HELSINKI CENTER LIBARY DESIGN BY ALA ARCHITECTS
HELSINKI CENTER
LIBARY DESIGN BY ALA ARCHITECTS
News: Finnish studio ALA Architects has won the
international competition to design a new public library in Helsinki with plans
that involve a mass of twisted timber launched in January
2012, the competition asked applicants to come
up with a timeless, flexible and energy-efficient building to sit opposite the
Finnish Parliament building in the Töölönlahti area of the city.
ALA Architects' response is for a three-storey
structure comprising a contorted timber volume. Public activities and group
study areas will occupy an active ground floor beneath the curving wooden
surfaces, while a traditionally quiet reading room will be located above and a
contemporary media facility and public sauna will be housed in the middle.
Two main entrances
will provide access to the building. A public plaza in front of the western
facade is to lead into a main lobby, where a staircase will spiral up to the
floors above, while a second entrance will face the railway station to the
south and offer an escalator that penetrates the wooden volume overhead.
"The
architecture of the proposal is of a very high quality, executed with relaxed,
broad strokes, and memorable," commented the competition organisers.
They added:
"The proposal provides excellent premises for the development of a
completely new functional concept for the library. The building has a unique
appeal and the prerequisites to become the new symbolic building which Helsinki
residents, library users, as well as the staff will readily adopt as their own."
ALA Architects, who
is also based in Helsinki, plans to use local materials such as Siberian larch
to construct the Helsinki Central Library and it is scheduled to open in 2018.
The studio
previously worked on another building with an undulating timber structure for
the Kilden performing arts centre in Kristiansand, Norway.
INFORMATION FROM ALA
ARCHITECTS:
ALA Architects have
won the design competition for the new Helsinki Central Library with their
entry Käännös. The open international two-stage competition attracted 544
entries from all over the world. The 16,000 square metre library building in
the heart of Helsinki will consist almost entirely of public spaces and will
offer a wide selection of services. It will serve as the new central point for
the city's impressive public library network.
The winning entry is
based on the idea of dividing the functions of the library into three
distinctive levels: an active ground floor, a calm upper floor, and an enclosed
in-between volume containing the more specific functions. This concept has been
developed into an arching form that invites people to utilise the spaces and
services underneath, inside and on top of it. The resulting building will be an
inspiring and highly functional addition to the urban life of Helsinki and the
nationally significant Töölönlahti area.
ALA is one of the
leading Nordic architecture firms. The office has previously completed the
Kilden Performing Arts Centre in Kristiansand, Norway, and is currently working
on a number of large public projects in Finland including two theaters, five
subway stations, and a passenger ferry hub. Käännös has been designed by ALA
partners Juho Grönholm, Antti Nousjoki, Janne Teräsvirta and Samuli Woolston
together with the ALA project team, assisted by the engineering experts at Arup.
Description of the winning
entry Käännös
Käännös grows from
the dynamic between the site and the goals of the library program. The
interplay between the building's three individual floors is the key concept of
the entry.
The public plaza in
front of the building will continue inside, merging with a catalogue of meeting
and experience features. The ground floor will be a robust, busy and frequently
updated space suitable for quick visits and walkthroughs. The active,
zero-threshold public spaces will be visible, attractive, understandable and
welcoming to all visitors.
The traditional,
serene library atmosphere can be found on the top floor. This will be a calm
area for contemplation, floating above the busy central Helsinki. It will offer
unobstructed, majestic views to the surrounding park and cityscape.These two
contrasting spaces that perfectly complement each other are created by an
arching wooden volume. The spaces inside the volume will be enclosed and more
intimate. The wooden volume is stretched vertically to create connections to
the open main floors below and above. Soft, curved shapes will be present all
around the building.
The curved ceiling
covering the ground floor, the intensive flowing spaces on the middle level, as
well as the curving floor surface of the top floor are all defined in the
timber-clad mass, which is as functional as it is expressive.
There will be three
public entrance points in the building: one in the south for the main
pedestrian flow from the direction of the Central Railway Station, one next to
the public plaza to the west of the building shielded by an overhanging canopy,
as well as a secondary one in the northeastern corner. The top floor can be
reached from the southern entrance by an escalator that penetrates the wooden
volume, or from the main lobby via a spiraling double-helix stair.
Each floor will be a
destination in its own right and a new exciting civic space in the heart of
Helsinki. While being a traditional library space, the top floor will also act
as a modern, open, flexible platform for a multitude of functions. The middle
floor will offer opportunities for learning-by-doing in an environment
optimised for contemporary media and latest tools. It will contain workshop
spaces for music and multimedia, as well as a public sauna. A multipurpose
hall, a restaurant and a cinema will be located on ground floor. The library's
facilities will offer services, as well as places to meet, to discuss, and to
present ideas.
The library building
will be extremely energy efficient. It will be constructed using local
materials and with local climate conditions in mind. Some of the main
load-bearing components will be made of timber. The wooden façade will be built
from pre-assembled elements finished on-site. 30 millimetre thick Finnish first
grade Siberian Larch wood, shaped with a parametric 3D design and manufacturing
process in order to achieve a perfect execution of the desired geometry, will
be used for the cladding. The appearance of the façade will develop over the
years towards a deeper, richer version of its initial hue. The design of the
façade is intrinsic to the passive design approach adopted by the project team.
Detailed analysis of the façade performance informs the environmental solutions
and has allowed the team to minimise any systems required, which in turn
facilitates the highly flexible architectural solution.
http://www.dezeen.com/2013/06/14/ala-architects-wins-helsinki-library-competition/
A CALLING CARD FOR FINNISH ARCHITECTURE
The library building in the heart of Helsinki will
consist almost entirely of public space and will offer a wide selection of
services. It will become the new central point for the city’s impressive public
library network. The design divides the functions of the library into three
distinctive levels: an active ground floor, a peaceful upper floor, and an
enclosed in-between volume containing more specific functions.
