snark alert...

i started this bag the same weekend debbie and i finished my fence.  i began it as an entry for whip up's whiplash - the category was surly.  but, i was tired that weekend. debbie and i worked hard each day and it was almost more than i could do to make dinner and lift the fork to my mouth - finishing this bag was just too much to ask...

so, i have worked on it on and off but it mostly has just been set aside.  until now.  whiplash is offering up another competition and the theme for july is bags.  i thought it was a perfect opportunity to complete the 'circle' and - my bag. 

there are categories this time in which to submit my work.  tutorial, skill and fancy.  i am going to go for FANCY... i don't think this fits well into the other categories - especially skill as i think next time i do something like this i would opt to do the lettering in a split stitch rather than the stem stitch i used - i think it would work much better on all the rounded parts.  the bag itself is a blue canvas, with a cotton stripe for the strap and accents.  i have lined it with a linen print - bird feathers and eggs ( a favorite fabric of mine...) and added a pocket inside for important stuff... the seaming is exposed and serged, for a bit of a 'what the hell' kind of look.

this isn't just any tote bag....it is a library book bag...  and here is the reason.

a couple of years ago the main branch of the seattle public library was completed.  it was a big deal.  rem koolhaas and his firm designed the building and it was considered something quite spectacular.  i thought it was mighty fine - until i tried to use the damn thing.  the one thing i like - it was designed to hold the library's entire collection and then some, so it should not become obsolete for some time. 

there are countless things that i don't like. 

    • only three elevators - if you are headed to the 9th floor - where i most often go, going via escalators and stairs isn't ideal - but neither is waiting an eternity for an elevator - usually too crowded by the time it does arrive....
    • no signage  - AT ALL!!!  restrooms can be found by looking for brightly colored copy paper printed on an ink-jet printer taped to the walls and stacks --  the little gift shop can be found by aimless roaming around until you happen across it -- determining what floor you are on when you get off an escalator is difficult, i can't remember now how i figured that out - fire was coming out of my ears and prevents me from remembering very clearly.
    • parking is minimal - and freaking expensive - i know, it is to encourage me to take mass transit, but....
    • the interesting incised lettering in the wall is falling apart - was within the first 6 months...
    • it looked dirty within the first couple months - well traveled parts now have a different flooring so hide that wear.
    • new flooring on the metal stairs - you know, so it is quieter...
    • the fact that the homeless did, do and will use a public library for shelter during the day was not considered and although that shouldn't be the first consideration - i don't think it was considered at all.
    • and more - of course.

architecture for architecture's sake is a failure when it is a public building, built with public funds.  i am not a big fan of that in the private sector; in the public realm it is just bad design.  i have read too many accounts of what a success this building is, how it has put seattle on the map architecturally, how the building itself is a destination, how utterly brilliant mr. koolhaas is.  but, i can not believe anyone who thinks it's so great has actually used the building for it's intended purpose.  it frustrates me every time i use the place. it frustrates me every time i am there and groups touring the building talk about how spectacular it is.  it really frustrated me the day there was a fire alarm while i was doing research on the 9th floor.  the entire building emptied via the fire escape that emptied out into the middle of the building that we then had to walk through to get outside????? really? isn't that counter intuitive?  shouldn't people exiting a burning building NOT have to walk through that building once they get to the main floor??? - ok, it wasn't burning that day, but still....

if i had as much conviction as i have opinion i will throw the bag around my shoulder and troop down to the library and gauge the response.  it is making my stomach turn just thinking about it.... i will keep you posted, unless i chicken out altogether, then i might lie.

Comments

[Alex]

Fabulous!

[Julie]

Great bag - i only ever use over-the-shoulder (messenger) bags!! And boy, do i know that frustration of buildings that dont work - so many in Israel are built with problems!!
Great idea!!

[wendy]

Pluck up the courage and walk in with that great bag.

[Jessica]

fabulous! so creative. nicely done.

