The article summarizes the functional parts so well. What is very hard to communicate is the feeling of space, especially in the top floor with the books. It's sort of unique, and recommend a visit anyone traveling nearby.
I worked at the company that developed the software used to design the construction of Oodi (Trimble/ Tekla Structures). It's so awesome to walk through a building you know the tool you helped to build, helped to build :D
To me the actual book section of Oodi is not particularly interesting/inspiring/impressive. It's not bad, but it is pretty mundane and gets overshadowed by all the other stuff going on in the building.
Well, book collection of the particular library doesn't matter much nowadays since you can order a book online and it will be delivered to your closest library. So it's more like a public space.
This is the future of libraries, and it sucks. Austin's downtown Central Library is like this. It sucks. They are not places for reaching the future.
Previously:
> So many environments nowadays, even the ones that are ostensibly created to fulfill this sort of thing, are just total failures at actually providing them. I'm thinking of things like public libraries. I live in Austin and have a major axe to grind about the public libraries here, which are nothing like what you'd get if you were actually interested in the pro-social goals that you'd think a public library would have in its charter. A teenager looking to escape their high-risk environment or an adult who's had their feet knocked out from beneath them basically stands no chance at getting out of their predicament if their only option were to use the public libraries here, which would unfortunately act more like a vortex to ensure they stay in the suck. <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42323264>
The photos and breathless wonderment showcase it all, as well as this choice line from the slide at the top of this post: "Oodi is our common living room". These are not quiet places to study or get (back) on your feet.
These are non-commercial substitutes for the shopping malls of yestercentury first, egoistic art pieces and boondoggle for administrative make-work second, and well-intentioned but poorly thought out and executed public resources at a very, very, very, very, very distant third.
As a Helsinki resident, I agree with much of what you say about Oodi. And in spite of the other commenter claiming "everyone" loves it, I don't nor do many of my peers of an intellectual bent, mad about books. This building only disappoints us.
But here is the thing: in Finland academic libraries are open to the general public. Someone wanting to immerse themselves in actual books, or work in silence, have a wealth of options in downtown Helsinki: the University of Helsinki main library, the Finnish National Library, the Finnish Literature Society's library, the Research Institute for Languages of Finland's library, and more. So, if Oodi ended up being a plain old social third space instead of a "real library", that didn't take anything away from Helsinki residents.
Why would somebody wanting to escape a high-risk environment, or some knocked-over adult go to a library?
It's great that libraries exist, be they in Austin, or here in Finland, but they're not where you get support when falling on hard times , or needing active support and assistance from your council/government/city/region. A library is not a walk-in rescue center, and nor should it be.
Oodi is a pretty space, it has nice facilities, although a surprisingly small stock of books. That said you can order books to collect them there, and Helsinki has no shortage of "real libraries". I think Oodi as a showcase, and a random mishmash of services and facilities is pretty good though. I went almost weekly with my youngest child for a few years, and have fond memories of the people I talked to, and the soft-play area.
Helsinki weather is crap. Half a year it is too windy, too wet and too cold to be outside. It rains sleet or snow very often.
Oodi is a great place to do things or just to stop by. No pressure to buy anything. No ads up to your eyeballs.
There are a lot of people just sitting by. Studying. Reading books. Using the provided services. Meeting up people.
The layout is good, especially the second floor that containts most of the services. There are a lot of spaces where you can just _sit_ without obligations.
I am sorry, but I think your ending sentence does not make any sense.
(I am a Finn, I visit Oodi roughly once a week during work trip to the capital).
Kino Regina, the movie theater mentioned, is owned and operated by the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency and does not only show classics, but also a lot of contemporary movies of note, right up until recent releases. It has modern hi-grade digifilm equipment but is also equiped to show film from eg. 70mm and cinemascope formats. They also host concerts and seminars.
The article mentions it in passing, but Oodi is an important stop for parents with babies. The third floor is quite often packed with strollers.
Sure you can hang out in any cafe, but I find it valuable to have a place like Oodi that's free, easy to access, and built with kids in mind. When taking the kids on trips in Helsinki, we often visit Oodi to eat lunch, just because it's so easy. Or the whole trip might be just to visit Oodi, eat, and grab a couple books. Of course the central location helps a lot.
I take my kids to Leikkipuisto that is organised there few times a week. It’s an event for kids of different ages, with some playing, socialising, some programme. Activities for parents too
Personally as a lover of public libraries, which to me have always been places to discover old and new books in a quiet atmosphere, this change of the "library" to some sort of community center is rather annoying. You usually end up with a minimum viable amount of books, all the interesting stuff hidden away in a magazine, so that you can't browse and discover yourself, and a high level of noise and distraction everywhere. I'm not against creating such community spaces at all, but please keep the library alive and open and separate from those very different activities.
