Furniture for schools anna holder, bureau design research

School furniture has come a long way since the restrictive bench table’s of the Victorian school room, which kept pupils immobile and trapped, facing the teacher 2, unable to move at wil

Furniture for Schools Anna Holder, Bureau Design + Research

This paper looks at the importance of furniture

in learning environments, and explores some

of the innovative approaches being pioneered around the globe It is intended to give an overview of some of the many issues involved in the procurement, design and use of furniture for schools Our aim is to provide a ‘way in’ for all who are interested in this topic: to suggest a range

of ideas and to provide links to contemporary examples and further reading The material contained here is not exhaustive and focuses on good practice and innovative case studies

How important is furniture when we think about schools?

Most people, if they cast their mind back to their experiences of school, will have vivid memories of materials and objects they used every day: whether

it was the clammy flexibility of the small plastic chairs as you shifted in your seat; the exact point at which they tipped as you balanced, illicitly, on their back legs; or the difference between scratching your compass point into formica-topped tables and colouring into the hieroglyphic grooves and scars of a solid timber science bench

In fact, it is unsurprising that furniture holds such weight in our memories of learning environments

In terms of experiencing a school, furniture is the main interface between the user and the building For pupils, its what they sit on, work at, eat at, put their belongings in, find things in, and see their work displayed on For teachers, its how they organise the space they teach in, where they store and access all day-to-day equipment, how they display visual learning materials For visitors

to a school, the furniture they encounter can form their impressions of the place: the tactile and visual characteristics of reception furniture can welcome and orientate, providing instant legibility in an unfamiliar space, or alternatively make the visitor both physically uncomfortable and unwelcome

“… furniture plays a big part in the environment and the learning experience; it is

just as important as equipment, buildings and other learning resources.” 1

In the UK we are now 5 years into the massive

‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme,

an unprecedented overhaul of the country’s education facilities, and a testament to the value

we place on learning environments We are also witness to ever-accelerating changes in the way

we interact with information - the rise of the knowledge economy, ubiquitous wifi, a proliferation

of handheld learning devices The implications

of these changes for school design and school furniture are something we are still grappling with;

as our everyday lives become increasingly abstract and dispersed, what emphasis should we place on the materiality and the experiential aspects of our physical environment and the objects that make

it usable?

School Furniture: Components

Flexibility is key for today’s learning furniture This

is true both at the scale of the individual pupil, and in terms of the spatial arrangements and combinations of furniture for different group sizes and uses School furniture has come a long way since the restrictive bench table’s of the Victorian school room, which kept pupils immobile and trapped, facing the teacher 2, unable to move at will, or even from the individual tilting desks many practitioners will remember from their own schooldays, which placed emphasis on working

1 Alison Wadsworth,

Senior Designer at the

Department for Children,

Schools and Families,

speaking at the launch

of the Furniture Industry

Research Association launch

of the ‘Safe seats of learning’

campaign

(http://tinyurl.com/dbzy56)

2 For an insight into the

evolution of school furniture

in regards to pedagogy, see

Moreno Martínez, Pedro

L., ‘History of School Desk

Development in Terms of

Hygiene and Pedagogy in

Spain (1838-1936)’, in Lawn,

M and Grovesnor, I (eds.)

Materialities of Schooling,

Oxford: Symposium Books,

alone, and on the forward-facing, listening and

learning modes of teaching

Working

Contemporary pedagogy emphasises the place

of group-work and the movement from individual

learning, through small-group discussion and

collaboration to larger collective inquiry Recent

developments in learning space and furniture

design reflect this Oldborough Learning Plaza,

a built prototype of part of a new school being

developed in Kent, is an example of both furniture

design and spatial layout supporting current

and emerging pedagogies ‘Propellor’-shaped

tables allow for a range of different sizes of

group collaboration and discussion, and furniture

layouts are positioned to take into account the

dynamics of different types of learning, with small

banks of individual work spaces arranged at the

quieter edges of the space, and noisier discussion

accommodated in central areas

Storage

While in previous generations of school design,

personal student storage was accommodated

within students’ desks, or in cloak rooms, rising

student numbers and contemporary pressures

of security and spatial flexibility have led to

new strategies of student storage In its most

basic form, this can mean banks of blank lockers

lining corridors, with scrums of students fighting

to stash or access their possessions between classes However, storage can be very successfully integrated into school design, making a positive contribution both spatially and visually At

Ypenburg Lyceum in the Netherlands, architects worked with manufacturers and an artist to create storage, which beautifully and seamlessly adds

to the overall design Banks of lockers line the walls of an open three-storey atrium, and a bold graphic pattern joins the spaces, making a visual connection between the different floors

