READER Shelter

The Estonia Academy Of Arts has a tradition where all first year students have to design a structure from which one is selected and constructed by the students as a group project. The winning design this year is the ‘READER’, a reading shelter that basically provides an oasis for bookworms who want to escape from their hectic lives into the pages of fiction and fantasy.

The design of the the reading shelter is relatively unassuming from the outside, but as soon as one enters, the basic cuboidal structure transforms into a cavernous escape for any avid reader. The winding contours inside the shelter are an attempt at emulating the pages of a book, and metamorphose from a wall, into a bench that seats 3 people. The ribbed walls usher in diffused sunlight which makes the shelter a comfortable alcove, where anyone can come with a book and forget about all their worldly troubles.

Made entirely out of pinewood ply boards and spruce logs, the construction of the shelter was finished within a period of 5 days, which was imperative as the structure is placed in a public setting in Tallinn. The entire structure rests on a set of three timber beams each of which has three adjustable legs attached to them.

The READER is an exceptional piece of design, considering that its been designed and constructed by the first year students of architecture and urban planning at EAA. The shelter is on display at Pedaspea, Lahemaa, North-Estonia along with many other structures that have been created by the talented young minds at Estonia Academy of Arts.