The new public library in Marvila had a long concrete forecourt and no sign — the architects had left a blank wall and a tight budget. The neighbourhood is young and loud, and the library wanted an entrance that said everyone was welcome without a banner. Whatever we made had to survive kids climbing on it for decades. It also had to be legible from the tram stop across the road.

We drew a heavy, rounded alphabet and cast the word BIBLIOTECA in solid concrete, letter by letter, with a local precast works. Each letter stands on its own, tall enough to sit against and too heavy to move. We tested the forms at full size in plywood on the forecourt and adjusted heights with the kids who came to watch.

The tallest letter stands 4.2 m and weighs just under three tonnes. The forecourt became the neighbourhood's meeting point within weeks — the library counts people sitting against the letters every evening. The same alphabet now runs on the shelf signs inside, cut in plywood from the original test forms. Repairs so far: none. The precast works now shows the letters to every new client who visits.