Libraries through the lens Library of the Finnish National Pensions Institute, Helsinki
OUR latest Libraries though the Lens from Thomas Guignard takes us to Finland – but this is not one of the latest super-libraries that have become a mainstay of Scandi- navian culture in recent years. Instead we are transported back to 1956 and Finnish architect Alvar Aalto’s library for the country’s National Pension’s Insti- tute. Aalto designed a total of 19 libraries in his career – “a task he dedicated himself to with his characteristic thoughtfulness”, according to Thomas.
“His designs always pay great attention to light, preferably indirect natural light, as well as breaking up the interior landscape into different levels, allowing visitors a sweeping view of the library from the upper levels while offering a cocoon of privacy to readers occupying sunken work areas.
October-November 2019
The prototype of his approach is the public library in Vyborg, Russia, a town that at the time Aalto started working on its library was called Viipuri and part of Finland. This building plays a central part in the archi- tect’s oeuvre, as it is while working on this project that he developed his distinctive approach to modernism, and its application to libraries in particular.”
The Vyborg/Viipuri library has recently undergone a renovation and Thomas was especially keen to visit it while on a trip to Finland. However Russian visa requirements meant the visit was out of reach, despite being just two hours away by train. The Library of the Finnish National Pensions Institute was “the next best thing”.
Thomas says: “Completed in 1956, 20 eventful years after the Viipuri library,
Aalto’s library of the National Pensions Institute (Kela) is a miniature replica of Viipuri. It is as if Aalto wanted to recreate his early masterpiece, which now found itself out of reach after the trauma of the Second World War and the loss of that part of Finland to Russia. The Kela library features a similar sunken central space, the same grid of round skylights with their characteristic rounded edges designed to even the light out, and share many other smaller architectural similar- ities, such as leather-clad handrails and door handles. The result is an intimate and welcoming space, basked in the most wonderful soft natural light, perfect for reading.”
The library used to be accessible directly from the street, but is now only open to the public on pre-arranged tours.
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