children can get lost in reading village full of colorful huts at transformed paris school library

"The library functions as a small village made up of huts arranged around a large central square, which offers communal space for group reading, discussions, and collective activities. Each hut forms an intimate retreat where a child can sit quietly and immerses themselves in a book. Designed as active elements, the hut walls integrate bookshelves, seating, and openings that function as windows overlooking the central space. These openings allow readers to observe the life of the village while remaining comfortably settled in their own nook."

"The project begins with a quiet, underused library at a public school in a working-class suburb of Paris. Books line the shelves, but few students engage with them. The space feels large and cold, but holds clear potential to become a place of refuge, adventure, and discovery for the children. When the French Ministry of Education launches a national fund to support innovative educational initiatives led by teachers, one teacher at the school proposes a new vision for the library."

Léopold Sédar Senghor School in Paris repurposed a quiet, underused storage room into an immersive library that functions as a colorful learning landscape. Huts are arranged around a large central square that offers communal space for group reading, discussions, and collective activities. Each hut creates an intimate retreat with integrated bookshelves, seating, and window-like openings that let readers observe village life while remaining in their nook. The varied layout provides different spatial scales to encourage curiosity, from open gathering areas to smaller secluded spots. Atelier Pierre-Louis Gerlier designed the space as an active learning environment that nourishes children's curiosity within a limited budget.

Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine