In contrast to the other buildings in the Töölönlahti District, an essential component of the design involved creating a public space at the top of the library, visually connecting Töölönlahti to Senate Square and the city at large. The library is organized by six intersecting axes that afford spectacular vistas while creating a variety of spatial configurations for the library’s program. With it’s six floor levels each pointing toward a celebrated landmark, the Central Library becomes a symbolic center for city.

Type: Civic, Library
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Status: 2012-2013, Competition
Area: 14,000 m2
Client: City Of Helsiniki, Helsinki, Finland
Engineer: ARUP
Environmental: ARUP: Russell Fortmeyer, Senior Consultant
Visualizer: Labtop
Architect: PAR: Jennifer Marmon, Partner in Charge; Matthew Young, Project Architect; Team: Ross Ferrari, Allison Klute, Cory Ringo, Seyoung Choi, Ryan Fagre, Tom Ames, Reza Hadian, Garrett Runck, Aliya Popita, Yen Vo, Cici Luong

Awards:
International Design Award, Conceptual, Second Place, 2014
International Design Award, Institutional, Second Place, 2014
American Architecture Award, Chicago Athenaeum|European Center for Architecture, 2013
American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles, Next LA Honor Award, 2013
American Institute of Architects, New York, Merit Award, 2013
American Institute of Architects, National, Emerging Professionals Award, 2013
World Architecture News (WAN), 21×21 Award, Finalist, London, UK, 2013

Conferences:
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) 101 Conference,San Francisco, 2013
Facades + Innovation Conference, Extreme Ocularity, Chicago, 2012

Exhibitions:
The City and The World Exhibition, 14th Annual Biennial of Architecture, Buenos Aires, AR, 2013
American Institute of Architects, New York, Awards Exhibition Center for Architecture, 2013
The Southern California Institute of Architecture [SCI-Arc] 40th Anniversary Exhibition, Los Angeles, 2013
American Institute of Architects, National Awards Exhibition American Center for Architecture, DC, 2013
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) 101 Conference, New Constellations Ecologies Exhibition,
San Francisco, 2013
Heart of the Metropolis Exhibition, Jätkäsaari Bunker, Helsinki, 2012