In Helsinki, Finland, the local government spent 10 years and 98 million euros building a library: Oodi (meaning carol). The library is open to people for free, but it only has a collection of about 100,000 books, which can be called a “non-business” library. It turned out that the concept at the beginning of its establishment was to provide a free space for citizens and tourists. It’s as casual here as in your own living room, you can watch movies, listen to music, make clothes, walk your baby, play 3D printing, laser lithography, and even medical students use it as a virtual operating room, you can here Studying surgery…
One Sunday, a Finn, Ross, brought a Chinese student, Alei, here, and told Alei that not only books, but also tablets, cameras, tennis balls, etc. could be borrowed for free. Suddenly, Alei found that a button had fallen from her coat, and Ross immediately borrowed needles and thread from the administrator to help her sew it up. Alei was surprised, how come there are needles and threads in this library? “In addition to books, there are 100,000 borrowable items here, which is an authentic ‘no business’,”
Ross said. “Before building this place, Finland’s ALA Architects won the design tender. But they weren’t in a hurry. Instead of breaking ground, we listened to the voices of the citizens over and over again. It took them 5 years to listen to the suggestions and ideas of tens of thousands of citizens before the library took shape: some people want to drink coffee or do yoga here, some people want to drink coffee or do yoga here. If you want to watch a movie, some people want to turn it into a playground… There are more than 400 kinds of ideas that have opened up their minds, and the designers have realized them one by one.” After listening to Alei, she said with emotion: “It can be seen that the traditional library has long been unable to satisfy everyone’s needs. Need, what people want is a free space, a place to meet. In addition to reading, there are all kinds of services they want.”
Citizens’ imaginative ideas, coupled with the originality of the designer, made a library that “does not work properly” turned out after three years of construction. From the outside, the main building of the library is in the shape of a boat, with glass and steel as the skeleton, and the surface is covered with a large area of Finnish spruce. The internal building is divided into 3 floors, each floor has its own different function. The first floor provides a place for citizens to meet and communicate, as well as a cinema, exhibition hall and café. The second floor is a place for work and various hobby activities: children can play games here, adults can sing, dance, play the piano here, people can design and make a piece of clothing themselves, play 3D printing, laser cutting here Wait. The third floor of the interior has natural lighting and wide space. It is not only a traditional library, but also a space for parent-child activities. The noise made by children is a positive and beautiful sound, which makes the adults present feel like they are back to childhood.
A Lei also found that the spiral staircase connecting the first to third floors is composed of more than 400 sets of letters in random order. These are the key words that people imagined about this library, Ross explained, and they silently show people that this library is built for everyone.
Since its opening in 2018, this “non-business” library has gained a high international reputation for its advanced concepts and inclusive mentality. In Finland, with a population of only 5.5 million, its libraries received 6.3 million visitors in a year. The most “inactive” library has become the most desirable place for people.
