Mouhijärvi Library

Mouhijärvi Library is a wooden building that has progressed to the implementation stage from a student competition organised by the municipality of Mouhijärvi and the Architectural Department of Tampere University of Technology.

The architectural aims were to fit in with the scale of Uotsolantie, to highlight the loadbearing timber structure inside and out, and to have a clear floor plan. The major challenges of the design were fitting in with the tight requirements on area and meeting the strict cost limits – a demanding task during a booming business cycle.

The principal space, the lending library, was designed as a high space of post and beam construction. The reading room and the ancillary spaces were located in a lower section. The spacious lend ing library increased the presnce of the library as a public building.

The structural solution makes the laminated timber frame part of the architecture. The idea was to have a simple, peaceful building complex that would provide the thread linking the choices of the interior materials.

The elevations are in fine-sawn spruce treated with preservative oil, while the internal spruce boarding is stained white. Though it is a public building, it was possible to build the timber cladding to fire resistance class P3 by increasing the number of smoke vents.

The library was an important project for the small municipality of Mouhijärvi, and the end result is an attractive public building constructed in wood at reasonable cost.