Ultra-modern Helsinki library opens on Finland’s 100-year anniversary of independence

Calling all bookworms! The city of Helsinki recently opened a trendy library to celebrate the centenary of Finland’s independence from Russia. Helsinki Central Library Oodi is complete with contemporary designs, a reading haven with 100,000 book titles available and living trees growing in it, a cinema, a café, and more.

Helsinki Central Library Oodi. Credit: Tuomas Uusheimo.

Oodi was opened on Wednesday 5 December on the eve of Finland’s 101st anniversary of its freedom from the Russian empire back in 1917. The word ‘oodi’ relates to an ode or a gift, and this enormous gift has been in the conceptual pipeline since 1998. The library joins the capital’s network of 37 libraries scattered across Helsinki, but Oodi will be a central one—and a central attraction, no doubt, for many tourists as well.

The state-of-the-art library funded by City and State was a national project, and planners received input from the public, collecting and going through hundreds of ‘library dreams’ sent in by citizens in 2012. ‘Oodi symbolises the core values of our society, such as education, culture, equality, and openness. The promotion of these values is especially vital in these times marked by uncertainty. Oodi stands firmly in the defence line of our democracy,’ says Mayor of Helsinki Jan Vapaavuori.

Credit: Tuomas Uusheimo.

The sleek design can be credited to a winning entry from Fin-based global architectural firm ALA Architects, who helped bring these library dreams to life with what is now a modern three-floor library in the heart of Helsinki.

Energy-efficient and located on a central public plaza, the library incorporates classic Finnish design elements, and according to ALA offers ‘unobstructed, majestic views’ from its panoramic glass exteriors with steel and wood finishings.

Oodi Library will be a creative and intellectual haven, and its facilities will be available for hosting events such as workshops, lectures, art installations, and exhibitions, as well as playing feature films and documentaries in the on-site cinema.

Credit: Tuomas Uusheimo.

The first floor operates almost like a regular library, but includes an events hall, and is where the entrance to the cinema will be.

Oodi’s second floor houses workshop studios and creative suites for producing and editing multimedia such as music and films, as well as areas designated for working and studying.

The main attraction and bookworm’s paradise is located on the third floor and is fittingly called ‘Book Heaven’. Book Heaven currently has nine living trees and a café that will keep readers’ energy up while they flip through their choice among the thousands of titles. The Citizens’ Balcony on this floor also faces the Finnish Parliament and boasts lofty views of Töölönlahti Park.

During the spring months next year, Oodi plans to bring in authors and host a Harry Potter Book Month.

Credit: Andrey Shadrin.

Construction of the building commenced in 2015 and the library was opened to the public in May earlier this year. In true creative spirit, the library’s director, Anna-Maria Soininvaara, maintains that despite its grand opening and current operations, Oodi will never be ready.

‘The building will get completed, but the library itself will never be ready. Oodi and its services will continue to change and develop,’ says Soininvaara. The Oodi cinema and west facade is still being completed, and all facilities will be available for use within the next year.

The Minister for European Affairs, Culture and Sport, Sampo Terho, says, ‘The story of the public library is the story of communal Finland. Now, the era of Oodi is about to begin. [The] library as a gift to the independence of Finland symbolises the Finnish civilisation ideal and reflects our unique relationship with the library institution,’

Credit: Andrey Shadrin.

Images supplied by Helsinki Central Library Oodi.

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