Dokk1 Public Library, Aarhus, Denmark

Dokk1 or Dokken Public Library is located in a cultural center in Aarhus, Denmark. Aarhus is the second-largest city in Denmark, found in the geographical centre of the nation. Last year it was honoured as the European Capital of Culture. It is a centre for research and education and home to Aarhus University, Scandinavia’s largest center of higher education.  Dokk1 Public Library was designed by schmidt hammer lassen architects and Kristine Jensen. Construction began in 2011 and was completed in 2015. The name of the library, and the building housing it, was the result of a public contest. The term Dokk1 may be pronounced in different ways in the Danish language, meaning The Dock or Dock One. It is situated on what was once an industrial harbor near the waterfront. The library serves as the central library for Aarhus and the largest public library in Scandinavia. It has two levels, containing separate sections for fiction, professional literature, magazines, newspapers, media, exhibitions, a café, lounges, and children’s areas. There are auditoriums for lectures, concerts, theater, and film screenings.

The planning and building of Dokk1 was influenced by the Design Thinking for Libraries toolkit. This project was funded by the Global Libraries program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation promotes library development as an essential part of national development. As its website states:

The foundation promotes library development as an essential part of national development. As its website states:

Most countries have public libraries. There are more than 320,000 libraries worldwide, 73 percent of them in developing and transitioning countries. In many communities, public libraries are the only place where any person, regardless of education or skill level, can have access to information and the Internet free of charge. Moreover, library staff often provide training and support for first-time Internet users as well as those looking to improve their skills. As vital as they are, however, public libraries are often underutilized and need critical support to move forward into the digital age. Meeting the evolving information needs of individuals and communities through technology is no easy task. Technology becomes obsolete quickly, and resources are needed to keep up with ever-changing community needs.

Dokk1 used the toolkit developed by IDEO, an international design and consulting firm based in Palo Alto, California, USA. A partnership with the Chicago Public Library, USA, also helped develop the toolkit. As the foundation website explains, in Aarhus, part of the challenge was to bring technology up to date in the library. One solution was to make librarians part of the planning and design process throughout its development, rather than outsourcing projects or handing them off to design teams of architects and designers who were not librarians:

Their initial strategic approach within the organization was to bring as many staff members as possible on design projects. There were about 5-7 staff members on each project team who worked collaboratively to solve a citizen problem in the library. These project participants ranged from librarians and information specialists to the building maintenance staff. Nearly everyone took part in these projects and worked in this human-centered way. Over the next 12 years, the library staff worked on design projects in their main public library and branch libraries.

By making sure that library staff, citizens, and organisations actively participated in the design processes of the library and cultural center, the results were more useful and helpful. Dr. Rolf Hapel, the leader of Aarhus Public Libraries and director of Citizens’ Services and Libraries in Aarhus, an expert in library development, digitization and strategic and tactical approaches for creating futures for libraries, stated:

If libraries want to stay relevant they always need to ask the questions: to what problems in society are your libraries the answer? Why are we important?

Rather than planners deciding what the purpose of libraries should be, this decision should be learned from readers, researchers, students, ajarns, and others who will be using the library.

In an online interview, Dr. Hapel explained that a key approach is developing partnerships between libraries and other groups, from volunteers to non-governmental organizations. Partners propose activities to the library and those approved are given space and promotion on social media, as well as help with logistics. The overall goal is to promote lifelong learning and cultural experience.

Thailand and Denmark

Some Thai students may already be thinking of Denmark because of the popular new apocalyptic Danish-language television series The Rain. It is a fantasy about Scandinavia after a virus eliminates most people, with the exception of some Danish teenagers.

Business developments

The Nation reported last February that the Dairy Farming Promotion Organisation (DPO), producer of Thai-Danish milk, forecast increased sales due to promoting the sale of natural milk.

In other business news, this May, SMC Consulting Engineers, civil and structural consulting engineers based in Bangkok, with expertise in maritime engineering, infrastructure and building design, announced a new strategic partnership with NIRAS, an international multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy head-quartered in Denmark. Rebranded as SMC NIRAS Consultants, the company plans to expand to ASEAN markets in the fields of engineering for ports and marine, infrastructure and buildings as well as process engineering, water management, and development consultancy.

Among other services, SMC NIRAS Consultants provides

civil and structural engineering for maritime infrastructure (ports, jetties, shore protection, coastal engineering); building and structural design (from high-rise concrete to complex low-rise and wide-span steel structures); land transport infrastructure (highways, bridges, rail) and land preparation for property development.

Examples of past projects include the Sri Racha Harbour Berth Extension and Kerry Siam Seaport Terminal in Ao Udon, Chonburi. Thammasat University students or graduates who have earned a masters’ degree in civil/structural engineering and have experience in the field might be interested in applying for the advertised job of Civil or Structural Junior Design Engineer as posted on the SMC NIRAS Consultants website.

Cave Divers

Finally, all Thais who followed the dramatic rescue of the Wild Boards football team and their coach from the cave in Chiang Rai will recall that Danish divers took part in the evacuation in the Tham Luang cave complex. His Excellency Uffe Wolffhechel, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Denmark to the Kingdom of Thailand, praised two professional divers from Denmark for their assistance. The divers, Claus Rasmussen and Ivan Karadzic, live and work in Thailand. Mr. Karadzic reportedly runs a diving business in Thailand whereas Mr. Rasmussen is a technical diving instructor in Phuket at Blue Label Diving.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)