The typography plated floorboards are an inventive way of including multi-lingual aspects into the design of the building in the section housing multiple language texts.

The DVD selection at this library is immense and diverse. It’s also the section I personally spend the most time in as checking one movie out from the library every few weeks is the only source of entertainment I avail myself to anymore.

I asked about the Northwest Art Collection while getting let into one of the piano practice rooms, and this box of articles and newspaper clippings is what was produced for me. It didn’t seem like what the instructor had in mind for us to discover, though.

So, I took a photo of the Northwest Screen also. This beautiful piece of artwork was hidden away one the first floor under the escalators in an otherwise empty, basically wasted space. Personally, I thought this area ought to simply be closed off and used for storage.

Not exactly what I would expect to find at a library, but incorporating a place to make music is a nice touch.

Even just looking at this picture makes me dizzy. I’m surprised the overlook area isn’t more tightly secure. Seems like a tempting place for someone wanting to learn how to fly.

There was no book “The Wikkeling” in the card catalog. The only books by Steven Arntson were “The Wrap-up List” and “The Trap.”

Cartography has never been my favorite. It’s good to know the map room exists, though, in case I ever need to resource it for some obscure reason, like a classroom assignment or something.

The Directories are bold, well-lit, easy to read, and easy to follow. However, if you’re smart and physically able, you’ll take the escalators and stairs instead of the elevator, much faster that way.

The immersion of red made me feel like I was trapped in an ’80’s horror movie. I don’t know what demographic this design choice was meant to appeal to; I presume it’s the psycho- and sociopaths of our area.

I feel like I slightly cheated on this one. Since I had to Google the poem to find out what book it was in, I just took a picture of the text of the poem as it appeared online. I was just up on the 8th floor at the piano rooms, and the volume of literature books was a bit overwhelming.

By the time I got to the end, I was exhausted. Running all over ten stories of the massive Central Library was not my idea of a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Good thing I wasn’t able to make it on Monday night because I really wouldn’t have had the energy for this project after a long, busy day at work. I wasn’t sure what was meant by “the most attractive environmental type” but figured I’d call this lovely installation good. The indoor garden gives the main floor a natural feel and helps naturally generate oxygen as well.

My favorite aspects of the library are the bright colors of the escalators and directories and the open, airy feel provided by all of the glass, exterior and interior. It seems like the library was mostly visited by tourists and transients, which probably accounts for why the bathrooms have such tiny doors. At least the directories had actual words and not mere pictorial icons no one could understand. There was also plenty of space between bookshelves. It didn’t feel crowded or claustrophobic, in spite of the amount of resource materials available.

What I didn’t like was how cold and hard everything was. I guess you can’t make the seats too comfortable, or they could very easily turn into sleeping quarters. The whole place had a technical feel to it, like it was all work and no play, in spite of the bright colors, with the exception of the children’s area hidden down on the first floor. I also appreciated how the main entrances were revolving doors, which helps tremendously with indoor HVAC systems controls.