Tuomas Uusheimo, archdaily.com

Last month Tommi Laitio, Helsinki’s executive director for culture and leisure, yes they have one, presented at the CityLab DC annual conference. He was there to showcase Oodi (“ode” in Finnish), the city's new library. It is an ode to the roles of education, the commons and inspiring architecture in shaping happy and healthy societies. As Americans watch a nationalist and a separatist faction of our own country attack the foundations of our democracy, there are many sources of hope and encouragement in this amazing new space.

"Laitio opened his talk not with shots of the beautifully sleek interiors, but with a sobering image from Finland’s brutal civil war of 1918, which killed 36,000 people, many of whom perished in prison camps."

In the 100 years since Finland has progressed from one of the poorest countries of Europe to one of the most prosperous. According to Latio this has not been an accident. "'It’s based on this idea that when there are so few of us—only 5.5 million people—everyone has to live up to their full potential. Our society is fundamentally dependent on people being able to trust the kindness of strangers.'”

"Nordic-style social services have not shielded the residents of Finland’s largest city from 21st-century anxieties about climate change, migrants, disruptive technology, and the other forces fueling right-leaning populist movements across Europe. Oodi, which was the product of a 10-year-long public consultation and design process, was conceived in part to resist these fears. 'When people are afraid, they focus on short-term selfish solutions,' Laitio said. 'They also start looking for scapegoats.'"

ArchDaily has more than 50 images of this inspiring monument to community and learning.