The Microlibraries is a series of environmentally friendly reading facilities, under 250 square metres, built on kampung (urban village) and park locations around Indonesia to facilitate public places of identity and community. Qualities shared by all include passive climate strategies (sun shading, rain protection, cross ventilation) and contextually conscious but eye-catching design, while each has a unique approach towards the notion of public education, reading, and playing. Of the six built so far, some employ traditional local materials while others have facades inventively composed of ice-cream buckets, PVC pipes, porous folded textiles, or Zollinger-inspired, waffle-like wooden frameworks. One includes a rooftop vegetable garden and a slide; another features a net where children can lie to read, and a giant swing suspended beneath. To reach remote locations and ensure affordability, the architects are investigating a different, standardised, modular timber 'flat-pack' approach with possibilities for customisation.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture