Books are awesome. Physical books may be a thing of the past, but there's something so satisfying about picking up and reading a good book. There is even something special about giving that book to someone else, even someone you don't even know.
A neighborhood in Berlin found a great new way to promote literacy and books. Residents of the area happily participate in a free book exchange that happens in an unlikely and unique place.
The kiosk itself is made from fallen trees cut at varying heights and bolted together to mimic a tree cluster in the forest, – they even still bear the texture of rough bark. Three or four rectangular box shelves are carved into each trunk. The wooden boxes are protected from the elements by heavy plastic flaps that are hung over the openings.
Visitors can open the plastic flaps to browse the books left inside, or add their own. The urban bookcase can hold up to 100 volumes at a time, and on the day that Inhabitant visited books ranged from popular novels to history books, DIYs, and children’s books – in both German and English.
The Berlin Book Forest encourages literacy, while also promoting education on the supply chain of books- from forest to wood to paper. The Book Forest was installed in 2006 with the intention of remaining just until June of 2008, but it has become so beloved that it is still widely used today.
A neighborhood in Berlin found a great new way to promote literacy and books. Residents of the area happily participate in a free book exchange that happens in an unlikely and unique place.
The kiosk itself is made from fallen trees cut at varying heights and bolted together to mimic a tree cluster in the forest, – they even still bear the texture of rough bark. Three or four rectangular box shelves are carved into each trunk. The wooden boxes are protected from the elements by heavy plastic flaps that are hung over the openings.
Visitors can open the plastic flaps to browse the books left inside, or add their own. The urban bookcase can hold up to 100 volumes at a time, and on the day that Inhabitant visited books ranged from popular novels to history books, DIYs, and children’s books – in both German and English.
The Berlin Book Forest encourages literacy, while also promoting education on the supply chain of books- from forest to wood to paper. The Book Forest was installed in 2006 with the intention of remaining just until June of 2008, but it has become so beloved that it is still widely used today.
This cluster of trees in the middle of a sidewalk is called "The Berlin Book Forest."
