A total of 3,221 city residents voted for their favourite library of the future between 23 March and 7 April at the Central Library exhibition held in Meilahti Art Museum, on touch screens in central Helsinki, online and in social media. This second phase of the architectural competition had six entries and the winner of the public vote was The Diagonal Agora with 984 votes (31%), the runner-up was an entry called Käännös with 644 votes (20%) and third place went to Kasi with 462 votes (14%). The results of the vote and accompanying comments will be summarised for the competition panel of judges.

The top two entries, The Diagonal Agora and Käännös, were clearly distinct from the other entries garnering more than 51% of all votes. Competition for placing behind the top two was more even. Third place went to Kasi only two votes ahead of fourth place, an entry called The Heartbeat of Helsinki  Fifth place went to Liblab with 347 votes (11%) and last place to Wave/1 which received 324 votes (10%). Tuula Haavisto, Director of Library Services for the City of Helsinki and a member of the panel, was surprised by the outcome. ”All the people monitoring the exhibition voting reported that the distribution between the most and least favourite entries was very even and that is why I’m surprised to learn the top two entries had such a clear lead”, Haavisto commented. 

Comments capture the different nature of the competition entries

Comments given during voting paint a clear picture of the different profiles of the competition entries and how each of them would suit the Töölönlahti area. More than 100 comments were given. The winner of the voting, an entry named The Diagonal Agora was characterised as a robust entry that combines retro appeal with modern features. Its diagonal concept of twisting piles of books was considered whimsical but, on the other hand, others stated that the structure was too overpowering. The runner-up entry, Käännös, was praised for the fact that the entry does not suffer from the elongated shape of the library plot, but puts it to use in an imaginative way. Many also applauded the choice of wood as the construction material for Käännös and felt that it suited the otherwise glassy landscape of Töölönlahti. The rest of the comments can be viewed at the Central Library competition website.

Most vote for their favourite on a touch screen

A total of 2,185 city residents voted for their favourite entry on a touch screen. Based on feedback given in social media, voting on a touch screen was considered easy and fun. A dozen touch screens were placed around Helsinki city centre for voting. The interactive voting on screens in the street was planned as a collaborative effort between Forum Virium Helsinki, Clear Channel and the City of Helsinki.

The goal is a house full of smiles where the users are in a pivotal role

The winning entry of the architectural competition will be selected in June 2013. The goal is to create a library of the future that is able to respond to the technical and cultural changes of modern society. The aim is to build a public space that will function as a good user interface for creative living. One building will host a multitude of functions: it will function as a beloved house of knowledge, skills and stories, a place with digital know-how, a communal district centre and a third space in between home and work. The ideas and opinions of city residents will be in constant demand as the library of the future is developed. They will also be collected and considered in the future.

Find out more!

• facebook.com/keskustakirjasto
• https://twitter.com/keskustakirj
• Images and comments on competition entries
• Central Library competition programme

The top six entries in the Central Library architectural competition are displayed on touch screens in the city centre and online at keskustakirjasto.fi/aanesta from 23 March to 7 April. You can easily browse the entries and vote for your favourite. In addition, Helsinki residents can comment on the entries on the competition website. The public’s opinion will be presented to the panel of judges and published online. So far, we have received 726 votes. There is about one week left to participate. The competition entries and their scale models are on display in Meilahti Art Museum until 5 April (closed for Easter from 29 March to 1 April).

We are looking forward to receiving comments from city residents

Does one of the entries stand out from the rest and, if so, why? Which entry is the best fit for the cityscape at Töölönlahti Bay? City residents are welcome to convey their thoughts and ideas to us at the Central Library competition website. Some strong opinions have already been heard, such as the following: “The modern use of wood material creates a welcome contrast to the surrounding concrete buildings. Go Käännös!”, “The shape (of Kasi) pleases the eye and is a great fit for the location. It features elements of the Linnanmäki roller coaster, the starry sky and the waves of the sea: an excellent choice for Helsinki” or “We need this (LibLab) instead of the boring stability of basic Finnish decisions.”

