children can get lost in reading village full of colorful huts at transformed paris school library

former storage room now acts as colorful reading village

At Léopold Sédar Senghor School in Paris, Atelier Pierre-Louis Gerlier transforms a former storage room into an immersive library designed as a colorful learning landscape. The library functions as a small village made up of huts arranged around a large central square, which offers communal space for group reading, discussions, and collective activities. Each hut forms an intimate retreat where a child can sit quietly and immerses themselves in a book. Designed as active elements, the hut walls integrate bookshelves, seating, and openings that function as windows overlooking the central space. These openings allow readers to observe the life of the village while remaining comfortably settled in their own nook.

the architects redefine the room as an immersive environment | all images courtesy of Atelier Pierre-Louis Gerlier

atelier pierre-louis gerlier defines immersive learning space

The project begins with a quiet, underused library at a public school in a working-class suburb of Paris. Books line the shelves, but few students engage with them. The space feels large and cold, but holds clear potential to become a place of refuge, adventure, and discovery for the children. When the French Ministry of Education launches a national fund to support innovative educational initiatives led by teachers, one teacher at the school proposes a new vision for the library. The architects join the initiative and redefine the room not as a storage space, but as an immersive environment for reading, conversation, learning, and imagination. The studio sets a clear goal: create a place that nourishes children’s curiosity while respecting a limited budget.

each hut forms an intimate retreat where a child can sit quietly and immerses themselves in a book

village layout creates varied scales and toolS for curiosity

The varied layout of the huts creates spaces of different scales, from open gathering areas to smaller, more secluded corners for quiet reading. Through this design, the architects turn the library into an educational tool that encourages exploration and curiosity through space itself. Recognizing the strength of the proposal, the Ministry of Education fully funds the project and positions it as a prototype for other schools. As part of the transformation, the studio also develops the library’s visual identity and logo, giving the new space a distinct presence and recognizable image within the school.

the clear goal: create a place that nourishes children’s curiosity while respecting a limited budget

the hut walls integrate bookshelves, seating, and openings that function as windows

the layout of the huts creates spaces of different scales, from open gathering areas to smaller, more secluded corners

the central square offers communal space for group reading, discussions, and collective activities

openings allow readers to observe the life of the village while remaining comfortably settled in their own nook

project info:

name: Transformation of a library in a school in the Paris suburbs
architects: Atelier Pierre-Louis Gerlier | @pierrelouisgerlier

location: Paris, France

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edited by: claire brodka | designboom