Bronze Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2026
Color Craze Primary School Library
by Cosmo Chuah
- A' Design Award 2026 Bronze Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: Lab Two Design
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 8,213
- Verification code 7571ED479B · Verify this award
About Color Craze Primary School Library
Color Craze is a library interior for a primary school. The design renovates an old library and covers 1,600 square feet. Irregular bookshelves, built-in slides, color themed areas and interactive walls shape the space. Students retrieve books using the slides and draw on graffiti walls. Color coded zones signal mood and function, while continuous lighting and irregular forms guide movement. The layout was planned with computer aided design tools and color psychology, and the furniture and lighting follow ergonomic principles. The aim is to increase interest in reading.
Cosmo Chuah's Color Craze Primary School Library demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of how environmental design can serve pedagogical objectives while creating spaces of genuine delight and sensory richness for young learners, positioning this educational interior within contemporary movements that recognize the profound influence of spatial atmosphere on learning outcomes, cognitive development, and the formation of positive associations with knowledge acquisition. The design employs an extraordinarily bold chromatic strategy, establishing an immersive teal environment that functions as both unifying architectural envelope and activating chromatic ground, against which intensely saturated polychromatic elements create rhythmic visual punctuation and functional zoning legibility, the color deployment revealing careful consideration of chromatic psychology, spatial wayfinding, and the creation of memorable distinctive character that distinguishes this library as a destination rather than merely a utilitarian repository. The compositional achievement centers on the integration of multiple geometric vocabularies working in productive tension: the monumental house-form structure with its pitched roof and horizontal banding suggests archetypal shelter and domestic security translated into institutional scale, its white-edged contours providing graphic clarity reminiscent of line-drawing illustration or digital rendering visualization, while the ceiling's concentric elliptical intervention introduces cosmic or cellular organic geometry, the radiating bands suggesting expansion, energy, or centripetal motion that animates the overhead plane and creates upward visual pull that counters the horizontal emphasis of floor-based elements. The material palette demonstrates sophistication in balancing playful formal exuberance with institutional durability requirements, employing high-gloss molded plastics for sculptural furniture elements that provide cleanable resilient surfaces while their biomorphic animal-inspired forms introduce whimsy and tactile invitation, the chromatic coding of these elements in pink, orange, and yellow creating intuitive association with warmth, approachability, and joy. The modular cubic storage system stacked in chromatic sequences introduces flexible reconfigurable infrastructure supporting evolving collection organization and spatial adaptation, the tetris-like rhythmic stacking creating visual interest while the color variation aids wayfinding and collection categorization, the rectilinear geometry providing compositional counterpoint to the organic furniture vocabulary and curved ceiling graphics. Thematically, the design appears to explore how educational environments can move beyond neutral institutional minimalism to become active participants in the learning experience, the environmental exuberance suggesting that spaces themselves can teach joy, creativity, imagination, and the celebration of knowledge, the house-form element perhaps evoking reading as shelter, stories as home, or the library as a welcoming domestic threshold within the institutional context, while the cosmic ceiling graphic might suggest expanding universes of knowledge, infinite possibilities, or the boundless imagination activated through reading and learning. The lighting strategy supports extended occupancy and varied activities through even ambient illumination that eliminates eye strain while the integrated edge-lighting transforms architectural elements into graphic statements that maintain legibility and visual excitement even during evening hours or darker seasons. The spatial zoning accommodates multiple simultaneous activities from quiet individual reading on sculptural stools to collaborative group work at background tables to active exploration of the modular storage landscape, the design recognizing that contemporary pedagogy values flexible multi-modal learning environments over rigid single-purpose configurations. What compositional relationships might young learners internalize through daily immersion in this chromatic spatial symphony, and how might environmental boldness nurture cognitive courage, creative confidence, and the understanding that learning environments themselves can be acts of imagination and care?
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- This is a renovation plan for an old library that turns a static reading space into an immersive, engaging environment. Its unique features include irregular bookshelves, built-in slides, color-themed areas, and interactive walls, offering students a playful, flexible, and user-centered reading experience.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 1,600 square feet
- Tags
- Colorful library design, student-centered space, educational renovation, interactive reading environment, irregular furniture, ambient lighting, creative bookshelf design, school interior upgrade, playful learning space, youth reading engagement
- Production Technology
- We applied participatory design methods—observing student behavior, surveying preferences, and simulating furniture use. Spatial layout was optimized with CAD tools and color psychology theory, while ergonomic principles were applied to the furniture and lighting design for comfort and usability.
- Design Challenge
- The main challenges were balancing fun with function and adapting non-traditional furniture forms to building safety codes. Space constraints and fixed structural elements required inventive layout solutions. Sourcing safe, durable materials in bright colors was another hurdle. We overcame these through close coordination with engineers and iterative prototyping.
- Project Duration
- The project started in October 2023 at SRJK(C) Chung Hwa 3 in Penang, Malaysia. From initial design to construction and implementation, the entire renovation was completed by March 2024, when the new library officially opened.
- Operation Flow
- The library allows for flexible interaction: students retrieve books using slides, write or draw on graffiti walls, and gather in color-coded zones that signal mood and function. Seamless lighting and irregular forms support intuitive movement and help users feel immersed, engaged, and welcome.
- Research
- We conducted behavioral observation and surveys targeting students aged 7–12. The objective was to understand spatial and emotional barriers to reading. Data was collected through interviews, usage logs, and mood mapping. Results showed a clear link between colorful, playful environments and increased time spent reading. The research informed our design, leading to a space that promotes learning and social interaction.
- Inspiration
- We were inspired by the low reading engagement among students. The outdated and dull library environment failed to spark curiosity. Our motivation was to create a space that feels vibrant and playful—one that stimulates interest in reading through color, creativity, and interaction.