Programs

Mission

Project H uses the power of creativity, design, and hands-on building to amplify the raw brilliance of youth, transform communities, and improve K-12 public education from within. Our programs teach rigorous design iteration, tinkering, applied arts and sciences, and vocational building skills to give young people the creative, technical, and leadership tools necessary to make positive, long-lasting change in their lives and their communities. Our youth-led public design projects are rooted in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) content to connect in-school learning to out-of-school possibility. We believe that design is a powerful medium that is an active response to a context, a personal expression, a physical challenge, and a social act that builds citizenship in the next generation. Exploring the intersection of physical sciences, engineering, architecture, design, social justice, and community development, projects built by our youth include an award-winning 2,000-square-foot farmers market structure, iconic downtown landmarks, farmstands, playgrounds, school gardens, an obstacle course, public chicken coops, and their own learning facilities.

Project H is a tax exempt 501c3 nonprofit corporation. (In case you’re wondering, the “H” stands for the core values that guide our work: Humanity, Habitats, Health, Happiness, Heart, Hands, and more)

Film

If You Build It is a full-length documentary film that chronicles the students, projects, and work of our Studio H high school design/build program. Made by acclaimed filmmakers Patrick Creadon and Christine O’Malley, along with executive producer Neal Baer, If You Build It tells the stories of 13 students from Bertie County, North Carolina, who dreamed up a beautiful solution that would change the face of their hometown, then went out and built all 2,000 square feet of it. As their instructors, we were honored to work with them and lead them along the journey. The story exemplifies the power of hands-on education, the raw brilliance of youth, and the impact a few budding creative minds can have on the future of a community.

>> Join us for a sneak peek screening on Tuesday, May 28th in Berkeley, CA (tickets and info here).
>> Contact the filmmakers for more info on screenings and the upcoming theatrical release (info here).

View the trailer:

News

People

Emily Pilloton, Founder and Executive Director, Studio H Instructor
Emily founded Project H to use design to empower people, and to get her hands dirty after too many years in an office. Trained in architecture (UC Berkeley) and product design (SAIC), Emily believes in design as an honest process of building and activism for community benefit. Most days she resides in the Studio H classroom/shop with her high school students, but travels occasionally for lectures and workshops around the world. A California girl, runner, border collie lover, and unwavering optimist, she has appeared on the TED stage and the Colbert Report, and authored the book Design Revolution.

Matthew Miller, Project Manager, Studio H Instructor
West Virginia born and bred, Matthew Miller is Project H’s “MacGyver-in-residence.” An accomplished fabricator and metalworker, he has worked for several emerging practices including Architecture for Humanity and his own HousingOperative, studied at the Bauhaus, and holds degrees in architecture from the University of Tennessee and Cranbrook Academy of Art. He has taught at RISD, the College of Creative Studies and UC Berkeley. Matt is the ultimate designer/builder, with a range of projects extending from the ghettos of Detroit to the agrarian slopes of southwestern Uganda.

Connect

Donate

Project H Design is a 501c3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization. All donations made after January 8, 2008 are tax-deductible. Each year, a significant portion of our funding comes from individual donors like you, who contribute $10, $50, $100 dollars that go directly to our project costs (Our average donation last year was $87). Your support pays for things like building materials for Studio H, tools, technology, and our students’ stipends for their work. We are dependent on and grateful for your ongoing support for what we do! There are 2 ways to make a tax-deductible contribution to Project H Design:

1) Make a secure online donation via Paypal >>>

2) Mail a check to Project H Design, PO Box 12021, San Rafael, CA 94912

3) Contribute your materials or other in-kind donations. We are always in need of classroom materials, tools, equipment, and technology, particularly for our Studio H high school program. Email us at info@projecthdesign.org if you would like to donate materials.

Thank you thank you thank you for making our programming possible year after year.