Classroom Refurbishment & Studio Refurb at Morley College
Morley College regularly have challenging and diverse summer classroom refurbishments programs. A main scheme such as the refurbishment and enlargement of a textiles / fashion studio involved the expansion of student facilities to cope with popular courses. The scheme included the maximisation of storage space, large cutting and layout surfaces and individual machining desks. The layout included group areas for tutoring, ironing/finishing areas and an overlocker. The college refurb works took place during the summer and involved a full strip-out and refurbishment including flooring, lighting, decorations, power and furniture installation. As the lead college refurbishment contractors Fusion Classroom Design took full responsibility from design through to completion for a unified, coordinated, refurb project.
Refurbishment of an existing dance studio has enhanced the space by installing a sprung dance floor, added areas suitable for barre practice, and provided a yoga tutors platform. The lighting was upgraded to add a more even, balanced, coverage with controls to set the lighting scene. Integrated AV controls are included for connection to projectors and an audio system. Access to the studio was dramatically improved with a ramped wheelchair access route.
The most recent project involved classroom refurbishment in several buildings. An upgrade to classroom seating numbers was achieved through the use of a new furniture format. Rounded tables have allowed an upgrade of 15% to the student numbers, allowing Morley to add more students as course demand dictates, adding flexibility to timetabling. The refurb works took place to a demanding Christmas schedule for the start of the new term.
A summer refurb program included two art studio classrooms that were partially refurbished. Our role as the college refurbishment contractors meant that all elements of the project were delivered through a single point of contact and project management. Lighting was upgraded, clean-up and changing facilities improved, and a general redecoration and tidy-up without overly sanitizing the rooms to loose the ‘garret’ feel of the spaces. Improvements to furniture in a number of areas included new meeting furniture for the Principal and stacking chairs for the main college hall.
Space planning for the new classroom layout defined a two-stage upgrade. An initial layout with the 15% student seating uplift also has a phase II plan for a further increase in capacity. This can be implemented either as a temporary measure or on a permanent basis.
Morley College have completed the roll-out of new school hall chairs in two large halls, the Emma Cons and the Holst Room. In all over 200 stacking school hall chairs have been installed, together with a number of trolleys to move the stacks. As well as updating the two halls, the new chairs are a great improvement over the old chairs which only stacked to 5 high, freeing up floorspace and de-cluttering.
The ski-base chairs stack up to 20 high and are equipped with ganging glides to make setting-out easier. The choice of school hall chairs is a balance between durability, cost, comfort and being light enough to lift and stack easily.
A great deal of thought was given to the seat and whether it should be upholstered. As well as being more prone to wear and tear, an upholstered seat can limit the stacking capability by reducing the maximum to 10 chairs, in some instances, to avoid the padding being crushed.
Fusion are experienced in advising on school hall chairs and we’re very happy to suggest choices and provide sample chairs. Contact Fusion Classroom Design for more information on school and college hall chairs, or click here to see more pictures of our range of chairs.
Reception Furniture Installation
Images from furniture installation day at the new reception area for Morley College. Opening fully at the end of the year the space has been furnished early to allow events to take place in the reception space. The waiting area seating has a classic 20th century style that works well with the other design elements whilst the boothstyle furniture uses the colour scheme but has a slightly more modern, pared-back, appearance.
Loose reception area furniture includes the waiting area armchairs and the 4-person booth style seating configured to offer a degree of seclusion without too much enclosure. High and low touchdown benches create spaces for small workgroups, enrolment space and other table based working. The benches are equipped with inset sockets for power and USB charging and aircharge wireless phone charging units. Reception desk chairs have a special fitment. Soft-tyred castors are used so that the chairs don’t move around quite as swiftly, and the soft tyres also reduce any marking on the linoleum flooring. A high quality reception area shouldn’t be undermined by poorly specified reception desk chairs.
All the loose furniture is designed to be easily moved or removed as the reception area is intended to be multi-purpose. The new reception area will host gallery displays and events meaning reception furniture choice was very much based around flexibility and reconfiguration. Colours used in this reception design scheme are secondary. The architecture makes best use of the natural light and the wood floor and joinery are strong elements. Softer blues and greys compliment the space rather than competing for attention.
The design of the reception area mixes warm wood colours and textures with cool blue accents on seating, flooring and the reception desk itself. Later in the project additional spaces and office areas will be included in the furnished scheme.
