Say hello to the ‘transformer of furniture’ created by an young architect determined to transform the quality of life in rural India. Nishan Nazer, who received a degree in architecture from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut, was rather unimpressed by the gaping scarcity of sustainable architecture design in rural India. He sought to fill this void by joining up with the SBI Youth of India fellowship in 2016. Through this channel Nishan chose to channel his fight for sustainable change in the housing sector by working with the NGO Gram Vikas.

His foray in multi-functional furniture began by being stationed in the Rudhapadhar village in Odisha’s Gajapati district. It was there meager government educational accommodation in the classrooms and boarding schools fueled Nishan’s ambition to create a design that could solve the students plight of little to no desks and beds, along with a severe shortage of classroom space. And this situation was no anomaly. When Nishan filed an RTI query he found out approximately 45,000 schools in the state were in dire need of rudimentary infrastructure.

Although this figure greatly disappointed the young creator with a conscience, Nishan knew this widespread issue could be tackle via a simple, comprehensive design. “I accepted this challenge with pleasure as the solution to this problem will directly benefit rural houses, students, education and on a long-term – overall development of the village. I designed a product that can serve multiple functions of a student like reading, sleeping and drawing,” Nishan commented to The Better India. From this young man’s determination was built the SURFACE.

By raising funds from his friends and family Nishan made over 30 prototype models of the Surface at the cost of Rs. 1,400 each. Nishan then worked to teach local villages how to wield and work in carpentry, so they themselves could create his design and be their own source of empowerment. The comfort created by Nishan’s hard work has not only widened the quality of young Indians’ lives, it has widened there smiles as well.