SpaceStation

At the core of all S+B designs is flexibility so that learning spaces are not restrictive and so that they can be used in different ways and for different applications.

The SpaceStation shape along with the size and configuration options facilitates and promotes collaborative group learning but is not in any way restrictive of a teacher wishing to have all students faced in one direction for a whole class address and demonstration. SpaceStation eliminates the inflexibility, safety and restrictive circulation issues associated with old fashioned fixed forward facing bench rows.

Services and safe working.

Services provided in the central areas along with generous worktop space per student enables practical group working in the most convenient way with excellent teacher access. This is much safer than confining practical work involving naked flames, chemicals and boiling liquids to perimeter benching where students struggle to work in groups, are facing the wall and have their backs to the teacher.

Standard modular sizes and bespoke designs where required.

Optional sink covers can be supplied to provide additional uninterrupted work surface when sinks are not in use. Both options can be supplied with a teacher’s workstation, perimeter benching, storage, teaching walls, fume cupboard, sinks, gas and electrical socket outlets as required.

S+B school’s advisors and designers are always happy to develop bespoke sizes and configurations to suit individual schools particular needs.

Note: Under lighting for service consoles is an optional extra.

SpaceStation provides safe, comfortable seating positions for students and renders perimeter benching spare capacity which can then be dedicated to storage because it is not needed for practical work. The generous work surface space per student, excellent circulation space and fully serviced worktops are equally well suited to dedicated biology, chemistry, physics and accordingly for integrated science.

Work Surfaces

A variety of work surface materials are available with the most widely used being Corian, Trespa and Velstone. All are attractive, easy to clean and have levels of heat, impact and chemical resistance appropriate to the daily rigors of the classroom environment for its 25 year design life. Corian can be repaired and facilitates the unique and compelling, seamlessly jointed moulded service console (where the other materials are used, gas, water and electrical outlets
would be mounted directly onto the worktop).

Integrated Design and Professional Styling

It is too often the case that school labs look uncoordinated and lacking in any design quality. Far from being inspirational and creating appeal amongst students, a miss match of loose tables, fitted benches and fume cupboards sourced at different times and from different suppliers lacking any synergy in shape, colour and form has completely the opposite effect. S+B provides the full package of serviced fitted furniture, perimeter benching, storage cabinetry, teaching walls, moveable workstations, wall murals, fixed and mobile fume cupboards, all professionally styled to provide a fully integrated state of the art learning space.

Never assume that because two different offers look the same or similar on 2D floor plans and quotation text that they are one and the same thing. This is never the case and whilst many of the detail variants will not be obvious, they will be significant in number. Collectively this will be the difference between something which has been developed, prototyped and tested in accordance with advisory body regulations over a number of years, professionally styled and constructed to provide best life cycle value and an attempted copy which has been quickly put together using lower spec materials, assembly fitments and compromised build quality.

We are always happy to facilitate visits to our factory, offices and showrooms as well as completed installations prior to order placement to help a school ensure a well informed choice. This service is offered completely free of any obligation and cost to our prospective clients and is something we very strongly recommend prior to an important capital expenditure decision which will have implications for the school for 25 years.

This commitment to creating innovative, motivational and effective learning spaces has been the main factor in S+B becoming established as a leading specialist in the UK and International Schools market. The sustained growth in our contemporary furniture designs has enabled us to win the Queens Award for Enterprise.

Increasingly schools are recognizing the need to widen the appeal of STEM subjects to a much larger number of students than would otherwise be the case. A key to attracting more students to science and ultimately in helping them realize the enormous opportunities that a STEM based education can provide is in changing perceptions from that of old fashioned, boring subjects to that of something which is contemporary and has relevance in today’s high-tech world.

There has been a movement away from the dark, uninspiring workshop style laboratory in schools, universities and research establishments for over twenty years, but increasingly educationalists are also recognising that changing traditional dark bench rows with lighter coloured, low specification versions of the same thing, achieves very little in changing student attitudes.

STEM in schools suffers from image and perception issues, so educationalist, designers and developers have to work harder to change those perceptions. As specialist educational furniture manufacturers and interior space planners, we can help science and technology based subjects compete with other subjects, through innovative and contemporary design. We can help change attitudes towards science so that students are more receptive to the truly exiting and creative possibilities which the subject offers.