To achieve the uncluttered canvas for this effect, the designers specified flush locker doors with

no visible locks or openings; instead, students type their personal code into a keypad mounted beside the locker wall, and their locker door pops open automatically

In Joensuu Lyceum, the extreme cold of Finnish winters meant that storage for outdoor clothing was a major consideration By locating full-size lockers for each pupil in the central foyer, outer layers can be discarded at the beginning of the school day, allowing an uncluttered environment throughout the rest of the school

Display

A neat solution to storage and display furniture

is demonstrated at Hervoormd Lyceum West in Amsterdam Here, student work or objects of interest can be placed into the thickness of the wall between classroom and corridor, which

Fig 1 Oldborough Learning Plaza, plan.

Image: SMC Alsop

Fig 2 Student lockers at Ypenburg Lyceum, by DP6

Architects.

Photo: Prue Chiles

is faced on each side with translucent coloured polycarbonate The patchwork effect of objects and views through to the classroom provide visual interest to the corridor without over-compromising the privacy of the teaching space Adjacent to the corridor is storage for the computer servers and other electronic equipment, which can also be seen through glazed insets into the wall

ICT Housing and integrating the range of ICT equipment required in contemporary education puts further demands on furniture Recent new-build schools have tended to focus ICT into dedicated suites, with banks of desk-top computers This has the advantage of allowing simpler security measures than laptops which can be taken all over the school, but limits flexibility, and fails to allow schools to keep up with the immersive and ubiquitous trends for integrating ICT into our daily lives

Some good examples of the possibilities of integrating ICT furniture within education facilities have come from the higher education sector3; this combining of virtual and real spaces and objects is perhaps a foreshadowing of what we can expect

in future school designs

InQbate, a learning environment at the University

of Sussex, is a Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning for Creativity It is pioneering immersive learning environments; integrating flexible spaces with interactive projections and lighting, enabling

the creation of multiple atmospheres and effects for different teaching settings Spatially the techniques it employs are simple, with curtains and sliding or rotating screens allowing spaces to be divided or joined together easily The complexity

of the environment comes from the combination

of equipment (wall-mounted flat screens and data projectors) and lightweight, easily moveable furniture (stools and wheeled tables, beanbags)

An example of the possibilities of integrating ICT at secondary school level can be seen in the Classroom of the Future at Grey Court School, where pupils are able to use ‘green screen’ and video-editing software to bring drama projects to life

‘Built-in’ furniture

Fran Krsto Frankopan Primary School in Croatia combines circulation space with space for seating, with wide steps and interesting finishes

De Eilaanden Primary School in Amsterdam includes work niches in the corridors with glass walls which provide transparency and can create various learning arrangements

The stairs are designed so that they can be used for circulation as well as for turning into a multifunctional space - the steps become seats and the landing becomes the stage

For more examples of

integration of ICT in

higher education teaching

and learning spaces, see

JISC Infonet, ‘Planning &

Designing

Technology-Rich Learning Spaces’ a

collection of annotated case

study images, which can

be viewed through their

Flickr site, http://tinyurl.

com/5muzr9, [accessed 25

March 2009].

3

Fig 3 Display cabinets between classroom and

corridor at Hervoormd Lyceum West.

Photo: Prue Chiles

Fig 4 InQbate learning suite at the University of Sussex

Photo: InQbate, CETL in Creativity

Break-out and informal spaces

Ordrup School, Denmark, an elementary school

uses a variety of ‘informal’ furnishings Carpet

‘islands’ big enough for several children to sit on

are hung on the walls - these can be moved by

the children on the floor to create temporary

places for group gathering or discussion Children

in the middle classes use sunken ‘hot pots’ (circular

seating areas) for concentrated group work For

the oldest children moveable oval sofa islands can

be used as places for group work or for watching

film showings

At Kvernhuset School in Norway, breakout

spaces are formed by glass ‘plank’ enclosures, as

an attempt to allow some group-working privacy,

while allowing a level of transparency to between

teachers and pupils

At De Kikker Brede School, a double-height

classroom allows a small mezzanine breakout level

that doubles as a ‘reward’ space

Fig 5 De Kikker School, with double height teaching

space and balcony work space.

Photo: DOK

Fig 6 Fran Krsto School, with its fixed seating assembly and circulation space.

