The Arcade Reading Room
Interiors
A public reading room under three arched windows, with built-in desks, quiet corners and seats for 48 people.
Calder Library Trust
Edinburgh
Interior architecture, Furniture design, Wayfinding
The brief
The trust had a beautiful room that nobody used: cold in winter, glaring in summer and full of stacked chairs.
What we did
We kept the arches clear and set the desks back from the glass, so light falls on the table and not in your eyes. Low timber screens make small rooms inside the big one, and a new floor hides heating and power.
The result
The room now seats 48 and is booked out most weekday mornings.