Description

A library is literally a “container for books” – Helsinki’s new central library was designed as a “knowledge container”. It is the product a competition launched in 2013 and won by ALA Architects from Helsinki.
The library’s name “Oodi” is a reference to its function as an ode to knowledge and democracy. It is conceived as a public space for citizens to deepen their knowledge, broaden their education and to interact not just with books but also new media. Alongside its collection of about 100,000 books, the library offers points of contact for institutions of the EU and the City of Helsinki, workshops for digital techniques, music and film studios, open work areas where citizens can help each other with sewing machines and computers, for example, as well as a neighbourhood kitchen. The building lies in the immediate vicinity of the main railway station – which was designed by Eliel Saarinen (1873–1950) and opened in 1919 – and forms the eastern end of Kansalaistori Square, which is bordered by various cultural institutions as well as the Finnish Parliament building from 1906.
Oodi’s external, parametrically developed form is clad with much wood and glass and characterised by its sweeping façade and rising and falling wavy roof. The curves of the façade connect the building to the public space: the entrance on the ground floor pushes inwards, drawing the forecourt into the building, while the expansive balcony cantilevers out over it creating its own public outdoor space above it. A ribbon of windows runs around the perimeter behind a partially perforated wooden slat wall.
The building’s central forum, workshop areas and book area are stacked on top of each other over three floors of the building, connected by a pair of intertwined black spiral staircases and an escalator with a yellow handrail. In the long, largely open foyer, an event space can be optionally separated off by means of mobile partition walls. At the north end is a cinema. On the mezzanine floor, the so-called “Mansard” level, various volumes are inserted into the learning landscape between the massive, wood-clad steel structure, for use by the citizens.
On the upper level is the “book heaven” in which specially conceived furniture is arranged freely and scenically beneath a wavy white ceiling. A light-coloured pattern is printed onto the glass that appears a little like snow stuck to the window and varies the quality of light in the interior. Here the shelves are of white lacquered aluminium and are arranged in compact groups interspersed with open spaces for reading and sharing. At the narrower ends of the long room, the floor rises to form a play area at one end and a group of tables for concentrated work at the other. The design also reflects the wishes of citizens who were asked to contribute their ideas as part of a participation process during the development of the design.

Originally published in Bauwelt  05.2019, pp. 16-23, abridged and edited for Building Types online, translated by Julian Reisenberger

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