I did a blog-search for "Koolhaus" and came upon one other comment about his interview with Charlie Rose.

Gil Friend on Userland was struck by what Koolhaus said about the possibilities of borders that are other than merely two dimentional. (The Wired section goes into more detail on that subject.) Friend heard Koolhaus talk of "different degrees of boundary for different realms of relationship. A kind of geographic topology perhaps. Boundaries as semi-permeable membranes."

He then offers this memory from childhood:

We entered a building -- large, open, multi-story interior, with balconies or parapets around (like a modern indoor mall, tho this was early 1950s) -- from the street, descended several floors inside, and exited to the street. This may well have been a building on a hill, for all I know, or may never have happened. But the experience -- and the strong visual image of that interior space -- has remained with me.

Here's how the old library that is being replaced by the Koolhaus building worked as a terminus of that pathway.
Starting from the library's east entrance at Spring and 5th, one could take a grand escalator trip all the way to the ferry terminal eight blocks west and a hundred feet or so lower in elevation.

1. The Library


The old library's escalator was easily located in the center of the building. Hop on, and drop two floors to exit at the building's west entrance on 4th.

2. Seafirst Building

Cross the street to the old Seafirst Building (1100 4th Avenue Plaza). Walk through the elevator lobby to the cramped, narrow bank of escalators at the back. Follow the winding escalor path down two (or is it three? It's hard to tell in this escalator maze) floors to the building's 3rd Avenue entrance.

3. Wells Fargo Building

Cross kitty-corner to the Wells Fargo Building. Walk past the big ol' flower sculpture, through the revolving door, past the banking lobby and out the back door. You'll be in front of a long, entubed outdoor escalator. Ride down to the 2nd Ave. plaza.

4. Norton Building

Cross kitty-corner again and walk a half-block south to the small plaza of the modernist Norton Building. Although it's lobby appears a bit less welcoming than the others encountered so far, it's worth taking the plunge partly because of the impressive revolving art shows that grace its small lobby. Take a look, but head toward that quickly-moving escalator at the back of the lobby. This is the longest single escalator trip on the path and can be a heady ride because it runs half-again faster than most of the things. Hang on and ride.

That's the last escalor ride, and puts you only a couple of blocks from the ferry dock. Double-cross the intersection again to find the Marion passageway to the dock. It leads you under the viaduct and over Alaska Way to put you directly on the dock's second-floor passenger terminal.

That's an urban path that Koolhaus will mess with at his peril.