Whether travelling on foot, by bike or on rollerblades – vote in the city centre

Voting on touch screens is easy – even with your mittens on. There are a dozen touch screens around Helsinki city centre. You can find them, for example, on Mikonkatu, in front of the Post House and Kiasma, between Kappeli and the Market Square, in the Paasikivi square, in front of Lasipalatsi and opposite the Swedish Theatre. The interactive voting on street screens was designed as a collaborative effort between Forum Virium Helsinki, Clear Channel and the City of Helsinki. Forum Virium aims to promote a more extensive plan for how touch screens could open up a new user interface for the city. Earlier this spring, the screens introduced the library’s e-book services.

What does the library of the future mean to city residents?

The Central Library project is based on the idea that more than architects’ pens are needed to create a new, functional library at Töölönlahti Bay: the opinions and needs of city residents are incorporated into the design process. We are interested in what city residents think about a new-age library. “For justifiable reasons, Helsinki has set out to find something wholly new, a model for future libraries. There are not many equivalent projects anywhere in the world, so we need to develop the concept ourselves. In this work, citizens are very welcome to share their ideas,” says Tuula Haavisto, Director of Libraries.

The discussion continues online!

• Vote for the competition entries at keskustakirjasto.fi/aanesta
• Comment on the entries on the competition website
• Central Library website, keskustakirjasto.fi
• facebook.com/keskustakirjasto
• twitter.com/keskustakirj, #kirjastonayttely
• Press images of the competition entries

Six architectural concepts to have advanced to Stage Two in The Heart of the Metropolis, the architectural competition for the design of the new Helsinki Central Library, will be on display at the Art Museum Meilahti from March 23 to April 5.

The six concepts were first selected in November 2012 from over 540 works originally received. The competitors have now had three months to refine their work further, along the guidelines provided by the jury. The works will still be displayed under aliases.

• Explore the concepts!

The Finnish public library system is unique

Chairperson of the jury, deputy mayor in charge of personnel and cultural affairs, Ritva Viljanen, considers the Central Library project to be of importance not just to Helsinki residents, but to all of Finland.

The Finnish public library system is unique. One does not see this level of library usage, or such an importance given to libraries elsewhere. This must be appreciated and further developed, says Viljanen, who will be opening the exhibition.

The Central Library will provide the free public spaces the residents of the city have long hoped for.

The Central Library is seen as a public building open to all, a cradle for civilization, a new Sampo which creates welfare and know-how, and improves possibilities for participatory citizen action.

The jury will select a winner from the six concepts now on show. The winner will be announced in June 2013.

Comments and votes welcome

The six different concepts can be commented on both at the actual exhibition and online. There are also city screens located in several locations around Helsinki, where it is possible to vote for one’s favourite concept. The opinion of the public will be introduced to the jury and also published online.

• Comment!
• Vote!

Relax in the pop-up-library!

The exhibition area also contains a pop-up library, complete with reading chairs, where it is possible to familiarize oneself with library services of the future.

In the pop-up library everyone can choose a reading chair to suit his or her taste. The chairs come with fun intellectual “snacks”: activities, stories and information, says Viljanen.

• The exhibition is open in the Art Museum Meilahti (Tamminiementie 6) from March 23 to April 5. Opening hours Noob to 7 pm. On Easter weekend (March 29 to April 1) the exhibition is closed. Free entrance.

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Crisp morning air gusts in through the windows, with the flip charts and post-it notes fluttering in the breeze. Markers in different colours have been scattered around the room in deliberate patterns. Everything is ready. People start to arrive, a little early, nervous, expectant, excited. Soon, some of them are already at the table tapping on their laptops, one takes out a knitting project – here we already have something quick and electronic and something hand-made and slow side-by-side, just like it should be in the maker culture. The first lively conversation is already in progress, and the back row is buzzing.

Lead users in hacking, fablabbing and maker culture, people who live the future trends already years before the mainstream, have been invited into the workshop. The first impression they give is already a multi-faceted image of the different subcultures of DIY and making stuff. The people involved include experts from IT firms to festivals, freelance creators to entrepreneurs, civil activists to coders – everything from ties to fuzzy hairdos, from people wearing Woody Allen glasses to sneaker aficionados.

