Start Lighthouse literacy hubs | Bronx NY and expanding throughout New York City’s Public Schools | currently in construction

Start Lighthouse advances childhood literacy through a social justice lens by reviving defunct library spaces in New York City Public Schools and empowering students to build their own libraries. 

Ten to One and Start Lighthouse have developed a modular furniture system for implementation both in the revitalized school libraries and as built-at-school take-home library units. The first literacy hub family of pieces, Dat, Woo, Lala and Lulu, each work as mobile bookshelves, tables and stools and work together in any number of configurations.

The kit of parts furniture system arrives flat packed for easy on site assembly. Units are assembled in Start Lighthouse Literary Adventures workshops and taken home filled with self selected books. Within the Start Lighthouse Literacy Hubs the units can be used as shelving, display, bench, seat, side and work table and can be (re)configured by each class, teacher and student. Each and all of the four units can be freestanding or assembled together to create walls of shelving, featured displays or any grouping of seating, tables and shelving from large class to small group to individual. Units are made of plywood and stained with gradients of CMYK colors to vary from slightly tinted wood veneer and grain to heavy pigmentation.

Team + Garrick Jones + Gergana Staneva + Alin Kutan + Idil Agcagul + Allyson Gale Quintillan