Pop-up: Californian foundation plans temple to reading made from 50,000 books

An art foundation is seeking $10,000 in Kickstarter funding for its Lucana Library: a structure made from 50,000 books that would be part of the inaugural Bay Area Book Festival that is due to be held in Berkeley, California, in June. 

The project, which is being sponsored by an organisation called the Flux Foundation, would provide a space for secluded reading and would house books donated to the festival by the Internet Archive.

The origin of the project was an offer made by Brewster Kahle, the director of the Internet Archive, to Cherilyn Parsons, the founder and director of the festival.  

The not-for-profit archive is creating a free internet library by scanning and archiving the world’s cultural artefacts, including books, movies, music, images, and websites. People send millions of physical books to be scanned, and the archive keeps one copy of each. The books to be used on the temple would be made from duplicates.

The outside of the circular structure would be constructed from 12 pillars created out of stacks of books in wooden bookshelves. The roof would be made from books strung along spokes made from guy wires. 

The design was inspired by the nomadic structures of Central Asia as well as civic buildings such as the Pantheon in Rome.  

If enough money is raised, it will be built by a team of volunteers in a warehouse space who will then transport it to the festival grounds ready to be gradually dismantled by the reading public.

Admission to Lacuna is free, and visitors can take books from its walls at no cost.  

The Flux Foundation’s Kickstarter campaign can be accessed here. 

The project already has volunteers, the books and the designs. About $7,000 has been raised so far.

The Bay Area Book Festival to be held in downtown Berkeley on 5-7 June. Lacuna will sit in Martin Luther King Civic Centre Park for the duration of the festival weekend. 

Images via Project Lacuna