The new Helsinki Central Library will blur the boundary of what a library is with what a library could become. Acting as the living room of the Museum district, the floating aesthetic of the library draws the public into the lobby and up and through a series of enigmatic topologies. These topologies serve as the main circulation, creating voids through the box that create a connection between the ground and the sky. Acting as arteries, they working to move light through the building. The louvered façade continues the blurring by creating a moray effect for people walking through the site and allowing only certain parts of the inner topologies to be seen from the outside. The relationship between the building and the site then becomes an everchanging experience as you move in relation to the building. The floating effect of the box also serves to blur the limits of the building, allowing the bottom mounds to bleed outwards and continue into the landscape.

Original Design by JaJa Architects

Professor: Mark Mistur & Erik Churchill
Partner: Brandon Terry

Structural Engineers: Jenna Hastings and Jacqueline Sanchez