Seattle Central Library (Books Spiral design feature)

The Seattle Central Library, designed by OMA/Rem Koolhaas and opened in 2004, incorporates a 'Books Spiral' that arranges the building's nonfiction collection in a continuous, sloped shelving sequence spanning multiple levels. The Books Spiral was intended to allow uninterrupted browsing of nonfiction works while preserving sightlines and accessibility within the 11-story glass-and-steel building. This organizational strategy and its visible structural expression have been widely discussed in architectural commentary about contemporary library design.