Photo: Randic and Turato

Ergonomics and Health

Much focus in educational furniture research has centred on its effects on childrens’ physical development and health A number of studies

in the last decade4 found links between school furniture and lower back pain, particularly where children were sitting for long periods of time

In 2001 the DfES, CFG, FIRA and BESA jointly funded a large-scale survey of children aged between 5 and 16 years old, in schools across

in England5, which aimed to update ergonomic information last collected 30 years previously The results of the survey showed significant changes

in pupils’ body measurements and furniture requirements These findings were used to inform the new British and European Educational Furniture Standard, EN1729, now the industry standard for ergonomic measurements for schools furniture [see inset box ‘Guidelines and Standards’] The findings of the survey showed that children were on average bigger and taller than their counterparts were thirty years ago, but they also highlighted the need for flexibility and easy adjustment in school furniture

The emphasis on adjustable furniture is reiterated

in other ergonomic studies6, which have found that pupils benefit from tilting desktops for reading, and higher seat positions Furniture designers and manufacturers have been quick to respond to these changing needs, with a range of adjustable height and flexible tables and chairs hitting the market in recent years

The ‘Archimede’ ergonomic and adjustable table and chair by Isis Concepts is one example of this

The lightweight nature of this furniture also lends itself to the flexible teaching space

Conversely, bespoke adjustable tables and chairs

at Kvernhuset school in Norway were made deliberately heavy to stop children leaning back

on their chairs and to minimise damage through wear-and-tear The chairs are designed to hang off the tables when not in use to allow easy cleaning underneath This heavy-duty approach is in stark contrast to the ISIS chairs

Storage Another health issue with implications for furniture

is day-to-day storage of students belongings Studies

of back pain in school-age pupils7 also showed that carrying heavy school bags was a cause of certain complaints, and recommendations for solving this included the need for secure storage at school, such as individual student lockers

Personal storage for teachers is also critical

in schools Despite teaching being more ICT-orientated, many schools prefer teachers to move around to pupils rather than the other way around

Therefore teaching resources need to be moved too In Heimdalsgade School in Denmark, teaching staff have flight cases on wheels that house their apparatus for lessons, giving them a practical and robust ready-made storage unit

Legg, S J and F C

Trev-elyan, ‘Back pain in school

children—Where to from

here?’, Applied Ergonomics

37 (2006) p 46 This paper

summarises the findings of a

number of academic studies.

4

The data from this survey

can be accessed via the

online resource School

Furniture UK, which sets

out key dimensions of the

UK school population (3-18

years) through a series of

charts, www.schoolfurniture.

uk.com [accessed 25 March

2009].

5

Legg, S J and F C Trevelyan,

op cit., p 50

6

Legg, S J and F C Trevelyan,

op cit., p 48

7

Fig.7 Bespoke tables and chairs at Kvernhuset School

Photo: Leo Care

Changing roles and transforming spaces

Two successful examples of innovation in both spatial and furniture design introduce the role of consultants as champions of facilitators of great furniture design in schools

Roc Aventus College, in Apeldoorn, is a ground-breaking further education and training college, part of the Dutch new wave of vocational educational facilities Its success is due in part to a building that straddles genres and defies definition;

feeling in places like a university, a workplace, a commercial and a public building Each subject grouping within the college has its own reception space, and different designers were commissioned

to provide the interior and furniture design of each

of these areas Dealing with a range of different consultants or subcontractors may seem like unnecessary extra complication to clients already grappling with procuring a large and complex building Kunst en Bidrijf, an agency which works with public and private clients to integrate artwork

in buildings and public spaces, acted as a facilitator for the project, their experience allowing them

to guide the process whilst allowing innovative designers to give full-rein to creative ideas The resulting building has moments of inspired design and fine detailing working on a human scale, which help to personalise this large mixed-use education facility and to welcome and orientate visitors and regular users alike

An example of the role of facilitating and mediating bodies from the UK is the Sixth Form Centre in the

Heart of England School, Coventry Part of ‘joined updesignforschools’, a programme conceived and delivered by the Sorrell Foundation, this project brought designers together with students to design a space that was tailor-made for their needs

From the brief developed with the students, the architects designed a number of bespoke furniture solutions, including a partitioned table for private study, and booths of benches and tables for group work or socialising The use of plywood for these pieces of furniture adds to the overall feeling that the sixth form centre is something distinct from the rest of the school This was an intentional move

on the part of the architects away from standard

‘education’ materials and forms

The methodology pioneered by the Sorrell Foundation, to bring together students and designers to work collaboratively to improve school design, has now been rolled out across one hundred schools in the UK.8

An alternative approach to furniture procurement has been developed at Manchester City Council

in the UK, where the team dealing with managing the Manchester Building Schools for the Future process has a dedicated furniture specifier who has researched and developed a ‘catalogue’ of furniture for architects to specify in their schools

To be selected, furniture must comply with a series

of standards set by the Local Authority including environmental/recycling factors as well as cost and robustness Creating this role means that research can be shared between the schools, minimising work later down the line

Further information on the

‘Joinedupdesignforschools’

student-led briefing process,

which is designed to be

appropriate for all school,

including those built as

part of the BSF, Primary

Capital and Academies

programmes, can be

found on the Sorrell

Foundation website, www.

thesorrellfoundation.com

[accessed 25 March 2009].

