Giacomo Moor's community-driven furniture project in Nairobi slum

Designer Giacomo Moor traveled to Mathare, one of Nairobi's largest slums, at the invitation of NGO LiveinSlums to create furniture prototypes for the Why Not Academy's refectory and dormitory, a school serving 300 children. Working alongside local youth, Moor produced benches, tables, and beds using a 'productive simplification' approach that requires only basic hand tools like chisels, squares, and pencils. The furniture, designed with dry joints and reversible assembly, allows for easy repair and replacement. The project emphasizes community involvement and skill-building, with participants paid for their work. Photographers Francesco Giusti, Filippo Romano, Mattia Zoppellaro, and Alessandro Treves documented the initiative as part of the School of Curiosity, a photography school fostering local talent. Moor, born in Milan in 1981 and founder of his studio in 2009, describes the experience as 'totalizing, essential, and replicable,' noting that designing for real needs—enabling students to sit, eat, and sleep—rekindled his vision of 'necessary design.' The project was featured in Artribune's Speciale Design 2023 issue.