This group has gathered in the Aalto University facilities to design together a makerspace suitable for a library. A makerspace is a communal space for people making stuff, where there are different kinds of tools and equipment available for making things, modelling, learning and creating ideas. Nerds, geeks, DIY and handicraft people coexist there. This year, the library is opening a makerspace as one of the pilot projects in participatory budgeting at the Meeting Point, and it will be further developed in the Central Library that will open in 2017.

The maker culture is about tinkering, hacking, making and fixing

Soon everyone has got their “hands dirty”, working full blast with post-it notes stuck to their fingertips. There is a lot to do – for example, it should be mapped where making stuff goes and what kind of places there are for making things in 2020. A library could really be a good communal growing medium for doing things, hacking, personalisation, crafting, making stuff, tinkering, coding, fixing, sewing, recycling and inspiration – all this comes together under the maker culture umbrella. A space in the library, open to everyone, could offer an easily approachable route for user-oriented innovation, exploratory learning, testing and prototyping.  

Great data on small post-it notes

Developing services is usually still believed to be mainly a job for experts. In the lead user workshop, this stereotype was turned upside down and the users were brought into the centre of design. And they had a great deal of work to do. A tailored lead user workshop model was used, in which the morning focused on identifying the trends in maker culture and the afternoon was dedicated to finding solutions. The purpose of the workshop was to investigate the boundary conditions of a makerspace suitable for a library – to create a kind of a requirement specification. People worked both alone and together to map out trends. First, the participants had a short period of time to list trends in speed note style. After this, they did open space work. The afternoon was used to model a good makerspace in practice. In the Aalto FabLab, post-it notes were used to note and tag prerequisites and possibilities directly on the walls, materials, tools and equipment.

A test of cognitive capacity

Plenty of post-it notes were used. Each participant received stacks of inspirational cards of different colours, already divided into categories. The categories were “technology”, “activities” “sharing/organizing/ipr”, “safety/risks” “other” and “sustainability”. They functioned as visual clues during the whole day, and acted as a reminder of the different aspects of maker culture. The categories also made analysing the results easier. The participants were clearly interested in not only the subject, but also the method. At times, everyone’s cognitive capacity was being tested and the atmosphere was like in a game of ice hockey: there was plenty of speed and good action, but you had to be able to keep your eye on the puck. In the end, an enormous amount of information in the form of post-its and recordings had been gathered for creating a good makerspace.                                                           

A big thank you to all participants for your ambitious work! The work you have done will take us far.  

The results from the workshop are being analysed right now! If you are interested in studying the results in picture formats, excel and pdf formats, please contact Virve Miettinen, virve.miettinen@hel.fi .

 
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The proposed designs selected for the second stage of the Helsinki Central Library architectural competition will be put on public display at Helsinki Art Museum Meilahti.

Heart of the Metropolis, the architectural competition on the Helsinki Central Library, is part of the programme of World Design Capital Helsinki 2012. The six designs selected for the second stage of the competition will be on public display from 23 March to 5 April. The public is welcome to give feedback on the designs.  

The architects and teams of the second competition stage have been given an opportunity to develop their designs further on the basis of guidelines from the jury. The exhibition in Meilahti will include images of the reworked designs and architectural models of the designs. Visitors can give feedback both at the exhibition and online. Feedback can also be given on digital city screens located in various sections of Helsinki.

The public shows high interest in the architectural designs

The first stage of the Helsinki Central Library architectural competition was launched on 5 January 2012. More than 540 designs were submitted from all over the world.

All designs were put on display at the former harbour warehouse Bunkkeri in Jätkäsaari in the spring of 2012. The display was highly popular among the general public and, as a result, the display’s duration was extended. The popular choice was design number 126 entitled “Paper Sheets”.

Architectural competition nearing conclusion 

The architectural competition progressed to the second stage in the autumn of 2012, and the six designs invited to the second stage were announced. These six designs were selected on the basis of architectural and functional merits as well as compliance with the Helsinki cityscape. The jury considered that they could be developed further to meet the technological and ecological goals set for the library. The six designs can be seen on the Helsinki Central Library website.

The jury will pick the winner from among the six designs. The winner will be announced in June 2013. The competition is organized by the City of Helsinki.

