Store and Share
Museums and Libraries in Finland

The exhibition "Store and Share," prepared under this main theme, presents a section of Finnish architecture and will be displayed in İstanbul after being exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2008. Organized by the Finnish Architecture Museum, the "Museums and Libraries in Modern Finnish Architecture" exhibition can be visited at the Millî Reasürans Art Gallery in İstanbul between November 24 and December 19, 2009, with the sponsorship of the Finnish Embassy and Koç Holding.

Titled "Store and Share," this exhibition, prepared by the Finnish Architecture Museum, offers a glimpse into Finnish architecture. The architecture of Finnish museums and libraries, which holds a unique place in modern Finnish architecture, has evolved and developed from the past century to the present.

The sincere relationship between Finns and public libraries lays the foundation for an architecture that combines a natural seriousness with an everyday feeling. The task of expressing the dual nature of a library building in relation to the cityscape and its public spaces is left to the architect. The typical features of 'Surprising Architecture' in Finnish library buildings cannot be directly applied or criticized, as the status of a library as a public service building requires a more delicate interpretation of the environment and always demands unlimited access.

Libraries, museums, and other cultural buildings may take on new roles in the future, especially in large cities. The city of Bilbao in Spain, for example, is creating a new image and tourist attraction around a museum. In Vienna and Rotterdam, large libraries have helped improve the social situation in the city's poorer neighborhoods. The café in the Amuri Workers' Housing Museum in Tampere, Finland, has become a very important meeting point, especially for elderly people.

As Finland's prosperity has increased, initiatives have been made to find new solutions for various spaces and functions, including libraries. The New Tampere City Library, designed by Raili and Reima Pietilä, was completed in 1986 and proved that a library could also be joyful and highly individual. During the economic recession of the 1990s, many projects were delayed or abandoned, but in the 2000s, we saw the construction of libraries with interesting designs once again.