Grow

Thesis Project by L. Montanaro - Master in Design for Children - IED Roma

Academic year

2024/2025

With the Thesis project Grow, Luca Montanaro, a student of the Master in Design for Children at IED Roma, rethinks the school cafeteria as an educational space, connecting design, pedagogy and everyday practices.

Grow approaches the school cafeteria as a daily environment with high educational potential, often marginal in design processes yet central to children’s experience. The project takes shape through a research path that combines direct observation, analysis of school contexts and reflection on educational models related to food, behaviour and social interaction.

The project develops from the case study of the Melissa Bassi primary and lower secondary school, in the Tor Bella Monaca district of Rome, used as a reference context to investigate dynamics, critical issues and opportunities for design intervention. Within this scenario, the cafeteria is reinterpreted as a space capable of influencing autonomy, responsibility and the quality of relationships, as well as children’s relationship with food.

Inspired by the principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach®, Grow considers the child as a competent subject and food as an educational tool. From this perspective emerges an integrated system of furniture and tools (modular tables, service and clearing trolleys, and devices for food exploration) designed to support everyday gestures, make processes visible and encourage active participation during mealtime.