Heart of the Metropolis – International architectural competition on the Helsinki Central Library as part of the programme of World Design Capital Helsinki 2012

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• Helsinki Central Library on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/keskustakirjasto
• Helsinki Central Library on Twitter https://twitter.com/keskustakirj

The doors to public buildings are often heavy. What if you could not open the library door by yourself? Sometimes the service desk is quite high. What if it was too high for you to see the things placed on it? Many were touched by The Punk Syndrome, the hit documentary about a disabled punk band, but could a book lending machine do the same?

The library is meant for everyone. It is a social space that enables people to actively participate in society and communication. In the library, you are welcome to come as you are and do interesting things for free.

In order to be all this for everyone, the library has to be accessible. The disabled too must be ensured smooth and effortless access to the library. This is an opportunity for the new Central Library to pave the way and set an example for other new and renovated constructions.

WHEN PUBLIC SPACE DOES NOT WORK

Eero Heinonen, accessibility planner of the Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities, knows everything about the library of dreams. “As an activity centre, the library enables better social participation, including for the disabled. The library offers good facilities for studying and different hobbies.”

For the disabled, however, a public space is not always an unproblematic place. “I have noticed that often signposts are poorly located and buttons are too high. Doors may open in a difficult direction and, if there is a ramp, it may be too steep. Toilets are cramped. Sometimes there may be a window at the end of a hallway that creates backlighting glare. Large glass surfaces are not adequately marked. A floor-to-ceiling mirror may also interfere with the perception of the space.”

Pirjo Tujula is the City of Helsinki’s project manager responsible for accessibility, and she has also identified problem areas. “The parking spaces for people with reduced mobility are often poorly located, signposts may be unclear or completely missing, and the front door may be difficult to open. The service desk may be difficult to find or too high, and there may not be an induction loop to accommodate persons with impaired hearing.”

Chief Architect Erja Väyrynen of the Ministry of the Environment is a member of the Advisory board of the ESKE Accessibility Centre, and she emphasises the significance of the entrance. “The role of the entrance in the functionality of the entire building is too often forgotten. Even first-time visitors must be able to immediately identify the main entrance. The entrance must be inviting, as if it were pulling the visitor in accessibly – this makes the visitor feel like a welcome guest.”

CENTRAL LIBRARY SETTING AN EXAMPLE

Planning Officer Sami Virtanen of the Federation of Hard of Hearing discusses the situation for persons with impaired hearing. “As I see it, the most important things for library patrons with impaired hearing are appropriate listening conditions and smooth interaction with library personnel. This benefits from friendly and considerate face-to-face customer service. In meeting rooms, echo should be minimised and noise should be reduced by using soft materials.”

Virtanen hopes the Central Library will set a national example concerning accessibility solutions. “The library will be used for decades, and its role as a pioneer in space planning and in the modifiability of spaces is a great opportunity.”

General Secretary Pirkko Mahlamäki of the Finnish Disability Forum points out how well the new building of the university library is designed. “It has roomy toilets for the disabled, and the service features other accessibility innovations as well. For example, one lending machine is placed on a low desk that is within reach even from a wheelchair.”

Mahlamäki hopes that the voices of the disabled will be heard before the Central Library is built. “This year, the theme of the Association of People with Physical Disabilities is ‘Easy Mobility’. In this respect, it would be good to organise events in advance to discuss the easy accessibility of the library. The current home library service alone only meets some of the needs.”

CHALLENGES IN THE TÖÖLÖNLAHTI AREA

“I am confident the location planned for the Central Library is good. There might be problems with parking and traffic”, says Eero Heinonen. “A central location may involve challenges with the number and location of the parking spaces for people with reduced mobility as well as pick-up and drop-off traffic: there must be enough room for stopping safely and accessibly but reasonably close to the entrance.”

According to Sami Virtanen, the Töölönlahti area is an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. “The accessibility of outside areas should be considered as well. For persons with impaired hearing, it is easier to have a conversation in a park setting. I hope that the library yard will support easy mobility.”

Virtanen has a proposition for while we are waiting for the construction of the library. “The city could build a pavilion like the one in at the Design Museum during the World Design Capital year. It offered a good venue for city events and for more casual meetings. This ‘Second Pavilion’ could be located near the library and accommodate the different seasons. It could host all kinds of events while we are waiting.”

ACTIVITIES AND ACTION!

