Keskustakirjasto 2017

“Now it’s time for some culture,” declares Deputy Mayor Ritva Viljanen exuberantly when speaking of the Central Library. The voice of the new “mother” of the Central Library project rings with such enthusiasm and joy that it is easy to see the endeavour reaching new heights in these hands. “The Töölönlahti area will become a highly-valued part of the city and the number one place for a variety of demographic groups,” Mrs. Viljanen says, contemplating the visitor numbers of the Central Library and the Olympic Stadium, which is to be renovated. “After the wars, we built schools, then banks in the best locations in town and then shopping centres. Now it’s time to focus on non-commercial buildings and facilities – centres of culture and knowledge for everyone to enjoy. I would describe the Central Library as a house of Finnish knowledge. Read more »

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 »

People love listening to stories. But what is it like to be a storyteller by profession? Read more »

The Danish architect and researcher Helle Juul wants to combine the library and the university campus into a new, vibrant urban environment. Read more »

“Library provides content products and services that mostly meet clients’ requirements. Library has grown a fine charisma – something that simply cannot be bought. But, if you have latent special talents and don’t tell anyone about them, how can people make use of them?” comments interior designer Pablo Riquelme from the Kuudes Kerros design agency, smilingly.

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What is the Central Library buzz among Aalto University students of architecture?

During the autumn period, Keskustakirjasto.fi took a look at a seminar for students of architecture at Aalto University that yielded a number of impressive and interesting designs for the Central Library. The designs are now completed, and the students may take a collective sigh of relief after all their hard work. What kinds of thoughts did the concrete design provoke within the students?

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