Kids' reading in the good nooks - 2010

21 January 2010

A simple furniture design which can be turned into thrones, mountains and caves has been developed by a QUT student to give children private, imaginative reading spaces in school and public libraries.

Industrial design graduate Despina Papamanolis has designed bright, stackable furniture modules to help enable children to enjoy reading.

Designed for primary school children, her creation, called Nooks, provides a fun, cosy environment for children to read in.

Ms Papamanolis said she wanted to give children more motivation to read.

"I observed children in libraries which had pillows on the floor, couches and seats and I saw they would sit in corners and under tables or cover themselves in lots of pillows to read," Ms Papamanolis said.

"I also surveyed 100 kids from primary school and found the places they liked to read were private where they couldn't be distracted."

After exploring lots of stackable designs, Ms Papamanolis settled on a large, simple chair-like shape of rounded right-angled corners made out of curved wood, covered in foam and brightly coloured fabric.

"I trialled the prototypes with kids and they loved them," she said.

"The modules are sturdy so they won't fall over. They are durable and can be covered in fabric customised to suit the library they will be used in.

"They can be stacked one on top of the other, two levels high, or put on their side to make a corner for children to sit in. The modules can be placed side by side to be like stadium seating for class reading or they can be scattered around for individual reading."

Ms Papamanolis said her Nooks modules were well-received by teachers and librarians, who asked where they could buy them from.

She is continuing to develop the Nooks, which have so far been self-funded.

Ms Papamanolis has found a local furniture maker who is able to construct them and she will receive assistance from an architect to reach the official testing stage to ensure they meet child furniture regulations.

Media contact: Rachael Wilson, QUT media officer, 07 3138 1150 or rachael.wilson@qut.edu.au.