Oodi is more an experiment in creating a social, communal meeting space than a library. I think there's a terrible need for such social spaces in modern society with very few places where you can meet people and where you don't need to consume to hang out somewhere; this especially in countries with climates that make it difficult to hang out in streets and market places.
What's also special is that this is a beautiful building, instead of the derelict buildings such social projects get usually shoved away in.
These are just echoes of Soviet Era "Cultural Palaces" aka "Folkets Hus" in Socialists-run Sweden.
For the "Culture" no one wants to pay their own money for.
I visited only once, using the Toilet. Kinda Scary. It was gender-free, consisting of large locked cubicles, which were mostly occupied as kiosks for drugs and sexual services. Romanian Romas also had permanent presence there.
But sadly this gender-free dream was destroyed by the order of the Nazi Polizei.
21 comments
[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 41.2 ms ] threadThe article summarizes the functional parts so well. What is very hard to communicate is the feeling of space, especially in the top floor with the books. It's sort of unique, and recommend a visit anyone traveling nearby.
I worked at the company that developed the software used to design the construction of Oodi (Trimble/ Tekla Structures). It's so awesome to walk through a building you know the tool you helped to build, helped to build :D
https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000005933560.html
Previously:
> So many environments nowadays, even the ones that are ostensibly created to fulfill this sort of thing, are just total failures at actually providing them. I'm thinking of things like public libraries. I live in Austin and have a major axe to grind about the public libraries here, which are nothing like what you'd get if you were actually interested in the pro-social goals that you'd think a public library would have in its charter. A teenager looking to escape their high-risk environment or an adult who's had their feet knocked out from beneath them basically stands no chance at getting out of their predicament if their only option were to use the public libraries here, which would unfortunately act more like a vortex to ensure they stay in the suck. <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42323264>
The photos and breathless wonderment showcase it all, as well as this choice line from the slide at the top of this post: "Oodi is our common living room". These are not quiet places to study or get (back) on your feet.
These are non-commercial substitutes for the shopping malls of yestercentury first, egoistic art pieces and boondoggle for administrative make-work second, and well-intentioned but poorly thought out and executed public resources at a very, very, very, very, very distant third.
But here is the thing: in Finland academic libraries are open to the general public. Someone wanting to immerse themselves in actual books, or work in silence, have a wealth of options in downtown Helsinki: the University of Helsinki main library, the Finnish National Library, the Finnish Literature Society's library, the Research Institute for Languages of Finland's library, and more. So, if Oodi ended up being a plain old social third space instead of a "real library", that didn't take anything away from Helsinki residents.
I find Oodi (and Sello after redesign) to feel like a typical open office space (rather than mall) but definitely not like a proper library.
Rikhardinkatu is what I'd expect library to be while Lippulaiva is rather nice for a library that's part of a mall.
It's great that libraries exist, be they in Austin, or here in Finland, but they're not where you get support when falling on hard times , or needing active support and assistance from your council/government/city/region. A library is not a walk-in rescue center, and nor should it be.
Oodi is a pretty space, it has nice facilities, although a surprisingly small stock of books. That said you can order books to collect them there, and Helsinki has no shortage of "real libraries". I think Oodi as a showcase, and a random mishmash of services and facilities is pretty good though. I went almost weekly with my youngest child for a few years, and have fond memories of the people I talked to, and the soft-play area.
Helsinki weather is crap. Half a year it is too windy, too wet and too cold to be outside. It rains sleet or snow very often.
Oodi is a great place to do things or just to stop by. No pressure to buy anything. No ads up to your eyeballs.
There are a lot of people just sitting by. Studying. Reading books. Using the provided services. Meeting up people.
The layout is good, especially the second floor that containts most of the services. There are a lot of spaces where you can just _sit_ without obligations.
I am sorry, but I think your ending sentence does not make any sense.
(I am a Finn, I visit Oodi roughly once a week during work trip to the capital).
It's beautiful, though, but that's about it.
t. a Finn
Sure you can hang out in any cafe, but I find it valuable to have a place like Oodi that's free, easy to access, and built with kids in mind. When taking the kids on trips in Helsinki, we often visit Oodi to eat lunch, just because it's so easy. Or the whole trip might be just to visit Oodi, eat, and grab a couple books. Of course the central location helps a lot.
What's also special is that this is a beautiful building, instead of the derelict buildings such social projects get usually shoved away in.
And, it's welcoming to babies and children.
For the "Culture" no one wants to pay their own money for.
I visited only once, using the Toilet. Kinda Scary. It was gender-free, consisting of large locked cubicles, which were mostly occupied as kiosks for drugs and sexual services. Romanian Romas also had permanent presence there. But sadly this gender-free dream was destroyed by the order of the Nazi Polizei.