(Cover picture: www.stadissa.fi)
The brand new Oodi central library in Helsinki, Finland, has been our first encounter with Finnish design and architecture… one of the finest, that goes without saying. Oodi will play an important part in our project, as it is an extremely inspiring place both for it’s building concept and for it’s unique atmosphere and facilities. It will be also a headquarter for our project as it offers meeting spaces (we’ve already had several ones there), as well as numerous open spaces to work and create in an atmosphere surrounded by books and knowledge opportunities.
One of our first encounter with Oodi: the makers area, while heading to our reserved working room for our meeting
Entering Oodi is an experience which was worth a dedicated article on the blog. But Oodi is abme to speak very well for itself, so let’s listen:
“Helsinki Central Library Oodi is a living meeting place at Kansalaistori square, right at the heart of Helsinki. It is one of 37 branches of Helsinki City Library and part of the Helmet library network.
Oodi represents a new era of libraries in finland and responds to a 2017 update, which established a mandate for libraries to promote lifelong learning, active citizenship, democracy and freedom of expression.
Oodi will complement the cultural and media hub formed by Helsinki Music Centre, Finlandia Hall, Sanoma House and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma. Oodi will be a non-commercial, urban public space that is open to all, right opposite the Parliament Building.”
Oodi will provide its users with knowledge, new skills and stories, and will be an easy place to access for learning, story immersion, work and relaxation. It is a library of a new era, a living and functional meeting place open for all.
Service Design
Design is of course a very important approach in Oodi’s creation, we can experience it everywhere while using facilities and walking through the different aisles:
Oodi has been designed together with the city’s residents so that it can best correspond with the wishes and needs that library users have. Ideas, tips and dreams have been gathered at urban events and workshops, and through websites and various campaigns.
Residents and partners participation, ideas campaigns and naming competition
Once at Ooodi we can truly feel that it represents a lung of the city, people of all ages coming and going, heading towards their preferred destination in the library or having a meal or even a coffee surrounded by books shelves. Oodi is the gathering place for people coming to work, to attend meetings alongside students, school classes with their teachers and parents with their young babies or toddlers. Oodi is a quiet-busy place, owned by Helsinki residents!
Oodi’s design has been conducted by encouraging active participation amongst residents and partners in various ways. For example, the Unel-moi! campaign in 2012 gained over 2,300 ideas from the city’s residents for the further design of the Central Library. That same year, the library was among the first to test participatory budgeting, allowing residents to decide which four pilot tests would receive the 100,000 euros of funding available. Furthermore, the Central Library’s name is based on a suggestion by one of the city’s residents. An open naming competition resulted in over 1,600 entries, from which a jury chose the ultimate winner.
Community development: Friends of the Central Library
Friends of the Central Library was a participatory pilot project for community development, in which 28 user developers were able to offer their input for the library’s design from the users’ perspective. During the four-month project, input was collected from the Friends of the Central Library on subjects such as the functionality of the services and ideas for events.
Brygga is the City of Helsinki Urban Environment Division’s participation space, which showcases the Division’s current projects and provides information on how residents can influence their city’s development. (Copyright: Oodi library)
Architecture
Oodi is a striking building with its glass and steel structures and wooden facade, its design a combination of traditional and contemporary flavours. The energy-efficient library is an impressive calling card for Finnish architecture. ALA Architects is responsible for the architectural planning and YIT is the building contractor.
The design divides the functions of the library into three distinctive levels: an active ground floor, a peaceful upper floor, and an enclosed in-between volume containing more specific functions.
Apart from the top floor, Oodi’s facade is made entirely from wood, which softens the general appearance of the architecture around Töölö Bay. The wood used for the exterior wall is spruce. The energy-efficient library is an impressive and alluring calling card for Finnish architecture.
Children are considered on all Oodi’s floors
Oodi has space for relaxed quality family time and for doing things together. Children are considered on all Oodi’s floors and the building has an accessible entrance for prams and buggies.
Families at Oodi will be delighted with the new Play Park Loru (Helsinki City Department of early childhood education), which will tempt children and adults to spend time freely together or take part in supervised activity. The play park facilities are situated on the entrance floor. You may come across Loru staff anywhere in Oodi because the play park activity spreads out from Loru’s base all over the building.
Supervised public playground activities in Helsinki go back 104 years, and today’s network of 66 public playgrounds in the city are an important part of Helsinki and the city’s urban culture.
Playground Loru will introduce Helsinki visitors to an open city that encourages people of different ages to meet each other and to be active in their everyday lives. The entire city is an environment for learning, in which all actors build culture and promote children’s citizen rights.
At Playground Loru (the Finnish for rhyme), tales and rhymes encourage people of all ages to join supervised games and to enter the world of fairytale.
Loru playgroung (Copyright: City of Helsinki)
The Children’s World on the third floor offers the chance to chill out and immerse yourself in stories. For children, there are books and other materials, such as films and board games. The Children’s World has a cosy story room for storytelling moments and events, as well as an events room.
For children, Oodi organises many free-of-charge events such as nursery rhyme and story moments, concerts and themed days. Most of the events are provided in co-operation with organisations and other professionals in the field of children’s culture.
Designing for children
In 2012, “Central library dreams” campaign with citizens has highlighted the following activities:
• A place for children, families and dialogue between generations
• Events for kids
• Storytime in different languages
• Space to explore, climb, crawl, jump
• Musical education, music-related events
• Reading and stories are the main purpose for libraries
• Games and playfulness
• Inspirational activities for young people
Oodi’s children playground carpet (Copyright: www.lapsenmaailma.fi)
Satu (fairy tale) Carpet – Marika Maijala
“I wanted to design a green carpet for Oodi, on which small and bigger librarians could linger, read and imagine their own stories. I borrowed Finnish miracles from the Pasila library for illustration and let them go in my head messed up. In general, I like to imagine most of the creation of the characters and therefore I picked my favorite characters from the fairy tales of the carpet: the ghostly giant, the boy whose horn grew up when he had eaten the magic, the children who turned into birds, the girl who walked on the iron boots. The storyline of fairy tales, like a library, is varied, not just for princesses and peasants. ”
The Satu carpet is a very attractive space where families are gathering and children meeting each other. Foam modules are available for playing and illustrated books can also be brought to be read on the carpet. It is also and nice and safe place for babies and toddlers to exercise!
(Texts sources: www.oodihelsinki.fi/en/ and “The story of Oodi” City of Helsinki)
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