Kalasatama
Library is the winner
of the Visu Awards 2024
The Visu Awards is an annual event organised by the Visualists Association to nominate and reward visual marketing success stories in different categories. The Visu Awards winners are chosen to reflect the industry’s phenomena, capacity for change and future vision.
The selection criteria were to bring a fresh new vision to the industry, shake up conventional ways of doing visual marketing, and attract media attention. The Visual Act of the Year winner was the Kalasatama Library in the City of Helsinki, designed by Rune & Berg Design.
Heidi Linkka from Rune & Berg Design and Erna Marttila, Director of Kalasatama Library, received the Visu Awards 2024 Visual Act of the Year award.
"Experiences and enjoyment in
a non-commercial environment."
Kalasatama Library, designed by Rune & Berg Design, is the Visual Act of the Year
“The new library in Kalasatama has gained visibility in various media and has broadened the perception of the use of visual marketing in non-commercial locations. Investing in the visual appearance creates a sense of experience and comfort, which significantly impacts the customer experience – also for non-commercial operators,” says the Visualists Association.
“The design encouraged people to find something new to read and shape our thinking. For us as designers, it meant we wanted to do space in a new way, blurring the boundaries of space and the usual,” says Sara Tuohikumpu, lead designer at Rune & Berg Design.
Kalasatama Library Director Erna Marttila and her team were excited about the bold outcome and trusted the designers’ vision, which was strongly based on the resident’s wishes. “It’s great that professionals have rewarded our work. We wanted to put the library on the customers’ everyday routes and make the services accessible and approachable. The design was done in close collaboration with Rune & Berg Design, with the aim of creating a space that is functional and customer-centric. The design involved residents, and the wishes and views of child customers, in particular, are reflected in the final result. The library spaces communicate the joy of reading – they are attractive and interesting and inspire visitors. We welcome people of all ages. This is important because it is the example of adults that lead children and young people to read,” says Erna Marttila.
“It feels great to be recognised for this particular work, a shared urban space for all of us,” continues Sara.
Sara Tuohikumpu, Johanna Happonen and Riikka Kuukka were responsible for the concept and interior architecture of the Kalasatama Library.
“It feels great to be recognised for this particular work, a shared urban space for all of us.”
The praised Kalasatama library
The Kalasatama Library was also mentioned in the Colour Association’s Iiris 2024 award, which was granted to Rune & Berg Design for its outstanding experiential colour design of the premises.
“Although the use of colour is bold and surprising, it is approachable. Colours, shapes, furniture, lighting and spaces of different sizes have been used to create places for play, reading and relaxation,” says the Finnish Colour Association.
All Visu Awards 2024 winners
The Visu Awards were also granted to the winners in the following categories: the Shop of the Year, the Newcomer of the Year and the Lifetime Achievement Award. Sara Anttila was awarded Newcomer of the Year, Durat Helsinki was awarded Store of the Year, and the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Mira Merja Jokisalo. Congratulations to all the winners!
The Kalasatama library, nicknamed the “candy library”, has also attracted vast media attention in Finland.
In the photo, from left to right, Sara Anttila, Erna Marttila, Heidi Linkka and Heikki Karppinen.
Visualistit ry
One of the missions of the Visualists Association is to promote the awareness and level of visual marketing in Finland. The Visu Awards winners are selected by the Board of Directors of the Visualists Association. The members of the Board are involved in the development of Finnish urban centres, as trainers in visual marketing, in various positions within commercial organisations and as entrepreneurs in the field.