The new Turku Library is the latest addition to a block with the old library and several other historically valuable buildings. By constructing the building on the outer perimeter, we were able to provide an open space in the middle of the lot, which was designed to serve as a courtyard for recreation and a stage for cultural events. The interior of the new building is annexed with the existing 100-year old librarybuilding and the chancellery of the governor built at the beginning of the nineteenth century, now restored and transformed to facilitate a café and meeting rooms.