Oodi - a public library in Helsinki

I’m a huge fan of public libraries. This is one of the best things we’ve invented as a humanity - somewhere among the likes of sliced bread and cat memes. Oodi is of course a unique place that has been widely posted about, but only this year I’ve had a chance to visit it.

So, without further introduction, let me give you a tour of Oodi.

Oodi the central library of Helsinki is very central indeed - only a stone throw from the main railways station, and literally overlooking the classic architecture of the parliament of Finland. A massive block of land was just given to it, in a very convenient location for anyone commuting to the central city, or just passing through and wanting a place to spend some time. In the UK pubs always been that “third place” - a spot that isn’t your home or your job where you can spend time in comfort and meet some old or new friends. I’d argue that public libraries could totally be that, for us - the nerdier part of the population.

Oodi got books, but most of all it got space and tools for all sorts of activities. Meeting rooms, work desks, a sewing machine desk - book in advance, and use it for free.

Think of WeWork, but somehow - free of charge.

Want to print massive posters on a large format printer? You’ll pay for the paper, but otherwise - free.

Borrow musical instruments to learn how to play one. Or even better - book a recording studio right here, and record a studio album. No charge.

3D printers been around many public libraries - but how about a UV printer? I’m not even sure what it is used for, but it does look imposing.

There are of course books - the whole of the third floor is more of what you’d expect from a public library. Shelves and shelves of books, some in foreign languages.

Here you can also grab a book and read it - with a cup of your favorite hot beverage from a cafe, on a terrace, overlooking central Helsinki.

No registration required - you can literally walk in and spend the whole day here.

This is a robot docking station. Autonomous robots are tasked with moving and sorting books from floor to floor. Here is one of them - named Patu, after the famous duo of Tatu and Patu - the handy inventors of incredible contraptions. Think of Wallace and Gromit, but in Finland.

But of course it’s not just books. Here you can borrow movies on blu-ray discs.

Here are Playstation 5 and Xbox games. You can either borrow these, or play them in the library - there are fully equipped gaming rooms on the second floor.

Shelves of board games to borrow - all the good stuff. If you like board games, you also well aware how expensive some of these can be for a casual impulse buy.

The stairs that look like our galaxy - with a long list of dedications of who this library is meant for. In short - whoever you are, whatever language you speak, if you are local or not at all - this place is for you to enjoy.

The original plan was to include a public sauna in the building - alas that never came to be. But they did built an underground cinema. Kino Regina is the main screening spot today for Helsinki cinema archive, featuring 35mm and 70mm film projectors - and mainly screening movies from 35mm film. A rare treat in today almost entirely digital cinema distribution.

Since we’re talking about Finland, it’s worth remembering the climate requirements. Half of the year is freezing temperatures, and Oodi is built “using passive solar building design and uses almost no energy” (wiki). This means letting sun heat into the building during winter, and shielding from the sun heat during summer - all done with passive approach at the architecture stage, without active heating or air conditioning. Or, as I call it - magic.

It also looks incredible from the outside. At some angles it looks like a ship, at others - a space ship from a more advanced civilisation that landed in the middle of the city and brought all the knowledge of the Universe, for free.

In many ways I feel like many politicians in the world would prefer Finland to be an imaginary country - full of Moomins, and somehow - no homelessness. But Oodi is very much real - everyone is welcome to visit it. And I hope we can build more of these.