A Traveling Sanctuary for Reading Banned Books

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How can architecture raise awareness about the negative impacts that state legislature censorship of K - 12 public school libraries has on students while simultaneously providing a safe and welcoming space for reading banned material?

Role Director, ZA (Zuroweste Architecture)

‍Curator WAI Architecture Think Tank

‍Location Varies

‍Year 2025

‍Status Built

‍Type Traveling installation

‍Invited Group Exhibitions A Classroom in the Future (curated by WAI Think Tank), Gallery 181, Iowa State University, College of Design, Ames, IA, 2025

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“Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing. And in that moment, I swear we were infinite." Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
"The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit.” James Joyce, Ulysses (1922)
“Some people could look at a mud puddle and see an ocean with ships.” - Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
“You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.” Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon
“The thing to do was to act just like others acted, live like they lived, and while they were not looking, do what you wanted." Richard Wright, Native Son
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” - Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960)
“Go slowly, my lovely moon, go slowly.” - Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“And sometimes the difference between individual and organized indignation is the difference between criminal and political action.” Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
“All kings is mostly rapscallions, as fur as I can make out.” Mark Twain, The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn
“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.” Alice Walker, The Color Purple
“While none of the work we do is very important, it is important that we do a great deal of it.” Joseph Heller, Catch 22
“The caged bird sings with a fearful trill, of things unknown, but longed for still, and his tune is heard on the distant hill, for the caged bird sings of freedom.” Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
“Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly – they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.” Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
“This soil is bad for certain kinds of flowers. Certain seeds it will not nurture, certain fruit it will not bear, and when the land kills of its own volition, we acquiesce and say the victim had no right to live. " Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eyes
“In Ohio seasons are theatrical. Each one enters like a prima donna, convinced its performance is the reason the world has people in it.” Toni Morrison, Beloved
“Have my parents forgotten that they were young once? Apparently, they have. At any rate, they laugh at us when we’re serious, and they’re serious when we’re joking.” Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
“Several of them would have protested if they could have found the right arguments.” George Orwell, Animal Farm
“It was merely the substitution of one piece of nonsense for another" George Orwell, 1984
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This project seeks to provide students a safe space for reading books banned from Iowa’s K-12 libraries by Senate File 496 (SF 496).

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SF 496 is a statewide education law passed in Iowa in 2023 that attempted to remove library materials containing descriptions of “sex acts” and forbid discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation. Religious texts such as the Christian Bible were given exception to the rule. Colloquially known as the “Book Ban” or “Don’t Say Gay” law, the legislation resulted in the removal of approximately 3,400 books from Iowa school libraries including:

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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

1984, by George Orwell

Beloved, The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou

Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

Where the Crawdad Sings, by Delia Owens

Wicked, by Gregory Maguire

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ZA (Zuroweste Architecture) was invited by WAI Architecture Think Tank (Nathalie Frankowski and Cruz Garcia) to participate in their Fall 2025 exhibition A Classroom in the Future. ZA’s contribution, “A Traveling Sanctuary for Reading Banned Books,” takes its form from the structure of a book: a front and back cover connected by a spine. Built as 5’ x 7’ large-scale canvas stretchers, each leaf is connected by stainless steel door hinges that allow the sanctuaries to open and close like a book. Attached to each leaf are two steel casters, allowing the sanctuaries to travel freely and become nomadic. The three sancturies can be arranged: 1) spine-to-the-ceiling to create reading tents (steel chains are provided  to incrementally modify opening angles, prevent lateral thrusting, and ensure structural saftey); or, 2) spine-to-the-wall to create wall partitions. Following the exhibition, the canvas stretchers will be demounted and given to local artists to paint on. LEDs controlled by are included, allowing readers to choose their favorite color light to read with. Rectangle carpets, inflatable spheres, foam cubes, and plants provide additional elements of comfort and play.

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Special thanks to Annie’s Foundation, an anti-censorship non-profit that donated 150 banned books for distribution throughout the installation.

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