Oodi Helsinki Central Library

Designed by ALA Architects, the Oodi Helsinki Central Library embraces progressive values and technologies by providing innovative services alongside a variety of books – graciously topped with a spanning open-plan reading room under a curvaceous wood, glass, and steel roof punctured by circular skylights.

Oodi Helsinki Central Library holds a hugely significant site on the core of Helsinki as it faces three equally significant spaces of the city. On its front lies the Finnish parliament building, a public space flanked by multiple civic institutions, and the Eduskuntatalo right across the Kansalaistori square.

The key concept for the library revolved around an interplay between its three separate, individual floors – a busy ground floor that brings the town square into the interiors, an enclosed in-between floor for additional services, and a “book heaven” on its upper levels.

From the inside, its design sprawls out to create a dialogue between the site and the building’s functional goals as a library. Hence, the public plaza that started in front of the building continues to its interiors – merging with the library’s built-in meeting and experience-focused spaces. Attractive, accommodating, and comprehensive, the public spaces abundant on its ground floor are prime examples of busy, robust, and zero-threshold spaces frequently updated for quick walkthroughs and visits.

Despite its reputation as a library, however, the 17,250-sqm building actually contains a relatively small number of books, specifically around 100,000. Instead, the majority of its in-between volume is dedicated to public amenities such as recording studios, a cinema, a maker space, and areas dedicated to hosting events and exhibitions. These spaces represent broader experimentation on how Finnish libraries can offer more services other than simply loaning books – which was made possible by reducing on-site storage and consulting regular visitors on how they access to culture.

On its top floor comes the traditional, serene library atmosphere that serves as a calm and meditative space overlooking the active districts of central Helsinki. Below its reading spaces lies a majestic and unobstructed view of the surrounding parks and cityscape.

Its multi-nature spatial concept has been made possible through a building approach similar to that of an inhabited bridge, pinned with two massive steel arches spanning over 100 meters – resulting in a fully-enclosed and column-free façade, with rooms clustered throughout the structure, and a reading room open to the structure above.