[HN Gopher] A Tour of Oodi
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A Tour of Oodi
Author : zdw
Score : 100 points
Date : 2026-04-09 17:27 UTC (3 days ago)
(HTM) web link (blinry.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (blinry.org)
| fsloth wrote:
| Really nice building and space.
|
| The article summarizes the functional parts so well. What is very
| hard to communicate is the feeling of space, especially in the
| top floor with the books. It's sort of unique, and recommend a
| visit anyone traveling nearby.
|
| I worked at the company that developed the software used to
| design the construction of Oodi (Trimble/ Tekla Structures). It's
| so awesome to walk through a building you know the tool you
| helped to build, helped to build :D
| zokier wrote:
| To me the actual book section of Oodi is not particularly
| interesting/inspiring/impressive. It's not bad, but it is pretty
| mundane and gets overshadowed by all the other stuff going on in
| the building.
| sfeng wrote:
| Famously the actual main library at Pasila has a much larger
| book collection. Oodi is more of a community space / show
| piece.
| calpaterson wrote:
| Fair, but it is part of a pretty large library system and you
| can order whatever you want to pickup at Oodi
| Hamuko wrote:
| Oodi was noted in the media to be particularly unimpressive
| when it came to actually having books back when it opened.
|
| https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000005933560.html
| amakhov wrote:
| Well, book collection of the particular library doesn't matter
| much nowadays since you can order a book online and it will be
| delivered to your closest library. So it's more like a public
| space.
| cxr wrote:
| This is the future of libraries, and it sucks. Austin's downtown
| Central Library is like this. It sucks. They are not places for
| reaching the future.
|
| Previously:
|
| > _So many environments nowadays, even the ones that are
| ostensibly created to fulfill this sort of thing, are just total
| failures at actually providing them. I 'm thinking of things like
| public libraries. I live in Austin and have a major axe to grind
| about the public libraries here, which are nothing like what
| you'd get if you were actually interested in the pro-social goals
| that you'd think a public library would have in its charter. A
| teenager looking to escape their high-risk environment or an
| adult who's had their feet knocked out from beneath them
| basically stands no chance at getting out of their predicament if
| their only option were to use the public libraries here, which
| would unfortunately act more like a vortex to ensure they stay in
| the suck._ <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42323264>
|
| The photos and breathless wonderment showcase it all, as well as
| this choice line from the slide at the top of this post: "Oodi is
| our common living room". These are not quiet places to study or
| get (back) on your feet.
|
| These are non-commercial substitutes for the shopping malls of
| yestercentury first, egoistic art pieces and boondoggle for
| administrative make-work second, and well-intentioned but poorly
| thought out and executed public resources at a very, very, very,
| very, very distant third.
| Sharlin wrote:
| Happily, Helsinkians don't agree. Everyone seems to love Oodi.
| cxr wrote:
| It would "seem" that "everyone" loves Austin's downtown
| Central Library. Reality: they don't.
| ks2048 wrote:
| There's nothing "everyone" loves.
|
| Austin Central Library has a 4.7/5.0 on 1,464 reviews on
| Google Maps. Of course, this is a biased sample. But, I
| think it's safe to say lots of people love it.
| TFNA wrote:
| As a Helsinki resident, I agree with much of what you say about
| Oodi. And in spite of the other commenter claiming "everyone"
| loves it, I don't nor do many of my peers of an intellectual
| bent, mad about books. This building only disappoints us.
|
| But here is the thing: in Finland academic libraries are open
| to the general public. Someone wanting to immerse themselves in
| actual books, or work in silence, have a wealth of options in
| downtown Helsinki: the University of Helsinki main library, the
| Finnish National Library, the Finnish Literature Society's
| library, the Research Institute for Languages of Finland's
| library, and more. So, if Oodi ended up being a plain old
| social third space instead of a "real library", that didn't
| take anything away from Helsinki residents.
| aifhyahdhd wrote:
| > So, if Oodi ended up being a plain old social third space
| instead of a "real library", that didn't take anything away
| from Helsinki residents.
|
| Taxes and corruption.
| TFNA wrote:
| Nah, I might be a hermit and misanthrope who prefers books
| to people and hates crotch goblins running around, but I
| can still see the value for general society of a third
| space open to everyone, young and old. Especially when many
| people are hurting these days from lack of IRL contact, and
| the alternative would be expensive for-pay locations like
| coffee joints or pubs.
| cxr wrote:
| > that didn't take anything away from Helsinki residents
|
| That's the real problem I have with the false promises of
| places like Austin's Central Library and other Oodi-likes.
|
| The biggest threat to libraries and the social goods they're
| ostensibly designed to produce are not really the people
| trying to tear them down to tighten budgets. It's way more
| pernicious than that:
|
| The biggest threat is the people trying to tear them down and
| replace them with places like this.
