Malminkartano library’s new concept shows the handprint of the citizens

Challenge & Goal

There was a demand for a new kind of meeting place in Malminkartano, as vacant commercial premises and areas perceived as unsafe were negatively impacting the neighborhood’s development. Our goal was to transform Malminkartano library into a multi-purpose urban space that would revitalize the area, cultivate its development as an attractive neighbourhood with distinctive identity and enhance the well-being of both individuals and the local community.

Libraries, often described as public living rooms, have a unique ability to build connections with the regions and their inhabitants – even in today’s often fractured world. However, their impact is directly connected to their ability to adapt to changing urban mindscape and the emerging needs of diverse user groups and provide services that are both responsive to these needs and locally meaningful.

Approach

The library’s design process was participatory, involving residents, staff, and other stakeholders. We developed a participatory portfolio, consisting of a range of qualitative methods for different citizen groups. The diverse methods were designed to reach the library’s current visitors, but also to engage non-visitors. Our aim was to create new forms of interaction and to reach citizen groups who may not be reached by traditional ways of participation, e.g. young people, multilingual groups, and families with children.

In addition, local stakeholders, organizations and partners were invited to co-create the services. For the local partners, the library was seen as an inviting platform that fosters diverse activities and collaboration within the community.

Result

Building on our understanding of citizens’ and stakeholders’ needs we co-created the service and spatial concepts with the library staff to enable an engaging and meaningful leisure experience for diverse target groups in the new library. The service concept included a vision, positioning, customer experience goals, customer profiles and a service offering. The spatial concept defined the overall composition of spaces, spatial zoning, functionalities, and atmosphere ensuring alignment with the vision, the customer experience goals, and the service offering that enables new opportunities. The spatial concept will serve as the foundation for the architectural design in subsequent project phases. The new library will be part of the new school campus that will open in Malminkartano in the summer of 2029.

The new Malminkartano library aims to strengthen the identity of the area. It has been designed as a meeting place for the local community with special focus on children, youth and families. The new library responds to today’s desire for spaces where people can be ‘alone together’, it will simultaneously form a diverse as well as a unifying space. The new library will create a social anchor point and hub for everyone – a place where visitors can dive into the world of reading, meet new friends, study and work, play and enjoy. The new concept will offer exceptional range of spaces and activities that help visitors to unlock their creativity.

Positioning

Illustrations: Lille Santanen
Images: Jussi Hellsten, Keksi Agency, Vesa Laitinen