Classroom Furniture Ergonomics Q & A
By: Peter Glass / Bob Mills
Here, two leading furniture designers address one of the hottest issues in classroom furniture today: ergonomics.
What are the trends in today’s school furniture?
Historically, most school furniture buyers focused on durability and low price, with less attention given to appearance and comfort. Today’s buyers often use a more nuanced and balanced approach. Durability is still vital, but at a time when schools are competing for the best teachers and students, the cheapest furniture doesn’t always deliver the highest overall value.
A classroom full of high-quality furniture that’s modern and attractive creates a professional ambiance for teachers, gives confidence to parents, and lets students know they’re respected and appreciated. Our goal is to create efficient classroom furniture with the same level of design and detail as better office furnishings, while also making sure it fits within tighter school budgets.
And, more buyers are also demanding comfortable furniture with good ergonomics, as they should – after all, students have more physical contact with their chairs and desks than anything else at school.
What are the benefits of ergonomic classroom furniture?
Good classroom ergonomics have never been more important. Twenty years ago, the workplace ergonomics movement was a response to the musculo-skeletal and repetitive motion problems suffered by office workers. With the increasing intensity of schoolwork – including countless hours spent at computers – today’s students deserve the same kinds of ergonomic benefits.
Studies report that a majority of teenagers now complain of back problems, many of which are confirmed by X-rays showing spinal degeneration. Such problems in childhood will likely worsen with age, raising future workplace and quality of life issues.
“Good ergonomics” means designing furniture to fit students, instead of forcing students to fit their furniture. Chair designs that encourage open body angles, lumbar and thoracic support, and regular body movement are helpful. So are tailbone and ischial (“bottom bone”) reliefs, rounded contours, and “soft” perimeter edge shapes. In many settings, controlled back flexibility and height adjustment (for chairs and desks) can provide additional benefits.
Proper ergonomic design helps avoid problems with circulation, respiration, the central nervous system, muscles and connective tissues. And, in addition to providing healthier seating, good ergonomics will improve comfort – and in the classroom, better comfort means more learning. (As the teachers’ saying goes, “The mind can only absorb what the bottom can endure.”)
No single chair or desk can be perfect for all users. Anthropometric averages notwithstanding, people of different shapes, sizes and conditions have different needs. Ironically, while adjustable furniture is more common in offices than in classrooms, many schools actually have a wider range of body shapes and sizes than adult workplaces do. A high school classroom, for example, may serve small 13 year olds and large 19 year olds.
Although using well-designed and properly sized furniture is important, it’s only part of the ergonomics equation. Frequent movement, periodic rest breaks, and regular stretching and exercise are also key elements in an effective ergonomics program – at school, at work and at home.
What should school leaders keep in mind as they evaluate and select desks and chairs for their students?
Safety and durability are always paramount. Buyers should demand furniture that passes all applicable ANSI/BIFMA tests for strength, durability and stability, along with GREENGUARD certification for indoor air quality.
Visually, clean and classic shapes will keep their looks longer than extreme or faddish designs. Don’t just look at chairs to evaluate them, though – sit in them, for as long as possible. Curvy shapes and a flexible back don’t guarantee good ergonomics. It’s difficult to achieve the right balance of movement and back support, and chair backs that are too soft will be unsupportive and distracting “classroom recliners.” Side-by-side “sit tests” of competing chairs are a great way to compare products, but 30 seconds may not be enough time to really get a feel for a chair. Spend 30 to 60 minutes working in a chair to get a better understanding of its comfort.
If chairs will be stacked for storage, look for tight and stable stacks that are safe and space efficient.
Insist on environmentally responsible products that have a high recycled content, and that will be highly recyclable when they’re retired from service.
And, buy from a company that will still be around if you need help someday. A long-term warranty won’t mean much if the maker is out of business.
Peter Glass and Bob Mills are independent designers who have collaborated on several classroom chair and desk projects for Virco, a leading manufacturer of education furniture. Their designs include Virco’s ZUMA, Metaphor, Telos, Sage, ZUMAfrd, Plateau and Text product families.
