Helsinki Central Library Oodi

The Helsinki Central Library Oodi (Helsingin keskustakirjasto Oodi; Helsingfors centrumbibliotek Ode), commonly referred to as Oodi (lit. 'ode'), 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 Museum of Contemporary Art. Despite its name, the library is not the main library in the Helsinki City Library system, which is located in Pasila instead; "central" refers to its location in the city centre.

History
A design competition in 2012 to build the library was won by the Finnish architectural firm ALA Architects and structural design by Ramboll Finland. ALA Architects won the commission over 543 other competitors. The library was planned to be a three-story building and to include a sauna (which hasn't materialised ) and a ground-floor movie theatre. In January 2015, the Helsinki City Council voted 75–8 to launch the building project. The estimated costs of the new library was 98 million EUR, of which the state agreed to pay 30 million EUR in connection with the centenary of Finland's independence in 2017. The City of Helsinki budgeted 66 million EUR for the building.

On 31 December 2016, it was announced that the new library would be named Oodi in Finnish and Ode in Swedish. The name was selected from a pool of some 1,600 names proposed by the public. According to Helsinki Deputy City Director Ritva Viljanen, "Oodi" was chosen because it's easy to remember, easy to say, and easy to translate. The selection jury also did not want to name the new library after a person.

The library was built in the Töölönlahti district next to Helsinki Music Centre and Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art and inaugurated on 5 December 2018 on the eve of the Finnish Independence Day.

Awards
In 2019, the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) named Oodi as the best Public Library of the Year.

Services
Specially designed robots transport books to the third floor that has an 17200 m2 area designated for books. The rest of the space is designed for meetings and events.

The National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI) organizes regular archival film screenings at the Kino Regina cinema, located since 2019 in the Helsinki Central Library Oodi.

Energy use and environmental impact
The building is regarded as very energy-efficient due to its use of local materials and its use of sunlight. The building uses passive solar building design and uses almost no energy.