Archhive Books'
Portable Reading
Rooms

The proposal consists of a 9m² wooden open-air platform topped by an enclosure of iridescent foil. Entitled 'Nameless Sky', it contains two interior seats and bookshelves accessible from the perimeter. It is a symbolic project. It forces users to bend down to pick up books or to sit within the structure, emphasizing reading as an act requiring concentration and work. The synthetic sky above is an allusion to one's imagination. The jury was impressed by project's simple representation, yet complex ideas.

'The Reading Corner' is a modular tent-like structure comprised of 5 wooden panels threaded and held together with a series of light steel tension cables, and topped by a translucent fabric for protection from the elements. The construction offers an intimate reading space. It is also a place to quietly share thoughts or quotations - mobile block letters on tiny shelves can be rearranged by users on a wall embedded with small shelves that hold the text. The jury questions the form and displacement of the book-sharing station from the main structure. However, the project seems easy to fabricate with simple materials, and one can easily imagine this as a popular destination within a park or city plaza.

'Floating Books' makes use of gas-filled balloons to generate a new type of urban landmark that can be easily transported through a city. The structure demands attention - it is other-wordly and ephemeral, and the designer is clearly attempting to attract people to this urban element as a means to generate interest in the books it carries. The intention of the project is admirable, though the jury questions its ability to be implemented in a sustainable way.