[kathy]

Wow, I looked at the detail of your embroidery on the flap, spectacular! How did you transfer the design to the fabric? It's all so even and perfect and done through canvas no less! Great inspired design and construction. I really like this.

[lorinda]

Art that is social commentary and more. It's wonderful. I hope you win. And I hope that someone pays attention. I get the whole "I want to make a statement, but then I feel sick when I do" thing.

[kate q]

I needed a new phone (land line) once, so I checked Target.com in case Michael Graves had any nifty designey ones. He did! Lovely, I thought; it's cute, but even better, the ergonomics will be great. He's a famous designer, after all!

So I ordered one.

And, well...it's cute.

Grrr. I sympathize about the library. I like your bag.

[Momma Pajama]

Ha ha! This is so cool! You know, I haven't been to the library downtown yet, but I read all the press in the Seattle Times initially. How bold of you to make a bookbag (a.k.a. portable billboard) of your comments! Cheeky girl!

[k8tykat]

i hope you did it, maybe you did. did you? did you wear that bag into the library??

i hope you did!

[susansobon]

is the lettering on top embroidered?? oh my if it is
gorgeous and lotta love in there
susan

[Vicki in Michigan]

I couldn't agree more about disfunctional architecture being BAD DESIGN, no matter how cute!

It's got to WORK. Period. If it doesn't work, then it's bad design. Period.

Grrrrrr.

Love your bag. Love the fact that you have made something perfectly functional (and cute, on many levels) to protest something disfunctional but famous and fatuously and stupidly lauded......

[screever]

I like the way your bag makes a statement, but.....

I am a lifetime user of public libraries. textile crafter, and high-art cynic. I am also an architect with a practical bent – I like beautiful and technologically cool buildings, but I also think buildings ought to work for the people who use them. My career has included a lot of work for institutions and public agencies, and while I won’t comment on the building’s aesthetics, I wanted to offer a perspective on some of your comments that might make you go a little easier on Mr. Koolhaus.....

An architect is never the sole determiner many of the things that are on your list of problems. It is even possible that an architect can promote things like more elevators or more parking spaces, and get overruled – perhaps because it would take away space the city wanted for books, or because of budget or .... who knows? We can’t tell from just looking at the building.

If there’s no signage, it’s because the city didn’t hire the architect (or anyone else) to provide it. This is common – many building institutions & agencies purchase design & installation of signage separately from architectural design. Complain to the city!! A big public building ought to have good signs – and this is something that can be fixed!

The amount of parking is not something the architect makes up. A client will say what they need, and local zoning codes will say what they are required to provide. An architect might participate in the conversation, but not as a primary decision maker. Sounds like the city determined that they didn’t need more parking, or had to make a choice of how to use limited land and building area.

The emergency exit pathway is also strictly controlled by building codes, and it is hard to imagine that this library does not meet code, considering that compliance is the obligation of the architects as well as the city agency that grants a building permit. If the exit path includes a trip through a lobby, chances are that the lobby is protected (by walls, doors, clusters of sprinklers, etc.) from other parts of the building, as every fire exit path should be. You should be as safe while you exit this building as you would be if the stair emptied directly onto a sidewalk.

When it comes to thinks like the durability of installed lettering, the architect has more discretion and is more responsible. Same with regard to flooring choices, although these also have to be discussed with and approved by the client (I know from experience that clients will sometimes overrule a designer’s professional judgment on stuff like this, and as long as they don’t want to do anything that violates a building code, they )

So there may be some bad design in the building – and some of it could be Mr. Rem K’s responsibility – but alas, as the building’s architect he was not all-powerful! Architects mey may get their names associated with buildings, but after all, there are budgets, codes, and clients (in this case the city’s officials, project managers, budget-makers, and perhaps public commentators – did the city have any public presentations while the building was being designed?) who review and weigh in on all of these decisions just as you would if someone came in to work on your home.

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