Seattle Central Library

Opened in 2004, the Central Library was designed by Rem Koolhaas's Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in collaboration with Seattle firm LMN Architects. The 11-story glass-and-steel building reorganized library functions around an open 'mixing chamber' and features the continuous 'Books Spiral' for nonfiction stacks. Its exposed structural skin and large glass surfaces are widely cited as a notable example of early 21st-century public architecture.