PRAUD shared with us their concept proposal, titled ‘The Heart of the Metropolis’ for the Helsinki Central Library competition. With the intent for a building that serves a larger civic function by creating a space for congregation at an urban scale, their library design aims at becoming a ‘Living Room’ for the city. The result is a true metropolitan building that not only creates a dialogue with the city, but one within the architectural language, making it timeless and essential for Helsinki. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Architecturally, we were thinking of how to maximize the relationship between the city, the library, and its surroundings with a clear massing strategy. Because the building is oriented North to South, a vertical doughnut is stretched along the North and South axis to create a large elevated atrium that serves as the city living room. This strategy allows for the library collection to be elevated as a beacon of education to the city while all other programming is organized around the atrium.
