London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 27, 2025

High Schoolers in Seattle Build a Tiny Library That Makes Room for Everyone

High Schoolers in Seattle Build a Tiny Library That Makes Room for Everyone

The city-sponsored project is the new home of Estelita’s Library, an open and inclusive space where activism is encouraged through community engagement.

As the City of Seattle continues to experience explosive growth-and displacement that goes along with it-a disused snippet of land on a major thoroughfare in the Central District neighborhood has become a proving ground for the potential of community-driven design. Atop the small plot is now a micro structure, a neon sign proudly announcing the new location of a significant gathering space within the city: Estelita’s Library.



Estelita’s Library is a new micro community space in Seattle that doubles as a social justice-focused bookstore and library. The project was designed and built by local high school students through non-profit Sawhorse Revolution, which pairs students with professional architects and carpenters.

Since being founded in 2018 by Edwin Lindo in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, the justice-focused library has provided free access to more than 1,500 books-a catalogue that features works by Audre Lorde, Malcolm X, and Howard Zinn, along with Lindo’s collection of Black Panther newspapers, one of the largest in the country.

After Lindo learned their building was slated for demolition to make way for high-rise apartments, he partnered with Tiny Cultural Spaces, a pioneering City program launched in 2018 that matches deserving cultural groups with unused, city-owned land.



Sawhorse Revolution students designed the space with professional mentorship from Olson Kundig, and then built the structure from the ground up to pass structural review. "At the core of our work is the idea that youth can and should have a hand in shaping their own neighborhoods," says Sawhorse"s executive director, Sarah Smith.



Estelita’s Library was part of Sawhorse’s all-womxn’s program, meaning that all participants including mentors, students, and volunteers identified as women. Two-thirds of the students were youths of color and three-fourths were from low-income backgrounds. "We truly believe in experiential learning and engaging students in the landscape of their community," says Smith.

"The program takes invisible and overlooked municipal liabilities and turns them into living, thriving community assets," says Matthew Richter, the City of Seattle’s cultural space liaison. "There was something about Estelita’s scale of vision that fit this tiny space in a natural way. They are an organization absolutely hungry to connect to community."



Edwin Lindo, founder of Estelita’s Library, sits in front of the 225-square-foot space in Seattle's Central District neighborhood. Labor and materials were donated for the construction of the library by local companies, including Rieder Facades, who donated the Oko glass fiber siding with a custom color.

Estelita’s new space is a 225-square-foot, saltbox-roofed structure designed and built by Sawhorse Revolution-a local non-profit that teaches high school students architecture and carpentry with hands-on community projects.

"We strive to team youth furthest from educational justice with professional carpenters and architects so they can build for their own neighborhoods," says Sawhorse’s executive director, Sarah Smith, who partnered with architect Olson Kundig and three other local builders to lead 20 young people.



Estelita’s Library is the first recipient of a new program launched in 2018 by Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture called Tiny Cultural Spaces. The program pairs worthy cultural organizations with tiny snippets of unused City-owned land. "The purpose is to beautify the city, and radically empower arts and cultural organizations with the gift of property ownership," says Smith.

"For Estelita’s, the students’ core idea was to create a space that was welcoming for all people, and that brought together the activism of the past, present, and future," says Smith of the young design/build team. That translated to a bright, colorful interior that opens via double doors to an adjacent deck, with rolling bleacher storage benches that can move seamlessly from inside out.

Inside are built-in desks on one end and U-shaped bookshelves lining the opposing walls. Outside, a 330-square-foot cedar deck serves as multi-purpose gathering and event space, visually linking Estelita’s to the surrounding neighborhood. "The library can open up for a public lecture, reading, or whatever the community wants," says Smith. "Our goal was to design the most generous communal space."



A colorful pastel palette and warm walnut floors help make Estelita's Library kid-friendly and welcoming to all community members. Rolling, bleacher-style seating doubles as storage and can move to the outdoor deck for events and gatherings.



Estelita’s Library houses a collection of over 1,500 books, and founder Edwin Lindo’s collection of Black Panther newspapers, which is one of the largest in the country. For Lindo, the books are a catalyst for community conversations and dialogue. "The goal is for you to start thinking about worlds that seem impossible," he says.

Unlike most libraries, Estelita’s was always meant to encourage out-loud thinking. "Our goal was to be a complement and ancillary to [the Seattle Public Library]," says Lindo. Named for his daughter Estella, Lindo envisioned Estelita’s as a place for transformative dialogue around topics like race, poverty, and activism. "What Estelita’s tries to do is give us space to think critically and to think with freedom," he says.



Adjacent to the bookshelves is a built-in desk area, with moveable chairs and low windows that help increase accessibility.



For Seattle, Estelita’s is a hint of things to come. The city’s Office of Arts & Culture is planning to issue a second call for Tiny Cultural Space projects in Fall 2021, with intentions to develop it into an annual program. "Arts and culture generally punches way above its weight," says Richter. "With Estelita’s, you’re talking about a 225-square-foot space that’s going to redefine the neighborhood."

Smith agrees: "Perhaps more than any other project, Estelita’s has taught our students how creative design and construction projects can change your perspective, and your community."



Sarah Smith of Sawhorse Revolution sits in front of Estelita’s with Sawhorse Revolution volunteers and representatives from Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture. "One thing we’ve found in the last decade of this cultural-space work is that it’s not just about the length of your lease or the scale of your occupancy costs, it’s about gaining a sense of agency," says Matthew Richter, the Seattle's cultural space liaison.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
×