"Ensuring that books are available to any child at any time of the year will be a good first step in enhancing the reading achievement of low-income students and an absolutely necessary step in closing the reading achievement gap.”
—Anne McGill Franzen and Richard Allington, 2009
This is an open, two-stage, design competition to design, construct, and install a contemporary book shelter in underprivileged neighborhoods in Buffalo, NY.
Literacy-friendly neighborhoods (LFN) is a grassroots initiative started by Little Free Libraries (LFL) that aims to promote literacy, expand literary horizons, cultivate generosity, and promote general neighborliness. These libraries will facilitate an informal exchange of books in the city’s public spaces, where residents and visitors may use and contribute to these communal resources.
Each entry should speak to the goals of the LFN in an urban setting while addressing the basic demands of an outdoor enclosure and providing a form that breaks the mold of what has been deemed typical for a LFL. Creative and innovative designs are encouraged.
Architects, designers, students interested in rethinking and fabricating a library as part of this project are invited to submit their qualifications and describe their interest. A conceptual design and brief narrative description of how your concept addresses the points presented in the Competition Brief must accompany each application. Multiple designs concepts are allowed and will require multiple entries.
A jury will select up to ten entrants to design and fabricate a library, hosted on public property or in the domain of a partnering community organization. Once installed, all libraries will be stocked by the Buffalo Public Library system. Entrants will be responsible for all design, material selection, and fabrication of one LFL within the defined schedule.
For full contest rules, more information, eligibility and submission requirements, and selection criteria, please download a copy of the Competition Brief. An entry form for HARD COPY SUBMISSIONS ONLY is included in the packet, but all participants are encouraged to use the Online Entry Form.
For more information and to enter, visit http://buffaloarchitecture.org/little-free-library/.
FEES
AIA MEMBERS: $25
NON-AIA MEMBERS: $35
STUDENTS: $20
MULTIPLE ENTRIES: $15/EACH