exhilarating because they make the simple act of finding a book and sitting at a desk feel good. Koolhaas allows you to look out of the window at the spectacular views of the city. He takes you up a vivid green escalator that propels you through a crevasse in a raw concrete slab to deliver you into the soaring reading room with the ambience of a Victorian railway station.”
Other architecture critics have not been as kind…for example, it is listed on this Dutch website as one of the ten most hated architecture projects. One contributor writes “This building lacks any kind of beauty. It’s just another one of those Dutch box-style buildings. I hope that during the next big earthquake Koolhaas’ monster plummets into oblivion.”
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