02/19/2021
Equipment for the classroom of the future
“You are an undergraduate student (or Leap student!) at Boston University. As you arrive at your classroom one day, you are delighted to notice that…”
Problem Observed
Boston University desks are confining, do not allow for easy rearrangement of the classroom for group work, and limit the amount of class materials you can be using at once due to limited desk space.
Problem Statement
The current layout of many college classroom and lounges are designed to be momentary and stagnant. You will often find seating with minimal desk space and uncomfortable constraints that are not efficient for classroom rearrangement. The objective of this design is to create an environment capable of allowing college students to work in teams freely and remain organized. The goal is to design a seating device that can enhance the adaptability of a college classroom, while catering to all types of students within the timeframe of one semester and a budget of $400 for a four-person team. The design needs to allow adaptability throughout the multitude of different classroom settings, while remaining affordable, lightweight, and familiar.
Benchmarking
While many college campuses still use the attached chair/desk, there are many inefficiencies that this design obtains. With limited desk space various school supplies often fall off the desk space or are too big to fit in the first place. Many desk/chair combos lack a place to put things such as backpacks and laptops when not in use. While researching companies that design educational furniture, I noticed that many designs are steering away from the desk/chair combination. However, companies such as Steelcase and Virco are sticking with the traditional concepts and updating them with modern changes. Steelcase uses wheels and an under-chair storage space to allow for classroom rearrangement and student work efficiency. On the other hand, companies like Global are taking a new approach to classic classroom furniture by implementing concepts such as stacking desks.
Deciding Criteria
The following Pugh Chart was used to decide which of the four sketches are most suitable to prototype within the design criteria of the project. Each category was given a 0, 1, or 2 depending on the suitability of the design. A 0 is given if the category is not met and 2 if it is most efficiently met. For example, sketch 2 was given a 0 in the category of number of materials, because it has the most materials out of all designs, while it was given a 2 for comfort due to the added cushioning on the seat and backrest. Sketch 1 was determined to be the most suitable for prototyping within the $400 semester budget and a team of four students. While some of the other concepts were more refined in categories such as comfort and portability, sketch 1 is easily and affordably manufacturable with just one material, similar to the original classroom desk chair, and easily maintained.
Implementation
The benefit of this seating design is that it remains familiar to the current state of desks within college campuses. This allows for easy implementation of this new design within classrooms, as only minimal changes have been made to the standard desk to enhance the adaptability of the classroom. The user’s behavior that needs to change in order to implement this design is small and these changes will come over time as the class continues. Students will begin storing away textbooks and laptops in the side compartments of the chair. The desk bends can hold things such as calculators and small notebooks. This is also beneficial as it keeps supplies from falling off of the desk space while working. While separate desks and chairs can be ideal in some classroom situations, maintaining the combined desk/chair allows for students to move freely around the room. In these unprecedented times of Coronavirus this also creates an environment that is ideal for social distancing unless required to work in groups, which then students can easily move the lightweight desk/chair closer to their peers.