Åbo Akademi Arkens bibliotek

March 30, 2026 In Libraries

Established from an Iron Age settlement on the Gulf of Bothnia, Turku is considered the oldest city in Finland. As the old capital of the Kingdom of Sweden’s former eastern possessions, it has retained a significant Swedish speaking minority. Serving this minority is Åbo Akademi (Åbo is Turku’s Swedish name), one of the only two Swedish-language universities in Finland.

A modern library interior with bookshelves filled with books, a row of books on a ledge, white walls, exposed beams, and industrial-style lighting fixtures. A window on the right lets in natural light.

In 1997, the university set out to find a new location for the facilities of its Arts faculty, until then spread across the city. The site chosen for this new campus was a former iron mill and railway car factory by the Aura river. The Åbo Jernmanufaktur Bolag, later part of the Fiskars company, was founded in 1856 and the site was gradually expanded until the 1930s. The oldest buildings on the site are attributed to Swedish architect and engineer Georg Theodor Chiewitz who would go on to become Turku’s city architect in 1860.

Wide-angle view of a modern library interior with tall bookshelves filled with books, overhead lights, and exposed steel beams supporting a white ceiling. A wooden floor and tables are visible in the center aisle.
A bright library interior with tall bookshelves on the right and rows of wooden study desks with chairs along large windows on the left; exposed wooden beams are visible on the ceiling.
A modern library reading area with black chairs, tables, bookshelves filled with books, and exposed wooden ceiling beams. A green coat is draped over one chair, and large windows let in natural light.

The transformation was led by Pekka Mäki of VIIVA Arkkitehtuuri Oy (now Sarc+Sigge) and completed in 2003. The library is set in a series of low sheds on the riverfront that are among the oldest structure on the site.

A well-lit library interior with tall bookshelves filled with books, several black chairs around tables, large windows letting in daylight, and exposed wooden ceiling beams.
A paved courtyard surrounded by red brick buildings with large grid windows and metal roofs on a cloudy day. There are some trees visible in the background behind the buildings.

This post is part of a series on adaptive reuse in libraries. See the list of such projects I am maintaining or view other posts in this series.

The images shown here date from my visit in March 2019.

References

798093 Abo Akademi Arken 1 apa 50 creator asc title 19317 https://thomasguignard.photo/wp-content/plugins/zotpress/
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Arken Åbo Akademi Faculty of Arts. (n.d.). Archiweb. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
Åbo Akademi University Arken Campus. (2004). Finnish Architectural Review, 2004(5). finnisharchitecture.fi.
Ab Åbo Jernmanufaktur och Waggonfabrik Oy. (n.d.). Poistuneet Pörssiyhtiöt. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
Arken. (n.d.). Sarc+Sigge. Retrieved March 30, 2026.



Content note

Library detail pages are primarily a place for me to collect information I gather on the libraries I visit, and are frequently updated. None of this should be considered authoritative, I am not an architect, nor a historian. If you notice something incorrect, please let me know!



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