I am so pleased with it, it really is the world’s most inclusive library!!!!!
Chris Baker, Head of Castle School, Cambridge.
THE BRIEF - 'A fully inclusive library’
Walking through the entrance of the Castle School in Cambridge I was met by the amazing head teacher Chris Baker. From our first meeting with Chris we felt the devotion for his school with his warm welcome. Chris led us through the school, beaming with pride whilst he gave us the tour showing us the excellent facilities.
As we approached the library room, Chris explained it was previously an ICT suite but he was now eager to re purpose it as a library. We talked through some ideas as we looked through our portfolio of work but Chris wanted something unique, inspiring and a fully inclusive space for his children to learn in.
We specialise in unique library design! Chris had seen a castle structure we had made previously and knew straight away that this is what he needed for his school, but he wanted to completely transform the space into a fantasy castle themed library design. He wanted his pupils to walk into a magical kingdom, to be inspired by their surroundings and to have a comfortable environment they feel inspired to read.
As we discussed the room, a vision was starting to form. Every idea is considered, shelving can be fun and that's exactly what Chris wanted. There were practical elements to consider, the library had to be fully inclusive for all of the children at Castle School.
The room was an 'L' shape. This allowed us to create a unique library space utilising the space we had available to have the perfect mix of book storage and engaging elements to inspire reading, shelving doesn't have to be basic.
THE DESIGN - 'A place for children to fall in love with books'
With our years of experience designing and building libraries we know a lot of the tried and tested, the continual challenge to create something truly wonderful is why we do it.
Chris wanted the library to be a place for all year groups to enjoy, a place for children to fall in love with books. Taking inspiration from the schools name, Chris had a concept to create a fantasy inspired room complete with its own castle!
The design focused on a castle structure at one end of the 'L' shaped room, with this we created a truly fantastic fantasy carpet with a pathway running through the room with the castle structure even having it's own moat within the carpet. We created a performance area within the room using two completely bespoke 'turret' style cupboards with a space for a projector screen in-between. With the shelving, we kept it simple against the wall with a grey finish to enhance the castle theme, the shelving on the perimeter created the sense of a castle courtyard. We utilised low height shelving and finished in a wood finish to simulate the materials that would have been used in the medieval ages. As you enter the room, we used forest wallpaper prior to the grey shelving to separate the outside area with the castle. The finished article is really dazzling, a beautiful backdrop to the library really making this the perfect place to read.
Creating a fantasy castle themed library design in a land so fantasy can run wild. And store books!
Chris was aware he needed space within the room. This library is the hub of the school and will be used by everyone in it. The shelving is there for a purpose but why not place it in a fun and dynamic way to make the most of the library, a castle fit for any King or Queen.
Having a place for the children to explore
and fall in love with reading is so important and our reading nooks are perfect for exactly this. We placed the shelving in a way that created a room within the run of shelving, it has a brickwork arched doorway for entrance, wide enough for the wheelchair users in school to use, with a couple of windows in the shelving so you can peak in and out. We finished the castle nook in grey to recreate a stone finish and the canopy top is castellated to create the sense of grander and wonderment every castle had. It is a very fun space for the children to explore, find a book and read. With a few cushions and bean bags it's the castle den every child wants!
During the design stage of the project, Chris put us in touch with a company who specialise in access for disabilties. We worked alongside them to ensure our shelving would work in tandem with a harness they fitted within the room to assist users in and out of their wheelchairs. Chris wanted the worlds most inclusive library, and together we all believed we delivered.
Transformation video coming soon...
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