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Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library

economist.com

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Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library

#51

Post by terom »

tuukkah wrote: post #50
terom wrote: post #47

My first experience with Oodi was unfortunate: The only publicly available Wi-Fi network (Stadinetti) blocks all outgoing non-HTTP/HTTPS traffic (SSH, IMAP, etc). So much for trying to do any remote working or studying for things like AWS at the library without your own 4G connection, unless you're content just reading the docs.

When was this? I haven't had any issues using SSH and IMAP via Stadinetti there (latest 3 days ago).

This was back in December. I tried asking about it, but wasn't able to find any info about what kind of policy they intended to have on their network.

Who knows, maybe I complained enough that they fixed it? :)

Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library

#53

Post by jccalhoun »

gordon_freeman wrote: post #48
stevekemp wrote: post #4

I can't read the article, but this is a nice piece which shows the insides pretty well: https://www.oodihelsinki.fi/en/what-is-oodi/architecture/ It is a really beautiful space, I was there with my child last weekend and shot lots of videos of the various areas. There are trees inside, play-areas for children, and many nooks for reading/resting/chatting. This link (Finnish) has a brief video showing people cleaning t…

Thanks for the main library link. The architecture is beautiful but does anyone agree that from the outside the building looks pretty similar to the building of California Academy Of Sciences?

I had never seen the building so I looked it up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Academy_of_Sciences In the abstract the undulating roof is similar looking closer shows there are a lot of differences even in where the lumps are located

Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library

#54

Post by maw »

antris wrote: post #23
emilfihlman wrote: post #11

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.

I'm interested to hear what you think the functional shortcomings of the space are. Also, you are making a false dichotomy of function and design. Functionality is an essential part of design.

I agree with you. But what is the correct word for architectural features that detract from functionality? They're often called "design" whether we like it or not.

Whatever they ought to be called instead, it looks to me like the space is not lacking in them--curves and inconvenient angles in particular.

Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library

#55

Post by bobl »

massive wrote: post #39
bobl wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

What makes you say that? As a Finn I feel that we lag a step behind Sweden in many things. Be it little brother syndrome or something else I think it holds to some truth (e.g. by economic standards)

It seem like Finland to a larger extent is still interested in providing good conditions for its citizens, for example:

* Finland has one of the best school systems in the world. Sweden one of the most deregulated and is average in PISA rankings.

* Finland is one of the few western countries to build a new nuclear power plant. Sweden is set to instead use taxes to deal with climate change while the price of electricity is the highest in a decade.

* While this library was being built they have been arguing about building the privately funded Nobel Center in Stockholm for years.

Finland is also able to take decisions such as working against smoking. This is one of those "nanny state" public health things Nordic countries are known for. In Sweden there are half a dozen commercials for online casinos every commercial break on TV, on billboards and in all the online newspapers.

I can see why especially Stockholm would be alluring, but if you look at the housing market (or outside of Stockholm) it isn't as fun anymore.

Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library

#56

Post by antris »

maw wrote: post #54
antris wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm interested to hear what you think the functional shortcomings of the space are. Also, you are making a false dichotomy of function and design. Functionality is an essential part of design.

I agree with you. But what is the correct word for architectural features that detract from functionality? They're often called "design" whether we like it or not. Whatever they ought to be called instead, it looks to me like the space is not lacking in them--curves and inconvenient angles in particular.

You might be talking about purely aesthetic design. But I disagree, I've been to the place and it was a very functional and easy-to-understand building architecturally. But also beautiful and calming. Aesthetics are a very important and underrated aspect of architecture and I'm glad that money has been spent on this project. When the architecture is not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing, people tend to use it more. And what good comes from a library that nobody would want to go to?

Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library

#57

Post by sjagoe »

billfruit wrote: post #46
carlospwk wrote: post #7

I 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.

Also it appears to me the same space could be utilized to stock much more books, which in my eye what a library should be continually striving to do. In general what makes libraries great are the size of their stock, the comprehensiveness and accebility of the catalogues and indexes, and presence of help-full librarians.

I was expecting more space for books when I visited Oodi for the first time as well, but I don't think the limited shelf space in this library isn't such a big issue because of the other libraries in the city. The Helsinki region libraries (http://www.helmet.fi/en-US/) all form a single network. You can reserve a book, and collect it at your most convenient branch.

Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library

#59

Post by Sharlin »

stevekemp wrote: post #41

Unrelated to the article, but I'm impressed at how many people from Helsinki turned up in the comments. Small world ..

In many nerdy corners of the Internet there's a definite surplus of Finns relative to the fairly meager total population of our country.

Re: Oodi, Helsinki’s new flagship library

#60

Post by carlospwk »

tokai wrote: post #26
carlospwk wrote: post #7

I 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.

Luckily are public libraries not run on gut feelings and personal semantics. The purpose of libraries in Finland is defined by the Library Act, which states that public libraries should provide[0]: 1) equal opportunities for everyone to access education and culture; 2) availability and use of information; 3) reading culture and versatile literacy skills; 4) opportunities for lifelong learning and competence developme…

>I find that the fetishising of books and silent library spaces is a nostalgic fantasy championed by people that rarely actually use libraries, while they are unaware that libraries are the most used cultural institutions in many countries.

I don't fetishise books. I welcome e-readers, computers and whatever devices you can use to gather information. It's great that there's a 3D printer and all kinds of facilities. I'm just sad to see one of the last silent public spaces to die off.

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