CENTRAL LIBRARY*

Since time in memorial, we have been writing down our texts and stories. We shared, collected and stored these writings in libraries: The larger the collection, the better the library was. In an age where information can be accessed anywhere at any time, the library is not just about books anymore: The simultaneity of all media and the ease of their accessibility make for a vibrant and functionally versatile meeting place, which is the guarantee for a successful “Heart of Helsinki.” For this stands our “Bookmark: the media interchanger”. New technologies will play a major role, such as defining the Central Library not only as a physical space, but also a new kind of digital library, which can be accessed via the internet and such have a wider connection to the community which it serves. The information created by society is in constant flux and escalates at an ever increasing pace. The building should be adaptable and flexible, thus absorbing the changing needs of the occupants. This flexibility is conceived as the creation of floors which allow for almost any activity on planar floors, stapled and layered around a multivolume space: It is a three dimensional experience perceiving the transition of the outside park area into the inside vertical landscape accentuated by partially overlapping and mostly staggered edges like undulating contour lines.