I got off the elevator on the 4th? floor of the Seattle public library, stepped out and looked to my right. I would describe the feeling as a mix of shock/horror/surprise. Rows upon rows of monitors being stared upon by the general public in the vast, airy structure designed by Rem Koolhaas. It was grotesque. I got the sense I was walking into abattoir.

The other thing that has stayed with me are the floor panels, and not just the panels themselves which are 16×16 in/sq and made of stainless steel, but the fasteners holding them down.  The fasteners are a black metal, one quarter of an inch round, one in each corner of the panel. They look like an afterthought. As if the proposed invisible fastener that would hold the panel down from beneath was deemed over budget and scrapped in place of the top-mount screws.

The exterior of the building is beautiful.

I keep contrasting the interior to Mother Foucault’s Bookshop in Portland. As described in a Yelp review, it’s the closest approximation one can find to the fictional Black Books. I could spend all day reading hidden way in a comfy chair. Seattle public…THX-1138.