Design Ignites Change - Projects - Leveling the Playing Field

Academy of Art University

Recognizing the power of the proverbial kitchen table as the central building block of any home, the industrial design graduate department partnered with Project H Design and The International Rescue Committee to design kitchen tables for refugees that have been relocated to the Bay Area from Eritrea, Bhutan, Burma, Nepal and Iraq. Using donated re purposed materials from St. Vincent de Paul, these tables will enable refugee families to gather and to assimilate in their new communities, utilizing the kitchen table as the center of their home. This project was designed and directed by Jenine deGuzman and Susan Kralovec.

Jenine deGuzman / Susan Kralovec

Project H Design
The International Rescue Committee
St. Vincent de Paul
Academy of Art University

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May 30, 2013

The Design Team | Matt Vuolo, Miika Mahonen, Jason Hu and Claire Toussaint

Claire Toussaint: The table is designed to work both as a singular and as a modular unit.

Miika Mahonen: Since every home is different and the families are of various sizes, the table was designed to adjust and meet the needs of the many different environments.

On December 10th, 2009 we successfully delivered fourteen tables to thirteen families in need; they arrived just in time for the holidays.

A very happy and appreciative recipient. One of many...

ID is commonly viewed as something sleek and new, so it is no wonder that we were curious about this project with the IRC. We anticipated many constraints but each grew exponentially: as teachers we were challenged by endless logistics and the students were challenged by the constraints of the repurposed materials.

On December 10th, 2009 we successfully delivered fourteen kitchen tables to thirteen families in-need who are located in the Oakland area. The tables were designed, built and hand-delivered on-schedule, by four incredibly hard-working students. It was an exhaustive, emotional and celebratory day for all involved.