The representatives of different organisations for the disabled hope to see a great deal of activity in the Central Library. “Discussions, natural interaction between different people, activity workshops”, suggests Sami Virtanen. “Public service announcements on hearing impairment could reach people who have not previously faced different aspects of disability. We could set a kind of design challenge for planning and simulating issues caused by hearing impairment and challenge people to find solutions together.”

“The library could offer stimulating workspaces: different rooms for relaxing as well as for brainstorming. The stimulation could utilise projection technology for displaying different situations and photos on the wall.”

Pirkko Mahlamäki is hoping to see close collaboration between different organisers. “The Finnish Disability Forum will gladly plan events for the library. Study groups, peer support meetings, book clubs and member meetings would be great for the facility. The Support Centre for Disabled Immigrants could also show what it does.

“It would also be great to supplement the collection with more material on the disabled and their lives, and organisation magazines. And of course lots of art and culture too!”

When people gather together to discuss a book they all have read, a unique atmosphere and kind of friendship is born. The multiple inner worlds contained in a single book flow together in speech through the group’s experiences. A similar atmosphere could be experienced on 23 January in the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art where people working in the field of literature joined the Helsinki Central Library’s “Kirjallinen aamupäivä” event. They included bloggers, publishing managers, authors, poets, teachers of literary art, Finnish teachers, reporters, media folk, and representatives of literature associations, organisations and institutions. All in all, the event attracted more than 50 book and literature lovers. Together their knowledge and talent created an entire new life for the book – with new forms of collaboration, concepts and points of view.

The culture of doing things together à la literature folk

The “Kirjallinen aamupäivä” workshops focused on planning a good future for the book and discussing ways in which the Central Library could act as the centre for the book and literary art. The Kiasma seminar room was filled with an enthusiastic buzz. The idea of creating an interesting literary culture in Helsinki did not fail in its idealistic nature. The promising project was clearly backed by people whose support can help make it reality.

“I get easily excited about good projects that feel important to me. Excitement is a great resource when different people want to create new things by working together. Of course, there are already many on-going collaboration projects in the field of literature, but the involvement of the Central Library could inspire the entire industry and bring it together. The goal should be set on supporting the entire field of culture, and improving the daily lives of people through wide-scale cultural collaboration”, says Laura Serkosalo, Executive Director of Nuoren Voiman Liitto and one of the workshop participants. “I am impressed with what a great and inspiring opportunity the Central Library provides, and what diverse, extensive but sensible discussion with open hearts and minds is already taking place. This is an opportunity to bring together all the major arts and cultural history actors in the Töölönlahti bay area. It is becoming a truly open space”, says Minna Joenniemi from Yleisradio.

How will literary trends affect the future?

The event was started with talks by Library Director Maija Berndtson, and former Minister of Culture and author Claes Andersson, who in 1998 first proposed building a new library in downtown Helsinki, in place of the current Parliament Annex.

The first mutual workshop discussed the hottest literary trends and phenomena of today and how they will affect the future. A talk by poet Teemu Manninen from publishing house Poesia outlined the change in the material aspect of literature. Electronic formats can complement the book: they can enrich it with audio, video or background material. They can turn the book into an interactive programme. In the wildest concepts, the book can even live a new life in the hands of a reader who can affect its content. “Changes in the material aspect of literature can also change us as readers and recipients” according to Teemu. Sakari Heiskanen of Gummerus Publishers was interested in the readers’ behaviour as consumers: how can we respond to the development of diverse groups of readers? What could experience shopping mean for books? Have we considered well the different contexts in which texts are read and consumed today? Author Laura Ruohonen brought up a paradoxical phenomenon: as reading is becoming a communal and social experience, people are starting journals, and fans are becoming networked, but in the process less time is being spent on actual reading.

Turning the Central Library into a house of stories – ideas for doing things together

The Open Space workshop discussed models for the “renaissance” of literature and different ways for literature people to work together in the Central Library.

