Seattle Central Library by Rem Koolhaas

Seattle Central Library: An Architecture That Brings You Back

Visiting the Seattle Central Library, designed by Rem Koolhaas and OMA, brought back memories of my architecture studies and the ideas that first shaped the way I think about space.

In my final year at university, a visit to the Kunsthal in Rotterdam, designed by Rem Koolhaas, inspired my final-year project: a school of architecture. I designed oversized double doors that opened from a public square to reveal an auditorium, which also functioned as a staircase. As visitors ascended, they could look into the workings of the school, making its everyday life part of the architectural experience.

What interested me was how movement, function, and the act of revealing could become part of the architecture itself.

Walking through the Seattle Central Library, I found myself drawn again to these ideas. The shifting levels, intersecting routes, and emphasis on stairs made movement an integral part of the architecture. Rather than simply connecting one floor to another, circulation became an experience in itself.

It reminded me that the architectural language I developed as a student has never really left me. It has continued to evolve, finding its way into my paintings and my approach to interiors, where composition, proportion, structure, and the relationship between solid and void remain central.

Sometimes, returning to a place or an idea allows you to recognize what has been there all along. For me, this visit was a reminder that the past need not be something we look back at; it can be an active part of how we see, create, and move forward.

Interior images of Seattle Library

The auditorium at Kunsthal, where movement, circulation, and the experience of space come together as part of the architecture.