16 | FURNITURE & STOR AGE | COVER FEATURE
“FLEXIBILITY WILL BRING SCOPE TO BREAK AWAY FROM TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM LAYOUTS AND FIND MORE EFFECTIVE MEANS OF ENGAGEMENT”
ABOVE: can you feel the seat? School furniture from KI (left) and Claughtons (right)
use amphitheatre-style seating for reading sessions or school productions. “The blueprint for educational design
and furnishings is flexibility of space, flexibility of working (group and individual) and flexibility of digital access,” says Michaela. “Today’s pupils have a keen eye for design and want to hook up and set down in cool spaces that motivate and inspire. Our role is to bring all these strands together to create functional spaces that zing with imagination and creativity. We recently designed a hub which could be easily constructed and deconstructed without special tools or skills or strong staff or pupils needed! The space’s versatility means that as well as functioning as a library with a retail look, mat black shelving, quick- pick book display units and multicolour clip-together work pods, it has been used to host award nights, parents’ evenings and the school’s Christmas fair.” Technology is replacing books not
just in libraries, but also in pupils’ rucksacks. Given the prevalence of mobile devices, there is a similarly wide need for their management. LapSafe® Products is the industry-
leading expert in managing mobile computing and powering smart technologies, specialising in providing safe power management solutions which allow charging, syncing and data transfer for laptops, iPads, tablets
and other such devices in volume. Selected as finalists for the Award
for Innovation at the Essex Business Excellence awards for the Diplomat™ LMS, LapSafe® offer an extensive and diverse range of charging trolleys and cases plus the innovative Diplomat™ LMS self-service charging lockers. Pupils can be loaned devices or locker space for the popular BYOD (bring your own device) facility in the same way they would be loaned a library book. Access is granted using a 19” touchscreen and barcode or MiFare card, PIN code or biometrics. From the very latest technology … to the
UK’s oldest specialist music school, Purcell School, where Ellis Furniture recently conducted a renovation. Although not old by the standards of many independent schools (it was founded in 1962), this specialist boarding and day school underwent a new-build 70-bed project with Ellis, which offers a design and installation service for fited bedroom furniture as well as providing the education sector with classroom storage products. Its Estudio product range includes a wide array of tray units, open bookshelves and open wall units, which are available in colours including beech, oak and walnut to create a welcoming feel, while the new Novus range brings colour, choice and vibrancy into the classroom. In the dining room, aesthetic appeal and functionality are combined by
Claughtons, a company with over 30 years of experience of making furniture for schools. Easy-to-stack skid base and cantilever chairs are specially designed to stop marking and denting, perfect for vinyl floors. Modular seating and folding dining tables which can be stacked onto trolleys when not in use make the most of any size or shape of dining area, which can be rearranged at any time. In the library, back-to-back and slide-
out shelving, book trolleys and storage trays plus interactive technology such as plasma screens can be incorporated into any fit-out. Furniture for ICT suites can be designed around Mac or PC desktops with removable modesty panels keeping rooms cluter-free. iE
Contacts
✥ KI Europe W:
www.kieurope.com/Education ✥ Gresswell W:
www.gresswell.co.uk ✥ Demco Interiors W:
www.demcointeriors.co.uk ✥ LapSafe W:
www.lapsafe.com ✥ Ellis Furniture W:
www.ellisfurniture.co.uk/schools ✥ Claughtons W:
www.claughtons.com
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