For the last few years in my Design for All course I have taken the concept of urban homesteading and low income community and integrated them into a concept project for IKEA. The IKEA project addresses the income disparity in Santa Clara County, CA (home of Silicon Valley), the burgeoning urban homesteading culture, and the affordability of IKEA products. Students do 15 hours of community service during the semester in a local community garden. They visit urban homesteading locations on their own to gain insight into all the different types of products that urban homesteaders develop on their own (DIY). The students then conceive of product concepts that would make sense in the Urban Homesteading Department of IKEA (a fictional department).

Students have designed a wide variety of products including chicken coops, vegetable raised bed systems, irrigation systems, food preparation solutions, food preservation systems, and water collection systems.

Hönshus Chicken Coop

Student: Anna Kang

HÖGANÄS Cooling Fan

Student: Allie Sieben

Winner, IDSA IDEA Bronze Award, 2016.