Chinese architecture firm LUO Studio has made a beetle-shaped micro library for children, from the abandoned frame of a bike-sharing scheme bicycle.
Called the Shared Lady Beetle, the micro library is designed to be an accessible resource for children recycled from something that had been carelessly thrown away.
"Though born from the good intention of resources conservation, green commuting and making life more convenient, shared bicycles are becoming 'monsters' under the unbridled commercial sprawl," said LUO Studio founder Luo Yujie.
"They have consumed plenty of industrial raw materials, encroached on scarce urban public space and been dumped in horrible piles."
The Atlantic reported last year that the number of abandoned bicycles was in the millions.
"As a designer living in the city, I have been thinking about the possibility for friendly reuse of those abandoned bikes," added Luo.
LUO Studio took a abandoned bike and turned it into a reinforced four-wheeled cycle. Discarded iron sheets used for cars were used to make the outer casing of the library, which has shelves made from wood.
When stationary, the metal shell on the back of the bike opens out like the wing casing of a beetle to reveal the books underneath.
The bike was designed for a friend of LUO Studio's founder who works in education and was using a shopping cart to take his teaching props into schools.
It can also be used as a tiny sharing library that can be transported to different locations by bicycle, held in place and protected by the Shared Lady Beetle's hard casing.
The cycle's fourth wheel wheel stabilises the back of the wing-shaped cover. The long shelves lining the micro library increase in size as they go down, so the bottom shelf is large enough for children to sit on as they read.
Shared Lady Beetle was designed to be flexible, and the interior elements can be removed or re-arranged.
"Although it was originally designed to be a children's mobile maker classroom, I also hoped to endow it with multiple functions," the architect explained.
"The interior spaces for displaying items are flexibly partitioned into several smaller storage areas by plates, which can be freely adjusted according to users' needs."
By recycling the dumped bike into something that can have a positive impact, Luo hopes to spread an important message.
"Facing the unknown development in the city, we should stay positive, strive to change waste into treasure and tackle changing situation responsively, so as to better take care of the city and the earth," he said.
The architecture practice has also designed a shaded pergola for the village of Luotuowan using wood salvaged from old houses.
LUO Studio is not the only architecture practice combining recycled materials and community resources. Architecture firm Shau designed a micro library in Badung, Indonesia, with a facade made from old ice cream tubs.
Photography is by Jin Weiqi.
Project credits:
Architect: LUO Studio
Designers: Luo Yujie, Lu Zhuojian