About the project
R – School Tools explores accessibility and sustainability challenges in educational environments. The project proposes three products for diverse educational needs: an artistic color palette with ergonomic design suitable for children with different physical abilities; a scratching material adapter that could enable students with reduced mobility to participate in fine motor skill activities; and an inclusive ruler featuring tactile elements for students with limited manual mobility or visual impairments. The concept suggests using Sun Factory technology to transform plastic waste collected from schools into educational tools, proposing a system where schools might become centers for both environmental education and sustainable practices.
About the Project’s approach
R – School Tools explores distributed design values by considering inclusivity, sustainability, and educational innovation. The project proposes making designs accessible to educational institutions, enabling adaptation to diverse learning contexts. The concept envisions engaging students, teachers, and families in both waste collection and product development, suggesting an experiential learning environment. The proposal considers how educational waste streams might become learning resources, establishing circular systems within institutional settings. The approach connects educational inclusion, environmental awareness, and community engagement, reimagining schools as spaces where sustainability might become an embodied practice rather than an abstract concept.
About the collective
Henrique Lino, João Pedro Silva, and Rodrigo Torrão are Visual Arts and Technologies students at Politécnico de Lisboa with an interest in inclusive design and educational tools. Their project represents an academic exploration of accessibility challenges in school environments. As design students, they researched diverse learning needs and conceptualized potential solutions, approaching the work as an opportunity to develop their understanding of inclusive design principles. Their collaborative process allowed them to explore the intersection of educational needs and sustainability, demonstrating how design education can engage with social issues through conceptual proposals focused on practical classroom challenges.