Big Picture

The Emotional Life of Books

Open Air Library for Migrant Workers

http://www.thegardenlibrary.org

“The idea is that the books will wander in the library like people do in the world, and that every person can change something.” – Marit Benisrael

Ben Fry collaborated with the Garden Library and Marit Benisrael to visualize The emotional life of books in the Garden Library in Tel Aviv.

The Garden Library for Refugees and Migrant Workers was founded in 2009 as a social-artistic urban community project by ARTEAM, an interdisciplinary art collective.

The Library books are illuminated after dark.

The library is located in the Lewinsky Park, by the Tel Aviv central bus station. It has no walls or door. It is comprised of two bookcases, which are supported by the walls of a public shelter located in the heart of the park. The taller structure contains books for the adult readers. It is transparent and illuminated from within so that, at night, the books glow in the park. Across from it is a shorter – children’s height – cabinet. The doors to the small cabinet swing down to form a parquet floor for the children to sit on and review the books.

A high, permanent canopy stretches above the two structures, which provides shelter from the sun and rain, protects the books and the visitors, and establishes a space for browsing, reading and social meetings.