Tampere Central Library
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Tampere Central Library ( Finnish: ''Tampereen kaupungin pääkirjasto'') is the main municipal library in
Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...
,
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
. It is also known as ''Metso'' ('
Capercaillie ''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse. Feathers from the bird were used to create the characteristic hat of the bersaglieri, an Italian ace infantry formation. ...
'), due to its resemblance to the bird, when viewed from above. The library is located along the
Hämeenpuisto Hämeenpuisto is a street and public park in Tampere, Finland that is over in length. Its length and central location has earned the park the name "Central Park of Tampere". The park was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel in 1830. Originally the nam ...
boulevard in the city centre.


Facilities

In addition to the main lending collection, the library houses a reference section and information service, children's and young adults' sections, newspaper reading room, music section as well as a small performance stage. There are also meeting, project work and exhibition spaces, public computer terminals, as well as a cafeteria, ''Cafe Metso''. The facilities are laid out over three floors. For a quarter of a century, the building was also home to the city's Moomin Museum, until its move to new premises in 2012.


Building

The library was designed by architects Reima and Raili Pietilä in the
organic architecture Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. This is achieved through design approaches that aim to be sympathetic and well-integrated with a site, so buildings, furn ...
style. The design contest was held in 1978, with the Pietiläs' proposal ''Soidinmenot'' ('
Lek mating A lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners with which to mate. It can also refer to a space us ...
') winning by unanimous decision. Inspired by the architects' visit to Ireland during the initial ideas phase, their design language was influenced by
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
patterns, animal shapes and
glacial A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
formations. The building exterior is made of
granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
, wiborgite, copper and glass. Construction began in 1983, and the library opened to the public in August 1986. A comprehensive renovation was carried out in 2015-2017, at a cost of over €11 million, to refurbish the facilities and bring them better in line with modern requirements.


Gallery


See also

*
Helsinki Central Library Oodi The Helsinki Central Library Oodi (; ), commonly referred to as Oodi (), is a public library in Helsinki, Finland. The library is situated in the Kluuvi district, close to Helsinki Central Station and next to Helsinki Music Centre and Kiasma, Kia ...


References


Further reading


Short article on the building's architecture


External links

* (in Finnish) {{Authority control Libraries in Finland Buildings and structures in Tampere Modernist architecture in Finland Organic architecture Library buildings completed in 1986 Libraries established in 1986