Reading The Wait Away
- Words
- Anna Dorothea Ker
For our iGNANT Issue: The ‘Art of Waiting’ week, we’ve been keeping an eye out for spaces and structures that offer both physical and psychological spaces conducive to passing the time well. Our appreciation for reading as a favorite way to pass the ‘in between’ moments led us to the ‘Story Pods’ – small structures serving as sites for open-air reading spaces created by Canadian architecture firm Atelier Kastelic Buffey.
“The Story Pod echoes AKB’s renowned residential projects with a pure, simple form that belies a deeply thoughtful approach to architecture.”Inside the pods, visitors can take and leave literature, or spend time immersed in a novel on inbuilt seating. On the outside, the structures are sealed in transparent plastic, fronted by slats that optically form a solid wall when closer together, but appear to open when further apart, revealing the shelves of books inside and letting light in. At nightfall, the pods automatically lock their doors and glow like lanterns, thanks to LED lights powered by solar panels on the pods’ roofs that collect sunlight during the day. “The Story Pod echoes AKB’s renowned residential projects with a pure, simple form that belies a deeply thoughtful approach to architecture,” say the architects.
All images © Atelier Kastelic Buffey
