Artists, film makers, book makers and a range of other creatives set up home in the pavilion for a week at a time, making new work and offering a variety of free activities for visitors. The Discovery Season curated by Capsule was a dynamic mix of exhibitions, activities and performances, with the aim to challenge perceptions of what a library can be.

The hand-painted exterior walls depicting symbols used in on-line communication, embracing digital with an analogue technique. “We wanted to greet visitors with a smile and a celebration of the word,” Morag says. “It encourages conversation and fun.”

The interior of the timber box structure has been kept as simple and raw as possible, allowing each resident to change the space as much as they wish. Battens can be used as ad hoc shelves, while the ceiling is made from wooden slats which provides views of the neon rooftop signs and delivers a striking internal dappled lighting effect.

Two sides of the structure feature full-height double doors while the others have large windows. These can either be swung open for transparency or closed to create a more intimate environment for projected installations, in stark contrast to the Library’s vast lobby space.

“The pavilion is also meant to be something of a ‘curiosity box’ which closes on Sunday night, undergoes transformation the following day and then when the doors open on Tuesday has become a totally new space depending on what that week’s resident has planned,” Morag adds.

Morag also hosted a week-long residency using the intricate interlocking aluminium patterns of the cladding for the Mecanoo-designed Library as inspiration to create a new A to Z font with the people of Birmingham.

Designed to be completely demountable

Commissioner &
Curator
Capsule

Location
Library of Birmingham, UK

Exterior painted
by morag and a
small team of painters

Photographer 
making
Morag Myerscough

Photographer
Gareth Gardner

Temporary Installation 
Completion 2013

Project Legacy
The pavilion was
donated to the Seedbank