8

Fig.8 Faculty entrance space with group meeting area

at ROC Aventus.

Photo: Prue Chiles

Fig.9 Gorton Education Village dining hall furniture, is

refined, simple and robust.

Photo: Leo Care

Special places – how fittings and

furniture make extraordinary spaces

Making use of corridors and tight corners of existing

schools, or making spaces work twice as hard by

doubling up uses, has been the preoccupation of

a number of designers around the world

Ordrup School in Denmark succeeds in

‘making something out of nothing’ with modest

interventions and clever place making installations

that promote, small group working, reading spaces

and internal mini-play spaces

Die Baupiloten, an architecture unit at the

Technical University in Berlin, created a model of

socially-integrated and creative design praxis with

their series of interventions at the Erika Mann

Primary School in Berlin Utilising the creativity of

architecture students combined with labour from

local prisoners, and input from teachers, parents

and local disabled groups, this project transformed

a rigid and forbidding building from the early 1900s

into a magical learning environment The tall,

broad corridors of the original building play host

to folding furniture, fabric wardrobes, tunnels and

climbable sculptures themed around a narrative

of a silver dragon wandering the school The end

result here is not only a series of flexible furniture

interventions for indivdual and group study, reading

and play, but also a school that many more people

in the neighbourhood, use, know about and feel

involved with

Conclusions

As the examples above show, procuring furniture for school is not a simple task, and there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution This paper has explored some

of the challenges involved in furniture procurement, and introduced a range of approaches, most of which succeed through engagement with the unique characteristics and needs of each particular school, and the involvement of students and staff as well as designers and other specialist consultants

Summary of key approaches and recommendations

• Think about the different roles involved

in project development and who is involved: getting the right furniture is

a collaborative process, not a one-off decision, and should involve conversations with stakeholders and users

• Build-in, or double up, on spaces and furniture elements – steps which double

as seats, corridors with niches for private study

• Do consider how the furniture you choose might support or embed certain pedagogy, including enabling creative use of spaces and imaginative play, or encouraging different types of group working or communication

• Don’t just assume the right furniture

is out there – in some cases the best results will be achieved by creating something new to fit your school’s particular needs

• Equally, don’t feel you have to start from scratch - be inspired by examples from case studies, both within the education sector and further afield

Fig 10 Ordrup School in Denmark makes the most of

all its spaces, transforming a corridor in to a series of break-out and individual work stations.

Photo: Anders Sune Berg

Bond, M et al., ‘Kit for Purpose - design to deliver creative

learning’, London: Design Council, 2002

FIRA (Furniture Industry Research Association) ‘Safe

seats of learning: how good school furniture can make

a difference’, Hertfordshire: FIRA, March 2008 (PDF

available from www.askfira.co.uk)

Hartman, H., ‘Learning to Love ICT’, Architects’ Journal,

vol 227, no 22, 5 June 2008, p 50-52.

Lawn, M., ‘A Pedagogy for the Public: the place of objects,

observation, mechanical production and cupboards’

in Lawn, M and Grovesnor, I (Eds.) Materialities of

Schooling, Oxford: Symposium Books, 2005,

pp.145-162

Legg, S J and F C Trevelyan, ‘Back pain in school

children—Where to from here?’, Applied Ergonomics

37, 2006

McDougall, S., ‘The Furniture Debate’, 21st Century

Schools 2(1), pp 47-54

Moreno Martínez, Pedro L., ‘History of School Desk

Development in Terms of Hygiene and Pedagogy in

Spain (1838-1936)’, in Lawn, M and Grovesnor, I (Eds.)

Materialities of Schooling, Oxford: Symposium Books,

2005, pp 71-95

Romer, M., ‘Pedagogical furniture’, Arkitektur DK, vol 47,

no 2, April 2003 pp 120-123

Topliss, N., ‘Rethinking the Classroom Environment’,

School Building, no 18 Oct/Nov 2007, pp 40-47

Where to find out more

The Imagine school design website showcases best practice school design from around the world, sortable by themes and school types Look up examples described in this paper to get more images, information and links to the schools and their architects

www.imagineschooldesign.org

The online resource School Furniture UK

sets out key dimensions of the UK school population

(3-18 years) through a series of charts

www.schoolfurniture.uk.com