The proposal by Ghirardelli Architetti for the Helsinki Central Library aims at being a place for everyone: open and accessible, usable and public. A public square animated by exhibitions, events and music. They propose a building where stratigraphy tells the plot of common feelings, the need of investigating, experimenting and understanding: all this is gathered and preserved in the libraries all over the world which people of all ages have given their contribution to, showing their own direct bond to the first trace given to build our memory. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The design is a space surrounded by some of the most important buildings of the city. It’s the cultural centre, heart and mind of the community. A sheltered space, visible and easily recognizable; a place where the human knowledge makes its way to a universe of learning through the library spaces. Inside and outside, public and private, interior and exterior. In this continuous switching from one state to the other, the bond with this building takes place: it introduces the mind to the deep explorations of our inner-self passing through the open gates of knowledge and sharing.