 The discussion produced a lot of ideas, such as the following:

• Connecting with the audience, and making the work of authors, translators and illustrators less opaque. Where ideas come from and what kind of background research is required
• An audiobook service (customer reads the book him or herself), “Kirja lahjaksi” gift service
• A space for experiential literary art instruction; flexible and modifiable; freeing the book from its cover
• More experimental and unconventional literature events – this involves adjusting the opening hours, after 8 p.m. the experience could be different
• A place for regular book publication events that the audience, publishing houses and authors can attend, e.g. publication breakfast events
• A communal book-writing project, free text/fan fiction, e.g. short stories are easy to write together; alternative endings/beginnings, diving inside a character
• An author’s workspace in the library: “artist in house/in-house artist”
• An author/editor could provide feedback and comments on customers’ texts through the library
• Helsinki does not yet have a House of Literature (see the International House of Literature Network and, for example, Litteraturhuset in Oslo), could the Central Library be turned into one?
• Examining content through common themes, mixing fact with fiction (e.g. the topical great famine as a theme), interaction
• Suggestions by literature lovers; you do not have to be an expert to suggest something you love to your peers
• Organising regular events and creating habits
• Participating in reminiscing; grandparents and grandchildren together; saving memories through digitisation
• Enjoying joint performances by several authors; confrontation; expressing differing views is encouraged

The Central Library is collecting a network of influential people! Let us hope that collaboration can effectively move the project forward. Come and join us – the Central Library already offers you a chance to meet the people working hard to make the city a better place.

Find out more!

• Ideas born during the Open Space workshop
• Unelmaverstas interviews Claes Andersson

Besides being a space, the Central Library should also be a tool, platform and publication channel for the activities of individuals and various collectives. “Vacant space just for you, your association, organisation, community or group. Come and fill up the space, animate it, make it your own, interact, spend time together.” Perhaps the Central Library could advertise the opportunity provided by the public urban space to residents, users, creators and participants in these words. The metropolitan area is bustling with active people whose arrival in great numbers at the Central Library is anticipated with great enthusiasm.

We asked for proposals from civic organisation and communities as to how they would like to utilise the facilities and opportunities provided by the Central Library.

Public space is also yours

Dodo ry is an environmental organisation focusing on global environmental problems and city planning, among other things. Saija Vuola presents a couple of projects that could very well be carried out in the facilities of the Central Library and its surroundings. “For example, our Customisation Workshop and Urban Farming projects have already served in diverse non-commercial campaigns. The Customisation Workshop will hopefully one day have a space where people can fix things, do crafts, sew, update and decorate things as well as learn from each other.”

The idea behind the Customisation Workshop is to share tools and facilities, which makes the project both ecological and communal. “In the Customisation Workshop, information is passed from one generation to the next, immigrants share the craftsmanship of their people with others and people holding a wrench for the first time learn how to fix their bike,” says Vuola. The idea is very suitable for the library facilities and the getting people to meet each other.

“Another very suitable project is the Urban Farming project that makes almost any space more beautiful and easier to grasp.” In Urban Farming, anyone can set up a vegetable patch anywhere they like. Vuola suggests that herbs cultivated in such way in the vicinity of the library could be used for preparing sandwiches in the library’s café. “People would feel like this public space also belonged to them. A green environment that you can influence increases well-being.”

Art pedagogic mission in providing experiences

Markus Kåhre is part of Checkpoint Helsinki, an active network of art professionals. Its purpose is to produce internationally significant modern art in Helsinki and create a functional co-operation model in the art structures of Helsinki. Kåhre is immediately excited about the possibilities offered by the library.

“Libraries offer the most interesting co-operation channels for Checkpoint. We live in times when art forms are increasingly being mixed with each other and enriching each other. In this respect, libraries are in the front line, for example in the audio-visual field. The Central Library would indeed be a great place for showcasing works of art that aim to interact with the public or require time and peace to fully appreciate them.” Kåhre emphasises that art would not be a mere visual decoration but that the library would have an art pedagogical mission to provide experiences. “The facilities of the library could be used to open up the works of art as comprehensive processes and not just as end results.”

Kåhre seeks to create art in deeds and general like to try new things. “I believe that Checkpoint and the Central Library will co-operate over the years by showcasing works of art, opening archives and implementing large-scale festival-like entities together with other institutions. I am certain that the co-operation will lead to things that cannot even be imagined yet – and that unexpectedness is key!”

Plot party?

It will be a while before the Central Library building is erected. How could we make the most of the plot before the completion of the building?

