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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
Book cover


Sentinel - Helsinki Central Library

Term

4. term

Publication year

2013

Submitted on

Pages

115

Abstract

This master thesis takes its basis in the open competition for a new central library situated on the water front at the Töölönlahti bay area in Helsinki. The urban district consist of highly cultural and diverse buildings which the new library, consecutively with the expansion of the close by park and dwellings, should interlink and form the new heart of Helsinki. The project finds its starting point from the primordial instincts of the human and forms a clash between new and old. Conceptually, the building finds its footing in the depiction of the cave - a robust, protective sanctuary - that attract passing Finns from the adjacent plaza. The interior forms a wide network of variating flows and creates a miniature society - a city in a city - where life unfolds between solid, sturdy volumes and the voids between them, giving life to squares, streets and niches. The library offers a creative milieu where users have the chance to be inspired, share and learn by others. It is a transformation of the traditionally library, that gives its users the right appurtenances to be an active producer in a vast and sharing community.