Seating selected for Oxford’s Norman Foster Social Sciences building

Higher Education Estate (HEE)

Working with TOP-TEC, the university has refurbished the IT Room located on the 2nd floor, reconfiguring it to support bring-your-own-device (BYOD), and no longer has individual IT equipment provided in the room. Rows of 3-seat power supply benches are arranged to face the front. This allows the room to be utilised for presentations and seminars if required, for which lecterns, height-adjustable desks, screens, and projectors are provided. KI's Strive task chairs have been selected to provide mobile, height-adjustable ergonomic seating for space.

Chosen for their simple, yet elegant design, these chairs were specified with a black base and warm grey poly shell to complement the room’s calm, clean and focussed feel. In addition to these Strive task chairs, matching Learn2 chairs with Strive seat shells were also selected to provide students or presenters with additional, more flexible and collaborative seating. Learn2’s ambidextrous, large swiveling tablet arm also accommodates different writing styles and better collaborative working. Its under-seat storage allows the user to keep their bags and materials close to hand and off the ground, reducing clutter and trip hazards. All chairs have been enhanced for extra comfort with upholstered seat pads.

Oto Velicka, project manager and deputy senior facilities manager at Oxford University, said: "The Learn2 chairs give the space an added element of reconfigurability. The chair’s clever design adds excellent functionality with its storage rack and generous tablet arm – and being able to specify them with matching Strive seats allowed us to maintain a consistent aesthetic throughout."

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