Project H Design
“Empowers communities and applies design outside of the design bubble to global issues that matter. Project H Design uses the power of the design process to catalyse communities and public education from within. They are a team of designers and builders engaging in their own backyards to improve the quality of life for all.
Within all of Project H’s initiatives, they work with a few values in mind. Here are the six tenets that inform their design process:
1) There is no design without (critical) action.
They are not a social club, nor do they host green drinks events. They do projects that exist in the real world, that have partners, impact, and results. They work as a team, rather than for individual glory.
2) They design WITH, not FOR.
They work with partners, not for clients. They bring end users to the table from day one, making them fellow designers. They co-create with unexpected partners, and listen/learn first about social issues they may not fully understand.
3) They document, share, and measure.
They record all work as a means to measure qualitatively and quantitatively, and ask for feedback as a means to constantly improve. Their designs are never “done.” They share practices between project teams so that they never have to start from zero.
4) They start locally, and scale globally.
Their projects are local responses to global problems, and are designed to serve as models for broader application. They look first to their own back yards, with the ultimate goal of scaling and improving products as systems that can work anywhere.
5) They design systems, not stuff.
They create solutions and systems that are not driven by material or consumption. They “take the product out of product design” to question the traditional models, and design solutions that enable something greater than the object itself: enterprises, impact and so on; finally,
6) They build.
They get dirty. They tweak and prototype and test and bend. They know how to work in a woodshop, and how to weld, mill, and machine. They believe that knowing how things are built makes you a better designer, and that understanding the design process makes you a better builder. They make sure their ideas come to life.
Their specific focus is the re-thinking of environments, products, experiences, and curricula for K-12 education institutions in the US, including design/build Studio H high school programme in the Bertie County School District, North Carolina. THEY BELIEVE DESIGN CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.
Focus Area: Design For Education (K-12)
Project H (now known as Studio H) believes that design solutions belong in the hands of the next generation. One of their key skill sets is building a human-centred process that collaboratively develops and implements curricular, material, and environmental solutions for K-12 public schools, youth-focused organisations, and educational agencies.
Their focus on K-12 education is rooted in the belief that design is not just about products or beautiful spaces, but a way of thinking, and that this creative critical thinking is a valuable problem-solving skill to be learned at a young age. They don’t just deliver design solutions FOR education, they hope to instill design thinking in the minds of young citizens, so that they may be better equipped to take on the next generation of global issues. Such initiatives are focused on improving the lowest-opportunity K-12 public schools and districts in the US.
Design For Education Initiatives
Their Design For Education initiatives are based in Bertie County, North Carolina, where their partnership with the public school district serves as a pilot programme and multi-scale design lab. Projects in Bertie County have included the construction of our Learning Landscape math playgrounds, renovated computer lab spaces, and the county-wide Connect Bertie free broadband campaign for networked learning outside the classroom walls.
Their core initiative in Bertie County is Studio H, a one-year design/build programme in the Public High School. Studio H combines design thinking education with vocational/trade skills to produce one community improvement project per year. Other youth and educational initiatives outside of Bertie County include Empowerment Through Food, Furniture for Rural Schools, Unit T, Safe Spaces, and EduAction.
Founder/Executive Director : Emily Pilloton
Emily Pilloton is the Founder/Executive Director of Project H Design, and High School Instructor of Studio H in rural North Carolina. Trained in architecture at UC Berkeley and product design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the former Managing Editor of Inhabitat.com, writer, California girl and unwavering optimist. Emily is also a PopTech social innovation fellow and has presented at TED Global.
Her partner, Matthew Miller is Project H’s “MacGyver-in-residence” and Studio H co-founder and instructor. Matt is an accomplished fabricator and metalworker, he has worked for several emerging practices including Architecture for Humanity and Housing Operative. Matt studied at the Bauhaus, holds an undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Tennessee and a post-professional Masters in Architecture from Cranbrook Academy of Art. He has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, the College of Creative Studies and UC Berkeley, among others. He is the ultimate designer/builder, with a range of projects extending from the ghettos of Detroit to the agrarian slopes of southwestern Uganda.”
Interested in their work? Then I strongly encourage you to DONATE to their work. It is a tax-exempt 501c3 Non Profit organisation. Project H Design is supported almost entirely by individual donations from generous supporters like you, my readers. And thank you.
