Tiny Library 2021 Architecture Competition

With the world constantly evolving, there is a ton of information being formulated out there. Despite all the information available around us, the only way to best access it, is through reading and self-learning. As a major tool for the 21st century, self-learning is an important skill that is to be refined for future generations as they journey through education and beyond. The pandemic raging currently has come with its own set of challenges when it comes to learning or working distantly. Hence self-learning through reading is the only way to equip ourselves and our community with the mobility we need to combat this unknown future.

Opportunities
A library as an educational incubator is a space that not only sheds light on conventional means of knowledge but also encourages its users to interact, share ideas and grow together. Rather than accepting urban migration as a given, a library can be designed with an aim to restore dignity and induce development. Can we envision a 21st-century library that encourages exploration, creation and collaboration between communities? It’s time we ignite the new age movement of learning.

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Challenge
Participants are to design a Tiny Library optimized for 100 users engaging multifunctional spaces for all ages with a renewed spatial experience. The Tiny Library is to be equipped with traditional reading material including modern formats like e-books, audiobooks, audiovisual books, etc. The space designed should function as a centralized think tank for the local communities with an aim to boost public interactions and community development.

Participants are to consider affordability and optimum usage of space while designing. The designed space should be augmented to hold a maximum number of books in a limited space. The structure should not exceed 400 sq. mt of built-up area and should also be easy to maintain by its users. With libraries being a landmark to their surroundings, the design proposal should be iconic, inviting, and should create a statement of its own on the chosen site. Energy-saving components and sustainability are to be taken into account as well.

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The proposed design should be able to strike a balance between humans and their natural surroundings. We encourage the participants to develop their programs. The space designed need not be limited to the standard activities viz. reading and self-learning space, sanitation space, administration, reception, or information desk. As an instrument of social change, the design should promote innovative activities that’ll help stimulate and accelerate learning.

Site Selection
The competition aims at promoting self-learning as a key skill by giving humans scattered across the globe a platform to connect and evolve as a community. Participants are to choose a site in an urban or rural context for their design proposal. The site selected should be in dire need of change that can be well achieved through education and self-learning. The design most importantly should be well integrated into the context. The site selected must strongly justify the participants design proposal. Source and images Courtesy of Volume Zero.

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