Sanomahouse-Kiasma-Music-ho
16.4.2012 | Spotted

See the Central Library! The exhibition of the competition entries is open 10.-16.5.

The City of Helsinki is holding an open international architectural competition titled “The Heart of the Metropolis” for the new Central Library. The first phase of the competition ends on 16 April. The competition entries will be exhibited at the Jätkäsaari Bunker between 10 and 16 May. The exhibition will be open on weekdays between 11 am and 7 pm and on weekends between 12 noon and 6 pm. Visitors will have the opportunity to comment on the competition entries. Read more »

Virve Miettinen Comment

DSC_0410
12.4.2012 | Together!

The Weighty Words of Early Education Professionals

The workshop designed for pedagogues produced numerous ideas for turning the Central Library into a picnic place for children and families.

”An urban campfire site for urban families, a meeting place for generations…A rooftop garden for cultivating plants and literature…A large, inner-city playground in the library courtyard…”

Helsinki’s Annantalo provided shelter from a snowstorm and a spark for a Central Library project, planned by a group of professionals working in the field of early education. What kind of space could the new library be for children, families, people of all generations? The Idepro workshop sought to answer this question. The group included operators from various fields of children’s culture, including Koulukino, Mediametka, Annantalo and word art schools. Each group was asked to select four most important areas to be observed in the planning of the Central Library. The enthusiastic discussion highlighted four themes. Read more »

Virve Miettinen Comment

AITO-cultural-tourism-authe
6.4.2012 | Interviews

AITO travel services bring the city closer to you

Queuing at a museum entrance in the pouring rain. Attempting to get video footage of a must-see tourist attraction over the tops of other tourists’ heads. Trying to look enraptured while thinking you should have got the cheaper tickets to go to Mallorca instead. Not speaking a word to the locals and writing a few post cards that praise the superiority of European metropolises’ museum supply (Mondo Travel Magazine 2/2002). Sound familiar? Not to worry! There are others who want more from travelling. May Kim’s MA thesis in the field of service design, titled The Central Library as the stepping stone of Helsinki, introduces the AITO service concept that can help tourists in Helsinki to get a glimpse of places as yet undiscovered by others. The thesis has been shortlisted for the Grafia Best of the Year award. Read more »

Virve Miettinen Comment

Keskustakirjasto-nuoret-4
2.4.2012 | Together!

The Central Library through the camera lens: young people’s perspective

The janitor provides directions: ‘Just take the lift to the fourth floor!’ and soon we are seated on the cosy top floor of activity centre Happi, our eyes scaling the rooftops of Helsinki as we wait for the Central Library youngsters’ workshop to begin. ‘The last episode of Putous was no good,’ reports an upper-secondary-school-aged workshop participant sitting next to me. The youngster flashes a beautiful smile and gazes expectantly toward the video projector light. The theme of the day is reflected on the screen: ‘The Central Library – a future workshop for young people, method: video opinion essays’. Read more »

Virve Miettinen Comment

Keskustakirjasto-nuoret
2.4.2012 | Together!

Building the Central Library openly together

This year, the Central Library project ball is in the court of the city’s inhabitants and the project partner groups: what kind of library or ‘urban town hall’ do they want to see in Töölönlahti in 2017? This is genuine interaction – a building that is still under construction, yet already lives through its users. Read more »

Virve Miettinen Comment