Titan One Piece

A child will sit on a chair for up to six hours a day over a period of 11 years or more. Furniture must therefore be durable and easy to clean and repair.

Cost is always a driver and in education environments this is particularly acute as furniture is often the last purchase in a long building or refurbishment process. All too often it is seen as low status and/or purchased as an afterthought, with the consequence that the benefits of a new school are diminished by in appropriate furniture.
Based on purchase cost criteria alone, furniture can be unattractive, unergonomic and of poor design. The result is students feeling a lack of ownership over the furniture, encouraging graffiti and vandalism and shortening the life span. The majority of school chairs will need to last at least 10 years; therefore the cost per child for a cheap school chair can be as low as 60p per year.

Although good furniture may carry a small cost premium, can we afford to ignore the benefits of providing high quality furniture that is suitable for all users? Today’s children are part of a design conscious society and this awareness extends to the furniture they use. Good furniture indicates that the purchaser respects the children; in return they are more likely to adopt a more positive attitude which is more conducive to learning.