“The Customisation Workshop organises various workshops, such as bike repairing, and these workshops could very well be organised on the plot of land,” says Saija Vuola of Dodo ry. “The Urban Farming project could also be carried out in the form of urban farmers providing training, handing out seed bombs and planning patches. Communal activity spreads the seed.”

Markus Kåhre from Checkpoint sees the Central Library as a centre of culture. “The library, Kiasma and Helsinki Music Centre form a triangle that will hopefully form a true dynamic trio. During the warm seasons, there would be something happening outdoors all the time. These activities should be launched before the completion of the building. Animated cultural life requires places where the public and creator can easily come together and meet. It is essential to claim space for culture.”

That is true. Let’s design and build together a library that is not a gated space within the city or a “supermarket in the middle of nowhere”, but a refinery of ideas and thoughts that opens out in several directions and interacts with its environment, partners and residents.

A smiling house and a ‘yes space’, where everybody can find a perspective on life, whether they are working on an exhibition, amigurumi, urban vegetable patch, publication, demo or job application.

The Shared Library of Communities series of articles will continue at www.keskustakirjasto.fi in 2013.

Text: Siru Valleala and Virve Miettinen
Photos: Simo Karisalo/Helsinki Festival, Kimmo Kivelä/Dodo ry, Checkpoint Helsinki

“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.

Viljanen’s message to those who oppose the construction of new buildings is that Helsinki city centre is still a work in progress. “Public space is being constructed layer by layer in different eras. We are still in the middle of building a new Helsinki. The planned site for the library has been allocated for public use. Do we want a new shopping centre in that location? We are building history and setting our sights on the future. The Töölönlahti area will not feel complete as an open public space unless we supplement it with a space that is available to all, like the Central Library.”

Ritva Viljanen, what would you like to see and hear upon stepping into the Central Library? “Lots of people, voices and a bustle of activity. I’d also like to immediately feel like I’ve entered a house of books and literature. It would ideally be a welcoming place to which it would be easy to return. The library could have daily discussion panels, since there’s no shortage of interesting topics and speakers. I’d definitely go to the library to hear experts and enthusiasts from various fields.”

I have faith in the book

Ritva Viljanen describes herself as a voracious consumer of culture. “I simply can’t commute without music. My iPod contains about 2,000 songs. I attend cultural events on a weekly basis, and theatre is very dear to me.” For Mrs. Viljanen, literature provides respite from day-to-day life, inspiring journeys into the imagination and important information. “My own book collection is quite chaotic. I have lots of books and bookshelves. Yet, I’m in need of a new book shelf! I’m ashamed to say that, even though I have a vast collection of cookbooks, it’s such a mess that I normally download recipes off the internet!”

Mrs. Viljanen reads at least a few pages every night and admits to reading several books at a time. “If I think about libraries a hundred years from now, the environment is sure to be heavily digital, with robots and such. Still, I have faith in the book as a physical object. After all, it has survived for centuries so why wouldn’t it in the future, too?”

The new library must stand the test of time, and Ritva Viljanen knows this. “In two decades, the Central Library must still look like an architecturally valuable building. This kind of forethought is challenging. I hope this goal will be achieved in the same way as the Finlandia Hall.” Ritva Viljanen took up her duties as the chairperson of the jury of the architectural design competition for the Central Library with great interest and enthusiasm. “All six of the submissions that advanced further were astonishing, particularly considering the challenges of the small site. The level of competition is extremely high. I’ve already found my favourite,” Mrs. Viljanen reveals but refuses to divulge anything more.

The financing is still partially in the air, but Ritva Viljanen is not too concerned about the budget. “I’m very confident that everything, including budget-related matters, will proceed in the appropriate way. In terms of the budget, I’m in my own comfort zone, so there’s no reason to worry. Everything will sort itself out eventually.” Mrs. Viljanen has been most excited by the open nature of the project. “The openness of the Central Library project is exceptional. The participatory budgeting, the UnelMoi campaign and the social media efforts have been great examples of this. The city doesn’t have a template for a project as engaging as this. The ideas provided by city residents have also been wonderful. We will absolutely implement some of the best ones.”

