Main Tampere City Library Metso

The Main Tampere City Library Metso (=Wood Grouse) was opened 1986 and it's designed by architects Raili and Reima Pietilä. They were influenced by Celtic ornaments, sheep horns and glacial spin formations. The basic idea for the construction was the space to coil spirally like the shell of a snail. The building doesn't have any corners. From above the building takes the shape of a Wood Grouse, from which it derives its name.

The interior colors are those of the Finnish nature - blue, green and white. The colors of the interior textiles are based on wild flowers, and partly also on the plumage of the Wood Grouse . All the furniture were especially designed for the building. The interior is a unique space, where the visitor moves from one place to another as in a town or a forest.

Reima and Raili Pietilä are the best known representatives of modern Finnish architecture and they are famous with their natural and organic forms.

The painting that can be seen in the picture is painted by Kimmo Kaivanto and it's a portrait of Väinö Linna. Linna was one of the most influential Finnish authors of the 20th century.


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