Take One Building : Interdisciplinary Research Perspectives of the Seattle Central Library

Buildings operate in a multitude of ways, they are structural, constructional, social cultural and aesthetic. They modify the environment and act as mechanisms for generating, or inhibiting social contact. This makes the question of how to research them one that is as rich as it is varied. This compilation of essays, all about one building, brings together authors each with different perspectives and methodologies. It could be considered a primer in the possible suite of approaches open to the researcher, or taken together it makes for a rare attempt to synthesis across disciplines. It gives about the best example I have seen of what a ‘trans-disciplinary’ approach to architectural research could look like.

Professor Alan Penn, Dean of The Bartlett, UCL

How buildings work for their occupiers and how design icons perform for their users is an imprecise and understudied field. The connections between design aspiration and their impact on people are rarely understood despite the huge capital investments that buildings command. This book brings a fresh and rigorous perspective to the field, founded in original and compelling research. It should become the bible for anyone interested in commissioning, designing and evaluating how buildings can add value to society.

Ricky Burdett, Professor of Urban Studies, London School of Economics