| Rovaniemi library | |
|---|---|
| Rovaniemen kaupunginkirjaston pääkirjasto | |
| | |
| |
| Country | Finland |
| Type | Public library |
| Established | 1860; current building 1965 |
| Location | Rovaniemi |
| Coordinates | 66°29′48″N25°43′20″E / 66.496537°N 25.722138°E Coordinates: 66°29′48″N25°43′20″E / 66.496537°N 25.722138°E |
| Branch of | Rovaniemi City Library |
Rovaniemi library is the main municipal public library of the city of Rovaniemi, Finland. The library building is notable for having been designed by the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. [1]
The Rovaniemi public library dates back to 1860. [2]
The building where the library used to operate was, along with up to 90% of Rovaniemi's building stock, destroyed during the Lapland War by the retreating German forces, necessitating the rebuilding of the city centre. [3] In January 1945, Rovaniemi commissioned a new urban design from the Finnish Association of Architects rebuilding unit, with the design work headed by Aalto. [3]
Aalto's eventual design, approved in 1946, is called Poronsarvikaava (literally, "Reindeer Antler Plan"), and incorporates five arterial roads forming the shape of a reindeer antler. [4] [5] At the centre of the plan, a complex of Aalto-designed public and administrative buildings, commonly referred to as 'Aalto Centre', comprises the Lappia Hall arts and conference venue and the Rovaniemi city hall alongside the library. The complex has been designated and protected by the Finnish Heritage Agency as a nationally important built cultural environment (Valtakunnallisesti merkittävä rakennettu kulttuuriympäristö). [5]
The overall layout of the building consists of a long, rectangular office wing, and a central, fan-shaped area housing the main lending section and reading areas. [1] The reading areas are situated in a lower-level, recessed 'reading well', a signature feature of many of Aalto's library designs. [6] The fan-shaped section has extensive roof lights designed to allow the maximum amount of natural daylight to enter the building, especially falling on the bookshelves positioned along the interior walls. [3] [6] [7]
Much of the public areas is furnished with light fixtures and furniture by Aalto's own furniture and interior design company, Artek. [3]
The exterior roof is clad with copper plates. [7]
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, seeing painting and sculpture as "branches of the tree whose trunk is architecture." Aalto's early career ran in parallel with the rapid economic growth and industrialization of Finland during the first half of the 20th century. Many of his clients were industrialists, among them the Ahlström-Gullichsen family, who became his patrons. The span of his career, from the 1920s to the 1970s, is reflected in the styles of his work, ranging from Nordic Classicism of the early work, to a rational International Style Modernism during the 1930s to a more organic modernist style from the 1940s onwards.
Finland attracted over 6.8 million foreign tourists in 2018, with 53 percent coming from other European Union states. In 2017, the value added by tourism was about 4.6 billion euros, or 2.6% of the Finnish GDP, providing approximately 140,200 jobs.
Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Peräpohjola. The city centre is situated about 6 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the river Kemijoki and its tributary, the Ounasjoki. It is the second-largest city of Northern Finland after Oulu, and, together with the capital city Helsinki, it is one of Finland's most significant tourist cities in terms of foreign tourism.
The Finlandia Hall is a congress and event venue in the centre of Helsinki on the Töölönlahti Bay, owned by the City of Helsinki. The building, which was designed by architect Alvar Aalto, was completed in 1971. Every detail in the building is designed by Aalto. The designs were completed in 1962, with building taking place between 1967 and 1971. The Congress Wing was designed in 1970 and built in 1973–1975. In 2011, the building was expanded with new exhibition and meeting facilities. Finlandia Hall is known as the venue for the OSCE Summit held in August 1975, attended by 35 world leaders, including the leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, and the President of the United States, Gerald Ford.
Elissa Aalto was a Finnish architect.
Vyborg Library is a library in Vyborg, Russia, built during the time of Finnish sovereignty, before the Finnish city of Viipuri was annexed by the former USSR and its Finnish name was changed to Vyborg by the Soviet authorities.
The architecture of Finland has a history spanning over 800 years, and while up until the modern era the architecture was strongly influenced by currents from Finland's two respective neighbouring ruling nations Sweden and Russia, from the early 19th century onwards influences came directly from further afield: first when itinerant foreign architects took up positions in the country and then when the Finnish architect profession became established.
The Alvar Aalto Museum is a Finnish museum operating in two cities, Jyväskylä and Helsinki, in two locations each, dedicated to architect and designer Alvar Aalto. All four locations are open to the public. They are:
Aalto Center is the administrative and cultural center of the City of Seinäjoki, Finland. It comprises six buildings, designed by Alvar Aalto and mainly completed between 1960 and 1968. The center represents one of Aalto's most important works and is notable in Finland and even internationally as an architectural whole. The wooden plan of the center is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Ristinkirkko is the main church in Lahti, Finland. The modernist church, completed in 1978, was one of the last design projects of the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.
The Alajärvi city library is the main municipal library of the city of Alajärvi in Finland.
Lappia Hall is a performing arts venue and conference centre in Rovaniemi, the capital city of the Finnish Lapland region, situated close to the Arctic Circle. It is notable for having been designed by the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto in the modernist style.
Rovaniemi city hall is the main municipal administrative building of the city of Rovaniemi, Finland.
The Aalto Centre is an urban area milieu in the city of Rovaniemi, in the Finnish Lapland, designed by the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, comprising the city's key administrative and cultural buildings.
The Alajärvi administrative centre is a buildings complex in the city of Alajärvi, Finland, comprising the city hall and related offices, health centre, parish hall and other buildings. It was designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, who also designed the adjacent library building.
The Seinäjoki City Hall is the main municipal administrative building in the city of Seinäjoki, Finland. It is notable for having been designed by the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.
The Seinäjoki City Theatre is the municipal theatre of the city of Seinäjoki, Finland.
Seinäjoki Library is the municipal public library of the city of Seinäjoki, in Finland.
The Seinäjoki Civil Guard House is a building located in Seinäjoki, Finland. It is notable for being one of the first public buildings designed entirely by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, and is considered one of his breakthrough works.
Villa Tammekann is a residential building located in Tartu, Estonia, notable for being one of few private residences designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, his first design to be realised outside Finland, and the only one located in Estonia or anywhere in the Baltic states.