These items respond to trends in flexible learning environments, outdoor classrooms, and active design. Click through the slideshow above to read more.
New Architectural Products for Schools
Sitzbock
Ergonomic-office-furniture manufacturer Wilkhahn has a new active-sitting option: the pommel horse–shaped Sitzbock by Rudolph Schelling Webermann. Winner of a juried Eurocres Active Office award for health- and movement-promoting products, the research-backed design encourages users to lean or sit sidesaddle and adopt positions to combat health problems linked to prolonged sitting. At 27" high x 25" wide, the stackable perch can be used indoors and out, with optional felt padding.
Eva Zeisel Collection
Manufacturer FilzFelt has created an Eva Zeisel Collection of felted 100%-wool wall tiles to celebrate works by the late Hungarian-born industrial designer. Vase, Goblet, Hourglass, and Fish shapes of the ½"-thick tiles echo those of Zeisel’s biomorphic pottery and tableware, which are now in permanent collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Victoria & Albert in London, and the Bröhan in Germany. Tiles have a noise-reduction coefficient of 0.5 and come in 62 colors.
EzH20
Elkay’s EzH20 Bottle Filling Station with Integral SwirlFlo Fountain helps discourage plastic bottle waste. Features include the company’s WaterSentry Plus filtration system, a sensor for hands-free operation, and a 20-second shutoff timer. A more streamlined bottle-filling rough-in helps update the familiar fountain profile.
Podia
This modular seating system integrates oak tables, dividers, and work surfaces that also serve as a reconfigurable base for cushions. The low 24"-high profile is ideal for common areas in universities and high schools.
Skydome Edge
Updating a light fixture that debuted 20 years ago, this extension of Focal Point’s Skydome Edge enables designers to specify its extruded-aluminum profile as an edge-lit luminaire or as an unlit matching acoustic-control device. Suspended or surface-mounted, it is available in 2', 3', and 4' diameters. The acoustic polyester panel, 40% composed of recycled plastic bottles, has a Class A fire rating, a noise-reduction coefficient of 1.05, and comes in 15 colors.
Split
Italian company Colos offers its line of stable, lightweight Split chairs in adult- and child-height versions. The full size (shown) is available with steel, wood, or plastic legs, and in a range of colors; the kid size (17⅛" long x 24⅝" high), made of the same high-quality plastic, features steel legs.
EchoLine
What appears to be a textured wallcovering is also a sound-control product by Kirei. At less than ½" thick, EchoLine is sold in 46" x 94" acoustic panels, made from the company’s proprietary EchoPanel recycled PET, and is Ecospecifier Greentag–compliant to help spaces qualify for LEED and other green building certifications. They’re available in two styles, Square and Groovy, and 20 colors, including Magenta.
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