The construction united five faculty libraries of the central campus of the University of Helsinki, previously located in different buildings. As a result, the largest scientific library in Finland was formed, but its status did not become the main theme of the project: it was no less important for the authors to inscribe their building into the surrounding historical buildings.
The library is located in the very center of the city, close to the Cathedral. On one side, it leads to the classic university ensemble of the architect Karl Engel. On the other hand, it is built into the bend of Kaisaniemenkatu Street, where in this place the buildings are dominated by dark brown brick buildings in the spirit of Northern Art Nouveau.
Therefore, this material was chosen for the facades of the new building, but otherwise the project does not contain any references to tradition. Three curved glazing zones are made on the western facade, and one on the eastern, narrower one. They are surrounded by a surface with regularly spaced rectangular windows that do not reflect the internal division into floors. This visually gives the facades integrity, but also hides the forced bend following the street and a significant drop in the relief (the site for construction cannot be called convenient).
Inside, the space is organized around three “openings” such as atriums that pierce the building vertically. Two of them are adjacent to the glazed areas of the facades, the third is located in the center. They are complemented by a main staircase that spirals up from the ground floor to the very roof.
Circulation zones are arranged around the “openings”, then information zones, and then they are surrounded by openly accessible books.
There are quiet reading rooms on each floor, as well as reading "galleries" overlooking the glazed parts of the facades. In addition, there are soundproofed rooms for individual and group lessons.
The offices of the employees, depending on the specialization, are divided into floors, but the management, the catalog and new acquisitions department are located at the very top: from there, the books delivered from the unloading department in the basement are distributed throughout the library.
N. F.