Courage to make big decisions

In Ritva Viljanen’s opinion, the Central Library has two purposes above all others: creating a place for people that provides the tools and means to do interesting things, and establishing an environment where the strong presence of knowledge will enable the birth of new ideas. “The atmosphere should be so inspiring that you will practically trip over new ideas! The virtual environment will also be something completely new. In the architectural design competition, a sauna has also been included in the building. At first, I was quite perplexed, but there are many fascinating aspects to this idea. Finnish history, a sauna of learning, the bathing tradition from Roman times, the only library sauna in the world… We need to work on this idea.”

What about the much-discussed position of the district libraries and the situation of the library network? “The Central Library project doesn’t go against the local libraries in any way. If this had been the case, the project would have been dead and buried in five minutes. The suburbs need services, so we aim to develop them continuously. However, the city centre needs historically significant developments, too. Sometimes you need to have the courage to make big decisions!” Mrs. Viljanen also peers into the future of the library network. “Structural changes are bound to happen. Self-services libraries will become more commonplace, along with small pop-up libraries and downloadable libraries based on mutual trust. They can appear anywhere from restaurants to metro tunnels, as in Shanghai.”

Ritva Viljanen describes her role in the Central Library project as extremely significant for her. “This is absolutely one of the most important projects of my period of office, and its effects will be visible for centuries. The library as a national institution carries vast importance for Helsinki and the entire country, as a force that renews cityscapes. These kinds of projects don’t come along often, so this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Ritva Viljanen, what comes to your mind about the Central Library when you think about…

…COLOUR? “A striking colour, and one that lets light through.”
…SCENT? “The smell of books and ink. And the aroma of coffee wafting through the air!”
…FEELINGS? “Joy, excitement and warmth.”
…A PLANT? “A green, sprouting leaf. An impressive and large plant. 
…MASCOT? “A character from Finnish folk lore… It has to be a library gnome!”

Text: Siru Valleala
Photos: Helsinki City Library, City of Helsinki, Pertti Nisonen

• 40 Liblab
• 144 Wave/1
• 149 Käännös
• 160 Kasi
• 357 The Diagonal Agora
• 375 The Green Metropolis

Images of the entries selected for participation in stage two can be viewed at the webpage of the competition itself and the pages of the Helsinki City Library.

Citizen involvement in developing public libraries

According to the chairperson of the competition jury, deputy mayor Ritva Viljanen, all six entries selected for stage two provided an answer to the challenge of creating an open and welcoming Central Library.

“With the Central Library, our goal is to develop Helsinki’s urban culture and create a city centre where citizens have somewhere to meet and share their ideas”, Viljanen explains.

“The Central library should not be juxtaposed with smaller, local public libraries. Local libraries are suburban community centres for local gatherings. But areas that are free and accessible to all are also necessary in the city centre. Located opposite to the Parliament, the Central Library enhances democracy and grassroots participation, and is known for its Speaker’s Corner.”

“The Central Library allows us to take the entire library field to a new era. Libraries are currently living through a transitional period, with digital media having risen alongside traditional books. Also, the customer base of public libraries is more diverse than ever before. “

“At the same time, the Central Library will also be a place for books and literature. For as long as books exist, libraries will have them,” Viljanen continues

The public has participated eagerly in the library project. An exhibition devoted to the project, in spring 2012, had to be extended due to its popularity. Visitors were given the opportunity to vote for their own favourite proposal for the building. One of the six entries now selected for continuation is the popular favourite, Käännös (number 149). The public has actively shared their hopes and wishes regarding the Central Library.

The competition continues with a refining process

The architectural proposals selected for stage two were chosen for their merits in architecture, urban development and functionality. These proposals were considered to have potential for development according to the project’s technical and ecological goals.

Many different approaches to the same requirements were presented, and it is hoped that stage two will produce several different solutions. The overall value of the proposal was considered more important than flawlessness in detail.

The competition rules are the same in stage two as in the first stage. The competitors chosen for stage two will have the opportunity to develop their proposals further, according to instructions provided by the jury. These instructions focus especially on the wishes and dreams of the public, such as the importance of quiet spaces.

The jury will select a winner from the six proposals. The winner will be announced in June 2013.

The architectural competition of the Central Library is part of the Design Capital Helsinki 2012 program.

Further information:

• Central Library Website
• Architectural Competition Website
• Helsinki City Library

Photos: Pertti Nisonen