Bringing Italian Furniture to Kenya's Historic Slum: Meet the Remarkable Designer
Empowering Kenyan slums, this talented designer introduces Milan-designed furniture made from interlocking joints With minimal tools, bunk beds, benches, and tables are built on-site, showcasing practicality and community involvement
Design for Impact is a series that highlights architectural solutions for communities affected by the climate crisis, natural disasters, and other humanitarian emergencies.
Italian designer Giacomo Moor was given the challenge of creating furniture for a school in a Nairobi slum. In response, he focused on making pieces that were functional, simple, and easy to put together.
"During CNNs visit to his studio in Milan, Italy, he explained that the word 'simplification' immediately came to mind. He knew he had to focus on the basics and approach the entire production in a fundamental way.
The resulting collection of modular bunk beds, benches, and tables is undeniably simplistic in both its construction and design. Moors furniture can be assembled on-site using wooden pieces that locals can cut themselves based on the provided plans. The assembly process only requires a few basic tools - a chisel, a carpenter's square, and a pencil - thanks to an adaptable system of interlocking joints."
With its simple and unadorned design, the utilitarian aesthetic of the items has become a source of pride for students at the Why Not Academy, the primary school for which they were created, according to Moor. "It's a design that was created with the community in mind," he explained. "It prioritizes function without sacrificing form. I believe that's all there is to it. Just a simple idea."
Building for â and with â communities
The Moors project, known as "Design for Communities," was the result of his partnership with LiveInSlums, an Italian NGO that focuses on informal urban settlements worldwide. According to the director of the organization, Silvia Orazi, it was crucial for the people at the school in Mathare, one of Nairobi's oldest slums, to be involved in the furniture-making process and to have a say in the design of their spaces.
Giacomo Moors' furniture can be constructed on location using locally sourced wooden pieces that individuals can personally cut. Assembly only necessitates a few fundamental tools - a chisel, a carpenter's square, and a pencil.
Simon Onyango
"We don't just want to swoop in, fix the issue, and then leave," Orazi explained to CNN in a phone interview. "The purpose of LiveInSlums is to work together with the residents to ensure that change happens on their terms."
The NGO invited Moor to Kenyas capital last year to assemble the first prototypes alongside a group of eight locals.
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"I took the brief and a few sketches," the designer remembered. "But the actual construction work was a group effort. I ended up only spending three days at the school, so in reality, the construction of each piece was entirely done by the group I collaborated with.
"Making sure they could independently build the pieces was crucial," he explained. "I simply provided the blueprints."
Kevin Ochieng, a tile maker by profession, took part in the prototype-building along with other workers. "Once Giacomo explained the furniture construction steps, I found it easy to continue without his help," he shared with CNN during a phone call from Mathare. "The entire process was incredibly intuitive. Surprisingly, I only needed one day to learn."
The furniture is made using a system of interlocking wooden pieces that can be slotted together without the need for glue.
Alessandro Treves
Moor leads a diverse team of woodworkers in his studio in Milan, Italy, which also functions as a workshop. With a background in carpentry, Moor's hands-on approach made him the ideal choice for LiveInSlums' project, according to Orazi.
"He was the perfect fit for us because he has a deep understanding of wood and how to manipulate it," she explained. "In Mathare, access to other materials is limited, so it was crucial that the chosen creative was adaptable to these constraints."
Upon Moor's return to Italy, Ochieng, unfamiliar with working with wood, utilized Instagram to send the designer videos and photos to ensure accuracy. "He would respond, and we would continue constructing," Ochieng explained. "It all went very smoothly. I felt proud of how quickly I learned, as it's not my usual area of expertise."
As of now, the Why Not Academy has incorporated twelve of Moor's pieces in its canteen and dormitory.
A quiet functionality
The carpentry techniques that the designer has long used in his studio inspired the glue-free joints. Moor explained, "Interlocking joints are commonly used in cabinets for their strength and attractiveness. I reinterpreted them to require just a handful of tools and simplified the technique to the extreme. It's kind of like building something out of Lego."
Moor advises that while the joints can be secured without metal fasteners, he recommends knocking four supporting nails into each item at the end "for extra safety," although "they actually aren't a must in terms of structural stability," he added.
Giacamo Moor's furniture series includes tables, bunk beds and benches, like the one pictured, that were built on site by members of the school community.
Simon Onyango
The designer researched the availability of eucalyptus wood in Mathare and designed the pieces to be sustainable and scalable. The individual wooden parts can be replaced if damaged or weathered and can be used in different types of furniture as needed. The goal was to avoid visible nails or screws and ensure that every element was strictly necessary with nothing superfluous.
Moor emphasized the importance of appearance, even in basic designs. "It was crucial to create something that, while visually simple, still had a good look," Moor explained. "I believe that the joint padlock system accomplishes this. Functional design doesn't have to be unattractive." There are solutions for the billions of birds colliding with glass buildings.
The furniture range, originally designed for the Why Not Academy, has expanded its user base to include private customers in Europe. Moor sells both assembled and disassembled versions and donates ten percent of the profits to the Nairobi school via LiveInSlums. He aims to expand the use of his furniture to other parts of the world with limited resources. Currently, he is focused on his next LiveInSlums collaboration, involving redesigning the kitchen at Mathare in January.
He expressed a desire for the kitchen to be more seamlessly connected to its surroundings while maintaining a simple design approach. "There's no need for intricate materials and excessive embellishments to create something of quality," he added.
