In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Helsinki Central Library Oodi (Helsingin keskustakirjasto Oodi) stands on Kansalaistori square, facing the Finnish Parliament. It opened in December 2018 as a national gift for 100 years of Finnish independence. The spruce-clad building has a ground-floor lobby with a cinema and cafe, a makerspace on the middle floor and a top-floor reading hall, “Book Heaven”, with indoor trees. Admission is free, and it is open seven days a week (08:00–21:00 on weekdays, 10:00–20:00 at weekends). Allow 60 to 90 minutes for the three floors, the double-helix staircase and the view from the Citizens’ Balcony. Or book a tour: a 5½-hour van tour with a ferry ridead from €127 stops at Helsinki Cathedral, Oodi, the Sibelius Monument and Suomenlinna.
⚠️ Workshop equipment must be booked. Anyone can look round the second-floor Urban Workshop, but using the machines needs a time slot on the City of Helsinki’s Varaamo portal. Desks and reading nooks on the third floor need no reservation.
The building
In 2012 the City of Helsinki launched an open international competition, “Heart of the Metropolis”, for a new central library. It drew 544 anonymous entries, and the winner, Käännös (“Turning”), came from the Helsinki practice ALA Architects.
Oodi cost €98 million and opened on 5 December 2018 as the civic monument for Finland’s centenary of independence. In its first year it received more than three million visitors.
The bridge structure
Oodi works structurally as an inhabited bridge:
- Two steel arches: Each weighs 1,000 tonnes and spans over 100 metres between concrete pile foundations.
- Column-free ground floor: Because the arches carry the upper floors, the entrance hall has no interior columns.
- Spruce cladding: The exterior is clad in 33-millimetre Finnish spruce boards treated to withstand Baltic frost and sea wind.
Exploring Oodi floor by floor
The three floors are a civic lobby on the ground level, an enclosed workshop in the middle and a reading hall on top.
Double-helix staircase, Oodi. Photo: TuukkaH, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
First floor: the civic living room and cinema
The ground floor opens onto the square:
- Lobby and information desk: Pick up English-language floor plans, ask librarians for recommendations and watch the book-return robots sort volumes into underground boxes.
- Kino Regina: A 250-seat cinema run by the National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI). Screenings run Tuesday to Sunday and include international classics, restored Finnish films and experimental work, some projected from 35mm and 70mm prints.
- Cafe and restaurant: The ground-floor bistro serves seasonal Nordic lunches, vegetarian bowls and korvapuusti cinnamon buns.
- Seating and chess tables: The southern end has communal seating, chess tables and exhibitions of local community art.
The double-helix staircase
A matte-black double-helix steel staircase links the ground floor to the upper floors. A text artwork by the Finnish artist Otto Karvonen runs along the balustrades. In 2017 the public was asked who the library should be dedicated to, and Karvonen applied hundreds of the answers, in Finnish, Swedish and English, in white lettering:
- “For the curious, for the lonely, for dreamers, for refugees, for mothers, for the silent, for dissidents, for seekers, for all of us.”
Second floor: the Urban Workshop (Kaupunkiverstas)
The middle floor is a makerspace instead of shelves:
- Digital fabrication: 3D printers, laser cutters, vinyl cutters for decals, heat presses for t-shirts and tote bags, and large-format plotters.
- Textiles: Computerised sewing machines, overlockers, embroidery machines and button-making equipment.
- Recording studios: Soundproofed booths for music, podcasts and video editing, with synthesizers, electric guitars and monitors.
- Gaming rooms: Gaming PCs, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch consoles and VR headsets.
- Work pods and meeting rooms: Glass-walled rooms with monitors, screens and whiteboards.
Cost and access: Using the machines is free; you pay only for materials such as filament by the gram, vinyl sheets or plywood for the laser cutter. Book through the City of Helsinki’s Varaamo portal.
Book Heaven (Kirjataivas), Oodi. Photo: Nicolas Buffler, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Third floor: Book Heaven (Kirjataivas)
The ceiling curves in white waves, with circular skylights that let daylight down into the room. In Book Heaven:
- Books: Around 100,000 volumes in roughly 20 languages, including Finnish, Swedish, English, Russian, German, French and Spanish. The shelves are chest height so the 4,500-square-metre floor stays open to view.
- Trees: Seven living ficus trees grow in planters between the reading areas.
- Children’s area: A reading corner at the southern end has stepped carpeted seating, picture books and pushchair parking.
- Cafe: Coffee, tea and sandwiches beside the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The Citizens’ Balcony (Kansalaisparveke)
Sliding glass doors on the western side of the third floor lead onto the Citizens’ Balcony, a cantilevered timber deck over Kansalaistori square. The architects set it at the same height as the colonnaded portico of the Finnish Parliament House (Eduskuntatalo) across the street, so that library users stand level with the legislators.
Practical visitor details
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Admission | Free (no ticket, card or registration). |
| Weekday Hours | Monday – Friday: 08:00 – 21:00 |
| Weekend Hours | Saturday – Sunday: 10:00 – 20:00 |
| Location | Töölönlahdenkatu 4, 00100 Helsinki (on Kansalaistori square). |
| Nearest Transit | Helsinki Central Station (3-minute walk); Elielinaukio bus terminal; Rautatientori metro station. |
| Accessibility | Step-free throughout, with lifts, automatic doors and accessible gender-neutral toilets on all floors. |
| Wi-Fi and power | Free public Wi-Fi (Helsinki City Wi-Fi); power outlets at all desks and benches. |
The library is open 362 days a year, closing only on a few public holidays such as Midsummer Eve and Christmas Eve.
Around Töölönlahti
- Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum: Immediately south of Oodi, a zinc-and-glass building designed by the American architect Steven Holl.
- Helsinki Music Centre (Musiikkitalo): Between Oodi and Parliament, home of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
- Töölönlahti Bay Loop: From Oodi’s northern entrance, a paved 2.2-kilometre walking and cycling loop around the bay, past 19th-century wooden villas and parkland.
- Temppeliaukio Rock Church: A 15-minute walk west into Töölö; see the Temppeliaukio Rock Church guide.
- Ateneum Art Museum: 400 metres southeast across Rautatientori; see the Ateneum tickets guide.
- Free sights: Free things to do in Helsinki.
Common questions
Is Oodi Library free to enter for tourists?
Yes. Anyone can walk in, browse books, use the Wi-Fi, work at desks, visit the children's floor and step onto the Citizens' Balcony without a ticket, reservation or library card.
What are the opening hours of Oodi Library?
Monday to Friday 08:00 to 21:00 and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 20:00. The service desks and the Urban Workshop close earlier, typically at 19:00 on weekdays and 18:00 at weekends.
What is on each of the three floors of Oodi?
The ground floor has the lobby, a cafe-restaurant, event spaces, book-sorting robots and the 250-seat cinema Kino Regina. The second floor is the Urban Workshop, with 3D printers, laser cutters, sewing stations and recording studios. The third floor is 'Book Heaven', with 100,000 volumes, reading areas under indoor trees, a children's play area and the open-air Citizens' Balcony.
Can visitors use the 3D printers and equipment at Oodi?
Yes. Book equipment such as 3D printers and sewing machines through the City of Helsinki's Varaamo service. Using the machines is free; you pay at cost for materials such as printing filament, vinyl or fabric.
Who designed Oodi Central Library?
The Finnish practice ALA Architects, who won an anonymous international competition against 543 other entries. It was built to mark the centenary of Finland's independence and opened in December 2018.
