Trends in Interior Environments

In response to the current construction boom occurring across the country, there are several trends that have come to the forefront of interior planning and furnishing. The following categories of construction projects and some of their associated concerns are requiring new approaches from the facility designers and manufacturers of product solutions.

Residential living: Apartment-style living is taking precedence over the barracks-style of housing options traditionally offered. Residence halls are moving toward warm, homelike atmospheres with the concurrent requirement to address ergonomics and technology in an appropriate study environment.

Athletics and recreation: Updated training, performance and leisure facilities offer more than meets the eye. They now incorporate flexible office and tutorial areas to accommodate the educational support required for today’s student athletes.

Information and technology resource facilities: Flexible facilities and furniture are prolific. They’re designed to address both the current and future technical instructional equipment demands and the accompanying ergonomic requirements of their intensive use by students and staff. Future growth and changes in how information is stored, accessed and used must continue to be addressed.

Administration and support: Changes required in personnel, organizational structure, responsibilities -- and the new directions dictated by the increasingly competitive nature of educational institutions for funding and students -- create a tremendous demand for flexibility within these environments. The continued challenges of communication and the technological advances that must be used can make a facility obsolete if it cannot respond to these changes.

Throughout all of these environments, ergonomics, flexibility, image, functionality and the ability to address changes in technology are common themes. In looking to address these themes, all administrators have to find a way to specify and acquire cost-effective solutions.

Many administrators have found that identification of “partners” can provide them with the expertise needed to address the trends in both interior planning and furnishing of the variety of environments they must provide for their students and staff. This ability to partner with product and service providers means that architects, interior designers, construction managers, furniture manufacturers, distributors and installers can all provide administrators with the insight they need to make informed decisions as these new facilities are being planned and constructed. Due to the variety of staff involved in the different types of facilities on campus, this outside expertise is invaluable when it comes to assessment of product flexibility, durability, warranty, ease of repair and history of successful use.

The design professionals and furniture manufacturers who have shown their ability to respond to the demands of the university environment with specialized plans and products that can address the present as well as future needs will prove invaluable.

Mr. Robyn Hovey is manager of Jasper, Ind.-based Kimball - It’s Academic Program.

Featured

  • K12 Tutoring Earns Every Student Succeeds Act Level II Validation

    Personalized online tutoring service K12 Tutoring recently announced that it has received Level II validation underneath the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), according to a news release. The independently validated study provides evidence of K12 Tutoring’s role in creating positive student outcomes through effective academic intervention and research-based solutions.

  • Enjoy Tax and Energy Savings with the Right Ceiling Solutions

    Thanks to recent innovations pairing mineral fiber ceiling panels with phase change material technology (PCM), architects, designers, facility managers, and other key players in construction and renovation projects are re-thinking the role ceilings play in supporting environmental objectives—especially energy savings.

  • Greenheck Launches New Series of Rooftop Units

    Air movement, control, and conditioning solutions provider Greenheck recently launched a new line of rooftop units that merge the conveniences of traditional rooftop ventilators and dedicated outdoor air systems, according to a news release. The Model RT controls temperature and humidity for indoor comfort.

  • S4L Launches 2025 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched its 2025 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which gathers information on K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide from the previous year. The data we get from you, our readers, forms an industry report offering an overview of current trends in school facilities.

Digital Edition