I didn't really like the place. It places a _huge_ premium on design vs functionality in some sections. I mean, sure, it looks cool, but the cost is away from something this time instead of mutually existing.
Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library
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Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library
#12It was also featured in the NYT's Art & Design section: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/06/arts/design/helsinki-libr... Quote from Tommi Laitio, an executive director in Helsinki city: “We often think that things like social cohesion or democracy are just words, but in spaces like these they really come to life,” Mr. Laitio said. “You need some social infrastructure for communities to work. You can’t build them on fr…
Another nice quote:
'Oodi “fits very well into the Nordic story of how societies work,” Mr. Laitio said. “There are so few of us here, so we have to make sure everyone can develop to their fullest potential.”'
A perspective increasingly lost in Sweden.
Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library
#13I don’t think it’s accurate to call Oodi a library. It’s more of a communal space for citizens and a sort of a playground/hangout for kids. With some books. Maybe I’m a cranky old man but I don’t really enjoy these kind of open spaces. It’s noisy, too relaxed and not geared towards actual studying and working. Libraries in Finland no longer have any expectations for peace and quiet.
> It’s noisy, too relaxed and not geared towards actual studying and working.
I visited not long after it opened when it was very busy, even then it seemed to me there were a lot of quiet places for studying?
Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library
#14Oodi is quite hideous from the outside: I haven't generally felt the appeal to walk towards the area. See for yourself: https://ibb.co/jkJ4h1B
But Oodi is also not so much of a library than an indoor public space. That is probably fine and that I think is where libraries are going in general. However, being born decades ago it's libraries I like.
I'll much rather find my "books and crannies" to spend some quality time a few blocks the other way in this old library: https://goo.gl/8sEdSS (more pictures on FourSquare: https://foursquare.com/v/rikhardinkadun-kirjasto/4baa99a3f96...). It's as cramped as homely, quiet, smells of old books, and offers a sense of a place unlike the new showroom of design.
Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library
#15I don’t think it’s accurate to call Oodi a library. It’s more of a communal space for citizens and a sort of a playground/hangout for kids. With some books. Maybe I’m a cranky old man but I don’t really enjoy these kind of open spaces. It’s noisy, too relaxed and not geared towards actual studying and working. Libraries in Finland no longer have any expectations for peace and quiet.
Hmm. I feel that. I’m sensing a dichotomy here between understandings of ”library as a place of study” and ”library as a communal place of sharing cultural artefacts”. Since the latter involves a lot of other things besides books and the silence required for deep study thereof, maybe a new word not derived from books (liber->library for English, kirja->kirjasto for Finnish) would indeed be appropriate? Disclaimer: be…
I think those can quite coexist in the same space (especially if said space is a 100M euro building ;)). The library can function as that communal place of shared culture, and host cafés, exhibitions, concerts, rooms for community events, rooms with musical instruments (the facility I make the most use of in my library)... and also quiet study rooms and places to focus without noise or distractions. There is no incompatibility between these two aspects.
Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library
#16I don’t think it’s accurate to call Oodi a library. It’s more of a communal space for citizens and a sort of a playground/hangout for kids. With some books. Maybe I’m a cranky old man but I don’t really enjoy these kind of open spaces. It’s noisy, too relaxed and not geared towards actual studying and working. Libraries in Finland no longer have any expectations for peace and quiet.
Oodi is in the most central place in Helsinki. I think it's perfect location for public space library where people and groups can meet and work together.
Helsinki has exceptionally good libraries for quiet studying. If you have a book and need to sit down, read and study, I would recommend National Library, Rikhardinkadun library or Kaisa library. All of them are walking distance from Oodi.
Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library
#17Oodi is quite hideous from the outside: I haven't generally felt the appeal to walk towards the area. See for yourself: https://ibb.co/jkJ4h1B But Oodi is also not so much of a library than an indoor public space. That is probably fine and that I think is where libraries are going in general. However, being born decades ago it's libraries I like. I'll much rather find my "books and crannies" to spend some quality tim…
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Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library
#18Oodi is quite hideous from the outside: I haven't generally felt the appeal to walk towards the area. See for yourself: https://ibb.co/jkJ4h1B But Oodi is also not so much of a library than an indoor public space. That is probably fine and that I think is where libraries are going in general. However, being born decades ago it's libraries I like. I'll much rather find my "books and crannies" to spend some quality tim…
I really don't find it hideous. This definitely looks like the kind of building I'd like to check out.
Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library
#19Oodi is quite hideous from the outside: I haven't generally felt the appeal to walk towards the area. See for yourself: https://ibb.co/jkJ4h1B But Oodi is also not so much of a library than an indoor public space. That is probably fine and that I think is where libraries are going in general. However, being born decades ago it's libraries I like. I'll much rather find my "books and crannies" to spend some quality tim…
I really don't find it hideous. This definitely looks like the kind of building I'd like to check out.
Honestly it looks like a shopping mall. Shame considering the budget and Finlands rich history of architecture/design.
Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I really don't find it hideous. This definitely looks like the kind of building I'd like to check out.
Honestly it looks like a shopping mall. Shame considering the budget and Finlands rich history of architecture/design.
Okay i was wrong. I looked at some other pictures and it is okay.