NOV 24 A TIME FOR GIVING
“Tis the season” is often reminded through bells ringing, office parties and holiday cheer. Yet for some, it is not always a joyous time. Stress around the holidays can be quite difficult and for others not often admitted as such. In today’s office the emergence of yuletide adornment is more obvious than ever simply because many offices have adapted the ‘open environment’. Long gone is the subtle knock at the corner of an enclosed workstation to wish a fellow co-worker happy holidays.
Having attended the recent NeoCON East conference, I was optimistic to view more mid to high-back privacy solutions for introverts and those who have ADD and ADHD challenges in the work place. A population issue and reality that has numbers increasing not decreasing. A real situation requiring compassionate design solutions. The notion that a collaborative space is all good all the time has been challenged and written extensively on in recent years. It is difficult to produce quality work when one is challenged by their work environment.
Yet, I have noticed in addition to acoustical product designs offering "blended" solutions, innovative ergonomic seating designed for flexibility and improved concentration has emerged as well. It seems however that we not yet fully considered those who have historically been in open environments and could use design insight to improve their setting as well. To consider those who do not always have a voice to express their stress, to those who more than most of use could desperately use the ingenuity of emerging sit/stand solutions and updated 21st century yoga ball seating designs… children in educational settings. Higher education master campus planning is on the rise, amenities amongst competing universities aided by substantial budgets encourages higher education furniture innovation. However, the 20th century classroom where elementary, middle school and high school students sit for hours on end often with physical activity omitted in 9-12 grades is often overlooked. School districts do not always have the budget to build or re-design classrooms indoor or outdoor i.e. trailers that house populous overflow.
Consider the K-12 student and in addition inclusive students on the spectrum of Autism with sensory needs who benefit from seating that responds to them. Consider students diagnosed and suffering from ADD and ADHD distractions on a daily basis too…then consider the environment of learning and how the simple addition of an ergonomic seating solution that actually fits under a desk could provide ideal posture and improve a child’s attention span along with confidence as they are able to attend longer and are observed and praised for doing so. As specifiers we need to push our scope of specification to include opportunities where the manufacturer may not have considered the K-12 student scale and yet are willing to do so.
This holiday season, give back through consideration of other’s needs.
A gift to be treasured and benefit from year after year.
Having attended the recent NeoCON East conference, I was optimistic to view more mid to high-back privacy solutions for introverts and those who have ADD and ADHD challenges in the work place. A population issue and reality that has numbers increasing not decreasing. A real situation requiring compassionate design solutions. The notion that a collaborative space is all good all the time has been challenged and written extensively on in recent years. It is difficult to produce quality work when one is challenged by their work environment.
Yet, I have noticed in addition to acoustical product designs offering "blended" solutions, innovative ergonomic seating designed for flexibility and improved concentration has emerged as well. It seems however that we not yet fully considered those who have historically been in open environments and could use design insight to improve their setting as well. To consider those who do not always have a voice to express their stress, to those who more than most of use could desperately use the ingenuity of emerging sit/stand solutions and updated 21st century yoga ball seating designs… children in educational settings. Higher education master campus planning is on the rise, amenities amongst competing universities aided by substantial budgets encourages higher education furniture innovation. However, the 20th century classroom where elementary, middle school and high school students sit for hours on end often with physical activity omitted in 9-12 grades is often overlooked. School districts do not always have the budget to build or re-design classrooms indoor or outdoor i.e. trailers that house populous overflow.
Consider the K-12 student and in addition inclusive students on the spectrum of Autism with sensory needs who benefit from seating that responds to them. Consider students diagnosed and suffering from ADD and ADHD distractions on a daily basis too…then consider the environment of learning and how the simple addition of an ergonomic seating solution that actually fits under a desk could provide ideal posture and improve a child’s attention span along with confidence as they are able to attend longer and are observed and praised for doing so. As specifiers we need to push our scope of specification to include opportunities where the manufacturer may not have considered the K-12 student scale and yet are willing to do so.
This holiday season, give back through consideration of other’s needs.
A gift to be treasured and benefit from year after year.
The "Ballo Stool" by Humanscale, recently introduced is an excellent example of a new seating ergonomic option that could be specified for K-12 but may need to be scaled down esp. for elementary children. Wonderful innovation on its way.
http://www.humanscale.com/landing/neoconeast.cfm
http://www.humanscale.com/landing/neoconeast.cfm
The new ErgoErgo seat (below) is designed for both adults and children. Approprtirly scaled the seat:
"Children naturally want to move. Active sitting on Kid’s ErgoErgo encourages the child to perform controlled ‘micro-movements’ which improve blood and oxygen flow to the brain – increasing concentration by an average of 17%. Studies show that sitting on stability balls in the classroom helps a child’s ability to focus. With Kid’s ErgoErgo, you get the benefit of the ball without the seat rolling around, picking up dirt, or taking up a large amount of space.”
http://www.ergoergo.com/kids-ergoergo
"Children naturally want to move. Active sitting on Kid’s ErgoErgo encourages the child to perform controlled ‘micro-movements’ which improve blood and oxygen flow to the brain – increasing concentration by an average of 17%. Studies show that sitting on stability balls in the classroom helps a child’s ability to focus. With Kid’s ErgoErgo, you get the benefit of the ball without the seat rolling around, picking up dirt, or taking up a large amount of space.”
http://www.ergoergo.com/kids-ergoergo
Happy Holidays and happy specifying.