Construction has begun on the Helsinki Central Library near Helsinki Central Railway Station, Finland.
Finnish firm Maanrakennusliike EM Pekkinen has completed the groundworks and the basement’s concrete structure and has handed it to fellow Finnish company YIT which will project manage the construction work above ground.
YIT’s scope will include over 2 million kilos of steel frame structures, with the two largest spans covering about 100m.
The temporary support structures for the steel arches will be erected in the turn of the year and permanent arch structures in early 2017.
The structural solution enables the library’s vast open indoor space, and this means no pillars are required in the library lobby.
The 17,000 square metre library will be a public meeting place that has "ambitious" energy and material efficiency targets.
Jorma Kontturi, project manager at YIT, said: "We are excited to start the work on the Helsinki Central Library site. This project is an interesting one, but also technically very demanding, requiring an innovative expert approach to the job from its contractors."
The $105m project is due to open in December 2018.
Image via YIT
