Furniture for the “Why not” Academy
2012
Client: liveinslums
Excerpt from article by Loredana Mascheroni, Domus Magazine, Nr.967
“The Liveinslums NGO invited me to participate to the project. They asked me to design the school furnishing and equipment using only local materials and manpower”.
The equipment and furniture were developed through the direct involvement of local workers, in line with the philosophy of Liveinslums, which considers communities as active agents in their own transformation.
The project began from a condition of limitation: absence of machinery, unreliable electricity, and the use of locally sourced materials. Design had to operate within these constraints, relying on basic tools and an adaptive approach. Construction was not predefined in detail, but evolved through continuous adjustment, where each problem required an immediate and pragmatic solution.
Within this context, the system was conceived to be simple, repeatable, and transferable. The objective was not only to build objects, but to establish a method that could be continued independently by the community.
The construction is based on a single element: a one-meter wooden lath with a 30 × 30 mm section, produced locally. This unit generates a modular system assembled through repetition, allowing the creation of different types of furniture. Plywood surfaces, treated with a slate finish, complete the elements.
Each component is optimized for material use and ease of assembly. The process functions as a basic, error-resistant system, enabling rapid and consistent production without specialized skills. Variation is achieved through combination rather than complexity.
In this project, design acts as a tool for simplification. The value lies not in the objects themselves, but in the process they enable—an open system that responds to necessity and can be appropriated, adapted, and sustained over time.
Making of
Photo Credits: Filippo Romano