This concept has been developed into an arching form
that invites people to utilize the spaces and services underneath, inside and
on top of it. The resulting building will be an inspiring and highly functional
addition to the urban life of Helsinki and the Töölönlahti area.
Apart from the top floor, Oodi’s facade is made
entirely from wood, which softens the general appearance of the architecture
around Töölö Bay. The wood used for the exterior wall is spruce. The
energy-efficient library is an impressive and alluring calling card for Finnish
architecture.
THREE FLOORS, THREE ATMOSPHERES
Oodi will have three floors, each with its own
atmosphere. This will make it easier for users to find the services they need.
Oodi’s ground
floor will be a fast-paced, ever-changing space with its multiple entrances.
The spacious lobby, public facilities and event venues, library services and
café will create a cosy atmosphere.
The second
floor will be dedicated to work, activities, learning, interaction and spending
time with friends and family, and it will have rooms available to meet the
needs of active citizens. The facilities on this floor will include studios,
game rooms, work and meeting space, an urban workshop, and facilities for
courses and interaction.
The third
floor will be home to the Book Heaven: a place to relax and unwind with its
books, reading oases and cafés. Helsinki’s urban landscape can be admired from
the library’s Citizens’ Balcony.
https://www.oodihelsinki.fi/en/what-is-oodi/architecture/
ALA WORKING METHODS
ALA uses
contemporary design tools such as building information modeling, 3D printing,
and parametric design software combined with the more traditional model
building and materials research. The ALA partners are directly involved with
all aspects of the office’s design work, and take a very hands-on approach at
the critical stages of each project. All team members are also expected to
contribute to the creative process. The office also relies on its network of
highly competent international collaborators and specialists to stimulate the
exchange of up-to-date knowledge.
Every project
starts with an analysis aspiring to get to the heart of the given task, to
understand the framework based on the environmental constraints and the point
of view of the client. After this begins the design phase that aims to, in a
creative and open-minded manner, produce the best solution to the question at
hand.
ALA ARCHITECTS
ALA Architects
specializes in demanding public and cultural buildings, unique renovation
projects, station design and master planning. The Helsinki–based firm was
founded in 2005 by four partners: Juho Grönholm, Antti Nousjoki, Janne
Teräsvirta and Samuli Woolston after winning the 1st prize in the open
international competition for the new theater and concert hall in Kristiansand,
Norway. Kilden Performing Arts Centre opened in 2012.
Today, ALA is
today run by three of the four partners: Grönholm, Nousjoki and Woolston, and
in addition to them employs 35 architects, interior designers, students and
staff members, representing seven nationalities.
ALA’s most
recent completed projects are the expansion and renovation of the Kuopio City
Theatre and the new Lappeenranta City Theatre, both in eastern
Finland. Our current projects include the Helsinki Central Library, five
new subway stations along the western extension of Helsinki Metro, the
renovation of the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi, and the renovation of the
Dipoli student union building in Espoo, Finland and its repurposing to function
as the main building of Aalto University.
In addition to
having designed major public buildings in Finland and abroad, the partners have
taught architecture in Finland and at Columbia University and Washington
University in St. Louis. In 2012 they received the prestigious Finnish State
Prize for Architecture.
ALA seeks
fresh angles, flowing forms and surprising solutions. We trust in
beauty achieved by combining the intuitive and the analytical, the practical
and the extravagant, the rational and the irrational.
ARUP
In 1946, philosopher and engineer Ove Arup set up his
consulting engineering business in London. In the more than 60 years that have
followed, the business has grown into an international consulting firm of
unparalleled scope, owned in trust for its employees and using the business
principles that Ove Arup first set out – and which he articulated for posterity
in 1970 in his forward-looking ‘key
speech’.
Right from the start, Arup was known for its close and
exceptionally productive collaborations with leading and avant-garde
architects. In its first two decades, the firm expanded rapidly, and earned a
formidable reputation for devising advanced and economical solutions for
buildings – a reputation it still enjoys today.
By 1976, Arup’s reputation had become truly global
with the completion of the Sydney
Opera House. By this time, the firm had opened offices in Northern
Europe, Southern Africa, South East Asia and Australia. Its breadth of
expertise was already considerable: this ranged from offshore
engineering, acoustics, facades,
and specialist skills such as impact, blast, risk and seismic
engineering, to relatively-niche areas such as designing
transportation containers for nuclear
waste.
The firm’s portfolio today is broad and wide-ranging.
Many of the world’s most iconic sports stadia are Arup projects – such as Beijing’s Water Cube, the Singapore
Sport's Hub and London Aquatics Centre.
Arup’s work goes beyond buildings and infrastructure,
however. We collaborated with car manufacturers on the design of the SuperLight
car, which uses considerably less energy than the petrol equivalent.
Through our Operational Readiness, Activation and Transition
(ORAT) service we help
clients and other stakeholders plan for the seamless opening and operation of
major facilities like airports and hospitals or for major events. Arup has also
developed a range of proprietary computer modelling tools which it sells around
the world, as well as innovations such as our SoundLab,
an aural-realisation tool with which clients can hear subjectively how
different design options perform acoustically – before they are actually built.
Arup now has over 92
offices across Europe,
North America, Africa, Australasia and South East Asia. We employ more than
12,000 people globally.
http://www.arup.com/About_us/A_better_way/History.aspx
