International project
Microlibrary – Indonesia
W
ith an interest in books and reading declining in the
past years, the illiteracy rate and school dropout rate
in Indonesia remains high. The mission is to rekindle
interest in books by offering a dedicated place for
reading and learning, availability of books, other media
and courses. The Microlibrary adds identity and is a
source of pride for all the people in the neighbourhood.
The activities and teaching are currently supported
and organized by Dompet Dhuafa (Pocket for the Poor)
and the Indonesian Diaspora Foundation. However, the
ultimate goal is to enable the local people to organize the content and maintenance
independently.
The building is situated in a small square with a pre-existing stage that was
already used by the local community for gatherings, events, hanging out and sports
activities. The intention of the architects, SHAU Bandung, was to add, rather than
take away, so they decided to enhance the open stage by shading it, making it rain
protected and cover it in form of the floating library box.
The building is constructed via a simple steel structure made from I-beams and
concrete slabs for the floor and roof. The stage was reworked in concrete and a
previously missing, wide stair was added. As the building is located in a tropical
climate, they aimed to create a pleasant indoor climate without the use of air
conditioning. Therefore, the architects looked for available façade materials in the
neighbourhood which were cost efficient, could shade the interior, let daylight pass
and enable enough cross ventilation. Initially, they found several small vendors
selling used, white and translucent jerry cans. However, prior to construction the
jerry cans were no longer available in the quantities required. Instead, they found
used plastic ice cream buckets that were being sold in bulk. This turned out for the
better, as they have a more positive image and are more stable when cutting the
bottom open for cross ventilation.
While studying design options of how to arrange 2 000 ice cream buckets, the
ROJECT TEAM
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ArchitectS: SHAU Bandung (Florian Heinzelmann,
Daliana Suryawinata, Yogi Ferdinand with Rizki
Supratman, Roland Tejo Prayitno, Aditya Kusuma,
Octavia Tunggal, Timmy Haryanto, Telesilla
Bristogianni, Margaret Jo)
Contractor: Yogi Pribadi and Pramesti Sudjati
Signage graphic design: Nusae
Client: Dompet Dhuafa, City of Bandung
Photography: Sanrok Studio
Supported by: Dompet Dhuafa, Urbane Community,
Indonesian Diaspora Foundation