| fastforwardius wrote:
| I mostly agree with you.
|
| I find Oodi (and Sello after redesign) to feel like a typical
| open office space (rather than mall) but definitely not like a
| proper library.
|
| Rikhardinkatu is what I'd expect library to be while Lippulaiva
| is rather nice for a library that's part of a mall.
| stevekemp wrote:
| Why would somebody wanting to escape a high-risk environment,
| or some knocked-over adult go to a library?
|
| It's great that libraries exist, be they in Austin, or here in
| Finland, but they're not where you get support when falling on
| hard times , or needing active support and assistance from your
| council/government/city/region. A library is not a walk-in
| rescue center, and nor should it be.
|
| Oodi is a pretty space, it has nice facilities, although a
| surprisingly small stock of books. That said you can order
| books to collect them there, and Helsinki has no shortage of
| "real libraries". I think Oodi as a showcase, and a random
| mishmash of services and facilities is pretty good though. I
| went almost weekly with my youngest child for a few years, and
| have fond memories of the people I talked to, and the soft-play
| area.
| cxr wrote:
| > Why would somebody wanting to escape a high-risk
| environment, or some knocked-over adult go to a library?
|
| ... is this a joke? Regardless of the bizarre mental place
| from which only such a bizarre question can arise[1], the
| answer to the question can be found _on the other end of the
| link I included--not that it should even have to be spelled
| out_ : "Researchers determined risk by asking lots of
| questions. For example, they asked whether the kid has basic
| necessities, like electricity or a quiet place to study."
|
| * * * * *
|
| > A library is not a walk-in rescue center, and nor should it
| be.
|
| Right. Exactly. It's a library. It should be a library--one
| able to provide (and that _does_ provide) the things that you
| should be able to count on a library to provide--and that few
| other places can if that 's what you need. Not a cacophonous
| community center concerned foremost with providing photo ops
| for bougie normies living in relative comfort to post on
| Instagram during their disruptive stroll through. That's the
| _entire_ basis of my position and the premise of the multiple
| comments I wrote about this.
|
| 1. <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40136743#:~:text=I%2
| 0ca...>
| eulenteufel wrote:
| Ah yes, the bizarre mental place of being a european and
| having a social net that extends past public libraries, a
| strange condition indeed.
|
| Helsinki still has classic public libraries, so kids
| wanting to study in peace can still do that plus having the
| opportunity to meet people and engage in other activities
| that might be difficult at home, like practicing an
| instrument.
|
| The notion that a knocked-over person is best supported by
| a library sounds quite strange from my perspective. A
| person struggling needs first and foremost to shelter, food
| and access to hygiene. Libraries do not provide any of
| that. They do provide a quite place to think and work and
| access to public information with newspapers and internet
| access, but a good shelter and a smartphone provide this
| too.
|
| I think Finland (and many other countries) provide enough
| support to relieve Libraries of being a first address for
| struggling people, while still maintaining these libraries
| for what they are really needed. Oodi and similar projects
| existing does not take that away and I'm surprised you
| think it does.
| cxr wrote:
| > The notion that a knocked-over person is best supported
| by a library sounds quite strange from my perspective. A
| person struggling needs first and foremost to shelter,
| food and access to hygiene. Libraries do not provide any
| of that.
|
| > Finland (and many other countries) provide enough
| support to relieve Libraries of being a first address for
| struggling people
|
| Could you stop doing this, please? You are confabulating.
| I literally did not say any of the things that you're
| describing here. Not only did I not say it, I didn't even
| say anything _like_ it. So... stop, please?
|
| What I have done, by now, is to have made it abundantly,
| excruciatingly clear that I'm talking only about
| libraries providing the things that a library should
| provide, and nothing more. (And that it is, in fact, the
| position of those in support of e.g. Oodi who,
| perversely, are the ones suggesting that these libraries
| should be more--though you clearly don't appreciate this
| contradiction.)
|
| > a good shelter and a smartphone provide this too
|
| No. Absolutely not.
|
| You don't understand, and that's great--you don't have to
| understand. And it's not a European versus American thing
| that's the root of the problem here. (There's no shortage
| of Americans who would fall into the same camp as you.
| That would be the expected outcome if I were to call upon
| any man- or woman-on-the-street and have this
| discussion.) It's a failure of empathy-- _true_ empathy--
| of the sort that requires being able to _really_ think
| through everything involved in a counterfactual before
| staking a position about what would or wouldn 't be
| sufficient in some hypothetical that's so far removed the
| present moment that you're acquainted with. And that's
| how societies get future libraries like the ones we're
| talking about.
|
| There are a lot of Americans who know how to make a
| peanut butter and jelly sandwich given the basic
| ingredients/tools. There are a lot of Americans who, when
| asked, would probably tell you with great confidence that
| they could for sure explain all of the steps involved in
| making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with those
| ingredients. There are far, far, far fewer Americans than
| that who could actually provide an explanation, sans
| errors/mistakes.
| eulenteufel wrote:
| > Could you stop doing this, please? You are
| confabulating. I literally did not say any of the things
| that you're describing here. Not only did I not say it, I
| didn't even say anything like it. So... stop, please?
|
| I've reread your comments and agree now understand that
| you are not talking about providing social net basics but
| providing the service a library provides. So I'll stop
| with this point.
|
| I was probably confused by the statements (emphasis is
| mine): > These are not quiet places to study or _get
| (back) on your feet_
|
| Your anser (is this a joke) to: > Why would somebody
| wanting to escape a high-risk environment, or some
| knocked-over adult go to a library?
|
| Having understood this it is clear why the rest of my
| comment makes no sense as a reply, as it is about a
| certain profile of needs that we both agree libraries do
| not need to fulfill.
|
| I do think that libraries provide things that a shelter
| and a smartphone can not give, like a quite place to
| study that is not your home, perspective that you might
| not have or know how to find, and using my (aparently
| limited) empathy I'm sure I could come up with many more.
|
| If you wouldn't mind I would like to know what in your
| opinion are the essential things a library provides.
|
| I also still don't understand why Oodi existing is
| supposed a problem. Are you afraid places like Oodi will
| drive classic libraries out of existence or are you
| aggravated because you consider it unnecessary (or even
| counteproductive) spending?
| antasvara wrote:
| I sympathize with what you're saying. The "classic" library
| provides something that no other public spaces do.
|
| But its worth mentioning that there are fewer and fewer
| "other public spaces." My local library is just that, a
| library, and that means I can't:
|
| 1. Eat in it, perhaps while studying. 2. Talk above a
| whisper. 3. Rent anything but books that I might want/need.
| 4. Do anything on a computer but be on the internet (the
| computers run a locked down version of Windows XP)
|
| That's not a "problem" exactly. This library is doing
| exactly what a library is supposed to do. But my town has
| one other "public" space, which is a combined community and
| senior center. That's not good for much outside of chair
| yoga for a kid in a high risk environment; it's largely
| designed for adults.
|
| It's nice that my library is "just a library" because I
| don't need it to be anything else. But the fact is that the
| library is one of the few open, walk-in, free public spaces
| left. It being "just a library" in that case seems like a
| missed opportunity.
| jltsiren wrote:
| Governments provide services to all kinds of people. Some
| services exist to help people with specific needs, while
| others just try to make everyone's lives a little bit
| nicer. Public libraries are in the latter category, at
| least in Finland.
|
| Libraries, like institutions in general, evolve over time.
| Libraries have extended their range services from books and
| study spaces to newspapers and magazines to music
| recordings to computers, printers, and internet access to
| all kinds of devices to event spaces and meeting rooms, and
| so on. At some point, you have to decide whether all these
| services should be under the umbrella of the same
| organization, or if you should create a new organization.
| But because new organizations mean more administrative
| overhead, you only create them if you expect it to improve
| the services.
|
| Many of the more traditional libraries I've used were
| located in various community centers. In addition to the
| library, those centers might have event spaces, exhibition
| spaces, adult education programs, youth centers, and so on.
| Oodi might have fancier architecture and a more central
| location, but it's fundamentally not that different.
| emilfihlman wrote:
| It's awful as a library, mediocre as an event space and not
| really good as a hacker space.
|
| It's beautiful, though, but that's about it.
|
| t. a Finn
| aifhyahdhd wrote:
| > The bottom floor has a big area full of chess and go boards,
| and there were in fact a couple of people using them!
|
| Very cheap, relatively benign, with light educational and
| recreational value.
|
| Decent.
|
| > and a built-in cinema, which shows classic movies for little
| money.
|
| Some of it can have benign cultural value, some of it can have
| malign cultural value. A bit expensive. Could have limited it to
| more boring but educational movies and films, perhaps with a
| focus on edutainment friendly to young children. Why spend
| taxpayer money on enabling people to watch braindead, mindrotting
| zombie movies for free or cheap?
|
| Bad and soulless, fire whoever was involved with this.
|
| > professional digital working stations, with high-quality
| screens!
|
| Expensive. Some educational potential, some startup potential,
| but will that be realized?
|
| Serves some fields but not others. Did they take a look at demand
| and supply regarding society?
|
| Vulnerable to theft, grift and corruption?
|
| Too expensive, cheaper hardware would probably have made more
| sense, unless they can make a strong case for the expensive
| hardware.
|
| > There's a big number of recording studios and sound production
| studios, all of which you can rent!
|
| Is there really a dearth of professional musicians in Finnish
| society? This seems focused on startups and budding
| professionals, but a much cheaper space with much cheaper
| instruments that could be given to children both young and old,
| where instruments can be cheaply replaced once the children
| breaks them, would have much higher educational and creative
| value.
|
| Bad and soulless, fire everyone involved with this.
|
| > Oh, and while we're at it, why don't we rent some instruments,
| as well? There's full-time staff maintaining them.
|
| Grift and corruption, fire everyone involved with this, go
| straight to prison, do not collect $200.
|
| > There's many small and big group rooms which you can rent, many
| of them in active use! I see group meetings, students working,
| and podcast interviews being recorded!
|
| Genuinely great for students, not that expensive. Good.
|
| > Wanna rent a kitchen and cook with your friends? Sure, you can
| do that here!
|
| A bit expensive. For homeless people and grift. The library staff
| might end up discriminating against homeless people, or have
| extra grift. Could have been good if limited to educational usage
| for children and teenagers, with adult supervision.
|
| Have fun with homeless people committing theft in the library.
|
| Bad.
|
| > You can also rent game rooms with modern video game consoles
| and VR gear, along with the games to play in them!
|
| Bad, corrupt and expensive. Could have been used for some more
| meaningful purposes like education and startups. Like letting
| children and teenagers try VR gear and program software for it,
| and possibly get inspired for non-entertainment usage of VR such
| as remote healthcare.
|
| If really insisting on mindrotting entertainment that people can
| do at home, then it could have been done much more cheaply.
|
| Fire everyone involved with it.
|
| > There's a makerspace: It has several 3D printers, multiple
| laser cutters, and engravers. And staff which can help you learn
| how to use them.
|
| > Sewing machines! Shirt presses! Cutting plotters!
|
| Expensive. Could be great regarding startups and education. Did
| they analyze needs for society, or did they do it due to it being
| trendy? Probably still good.
| aifhyahdhd wrote:
| Corrupt and soulless people will downvote this.
| nnevatie wrote:
| It almost reads as you were not a fan.
| alterom wrote:
| >Have fun with homeless people committing theft in the library.
|
| Oh yeah.
|
| In Finland, the country notoriously famous for its unmanageable
| _homelessness problem_.
|
| Get a reality check, my friend.
| jdlshore wrote:
| > fire everyone involved with this.
|
| I know you're just trying to show off how superior you are, and
| you haven't really thought through the implications of somebody
| getting fired for making a mistake, but I'd like this
| rhetorical flourish to end. Making a mistake (or disappointing
| an internet commenter who's put in very little thought and even
| less effort into a solution) isn't something that should
| threaten people's livelihoods.
|
| On a related note, your style of post comes across as immature
| and/or socially inept. You might want to rethink how you
| present yourself online.
| balgg wrote:
| >Why spend taxpayer money on enabling people to watch
| braindead, mindrotting zombie movies for free or cheap?
|
| Might want to open their webpage at least once before you spout
| such uninformed opinions: https://kinoregina.fi/
|
| Their whole thing is showing mostly culturally important films
| from known and lesser known directors/actors from around the
| world. I honestly don't think it could provide much more
| cultural value than it already does.
|
| I was going to write more but the more I read your post it just
| looks like troll post so I'll just point out that yes, they do
| also provide movie and arts education, which is also stated on
| their website.
| petetnt wrote:
| Kino Regina, the movie theater mentioned, is owned and operated
| by the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency and does not only show
| classics, but also a lot of contemporary movies of note, right up
| until recent releases. It has modern hi-grade digifilm equipment
| but is also equiped to show film from eg. 70mm and cinemascope
| formats. They also host concerts and seminars.
| tarvaina wrote:
| I live nearby and really enjoy Oodi. It's usually much busier
| than in these pictures.
| oe wrote:
| The article mentions it in passing, but Oodi is an important stop
| for parents with babies. The third floor is quite often packed
| with strollers.
|
| Sure you can hang out in any cafe, but I find it valuable to have
| a place like Oodi that's free, easy to access, and built with
| kids in mind. When taking the kids on trips in Helsinki, we often
| visit Oodi to eat lunch, just because it's so easy. Or the whole
| trip might be just to visit Oodi, eat, and grab a couple books.
| Of course the central location helps a lot.
| elcapitan wrote:
| Personally as a lover of public libraries, which to me have
| always been places to discover old and new books in a quiet
| atmosphere, this change of the "library" to some sort of
| community center is rather annoying. You usually end up with a
| minimum viable amount of books, all the interesting stuff hidden
| away in a magazine, so that you can't browse and discover
| yourself, and a high level of noise and distraction everywhere.
| I'm not against creating such community spaces at all, but please
| keep the library alive and open and separate from those very
| different activities.
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