Architect Rem Koolhaas was a longshot to design the Seattle Public Library. He almost didn’t enter the competition to design it, almost didn’t win the competition. “The new Central Library is an instant landmark for Seattle, a 21st century global architecture icon and a testament to this city’s futurist impulses. But for the 59-year-old architect who designed it, the new Central Library may represent even more: a major force in redemption of his reputation.”