12 OODI LIBRARY, HELSINKI © Tuomas Uusheimo
an innovative steel bridge which houses its second floor, holds the third floor up, and allows the ground floor to be column-free. The library is owned, developed and operated by the city of Helsinki, and is part of the city’s almost 40-strong network of library facilities. Not intended to be the administrative core or focused on the traditional storage of books – with the city’s collection already existing in other buildings and available through online booking – the vision was to create a publicly open and contemporary centrepiece for the area, concentrating more on the amenities offered. To fulfil this vision, ALA Architects were hired through a rigorous 548-entrant open design competition, which was anonymous up until the end of the project’s second phase. The architect’s design now having been realised, the building responds to local calls for a new public space, providing visitors, residents and commuters alike a place to meet and relax.
One remaining site © Iwan Baan
The site that was chosen is in the centre of Helsinki, just across the road from the stone- clad columns of The Parliament House, and surrounded by multiple large scale cultural attractions such as the Helsinki Music Centre and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Sitting in the most densely urbanised area of the city, the library is surrounded by office space to the north, the main railway and metro stations to the south, the city park to the east, and urban areas to the west, including the aforementioned cultural and political buildings. Formerly a rail depot, the transport functions on the site were moved further away from the centre, and it was left as empty brownfield land. Inaccessible and undeveloped, according to the project architects it was the last site left available in the ‘heart’ of downtown Helsinki. The area around the site is fairly densely planned, and mostly comprises 6-8 storey office and commercial developments, which residents have reportedly begun to tire of. “Being the final block of the masterplan for the area, there was public pressure to not turn this into another headquarters, but instead to create a public space for the citizens,” says Antti Nousjoki, principal at ALA. “Alongside this new public building, a large square was planned facing the Houses of Parliament, creating a centre for public and civic institutions, so this was the final piece of that puzzle.”
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK ADF MAY 2019
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