Beijing-based firm LUO Studio has just unveiled an adorable mobile micro library crafted out of upcycled industrial parts. Made from an abandoned bicycle, discarded iron car sheets and reclaimed wood, the Shared Lady Beetle is a tiny contraption in the shape of a beetle that roams on four wheels, bringing books to local children.
According to the designers, they were inspired to create a functioning mobile library by a teacher friend who often has to transport educational materials to the school via an old grocery cart. Realizing that most teachers have similar problems when it comes to moving teaching props here and there, the firm was inspired to create a “small and ingenious storage cart” to support the efforts of local educators.
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In addition to creating a functional and mobile book dispenser, the team also searched for ways in which they could reduce the city’s waste, specifically discarded bicycles that have reached the end of their life in the bike-sharing systems found in most urban areas nowadays. In most cases, these bikes are often left exposed to the elements and treated poorly. They suffer any number of malfunctions, leading city management to simply discard them rather than repair them.
Accordingly, the designers went to work finding an old bicycle to upcycle that would provide wheels for the library. Along the way, they also came across discarded iron car sheets and old wooden panels. Using the form of a beetle for inspiration, they crafted a compact “pavilion” with two wings that open outward. Inside the library, the wings and the interior body are lined in bookshelves. The bookshelves get larger from top to bottom, creating a lower shelf that pulls double duty as a reading bench.
The interior partitions of the library were put together in order to be completely disassembled or adjusted according to different needs. Although built with education in mind, the design for the adorable beetle is quite versatile and could be used in any number of services such as a cafe cart, small clinic and more.
Via Archdaily
Photography by Jin Weiqi via LUO Studio
