"It all started with my father, saying when there is bus stops in each village then there should be a library stop too.”
This is the vision shared by our patron, an artist Rajshri Deshpande. She is also the founder of the Nabhangan foundation.
The design was conceived as a Knowledge pod. A place to learn, contemplate & play all around.
The pod has the potential to form a communal space, where villagers of diverse ages can gather, and accomplish the reading habit, and also a perfect setting for storytellers too.
A deliberate attempt to insert the library pod within the existing rural school & our intent is to shape it as part of the school & surroundings. Pod amidst existing rain tree, pipal tree and also encircled by graffiti artworks created by local artists & students. It creates a colorful and shaded foreground.
This inserted library pod serves as the two parallel worlds, one being an introverted bookshelf & other as vibrant scribble or blackboard. The bookshelf is positioned to create intimate seating possibilities with existing steps around and a rubber wood bench as part of the pod. The large overhang serves the purpose of the seating area.