The role of design in development of the school furniture

The latest development of modern school furniture requires interdisciplinary approach of various professions. In this teamwork, a designer has a leading role and assumes considerable responsibility by being the one who compiles knowledge with the incoming parameters of other team members, and given that the outcomes of any design, particularly with regard to its disadvantages and errors, are experienced by the users - the youths. Correct shaping, dimensioning and spatial organization of classroom furniture is crucial for regular development and growth of pupils. The studies have shown that a school table or a chair failing to comply with the respective design standards may be detrimental both for the pupils (developmentally) and the manufacturers (financially). Such a product becomes one of many redesign failures rather than the label of a "good and optimal design". Present article underlines the importance of the systematic approach to design of academic furniture, especially of tables and chairs. The standards and recommendations for healthy and safe solutions contained in it should be viewed as main directives for designers. Current requirements being increasingly complex, a designer has an important role in harmonizing all set parameters so as to find an appropriate and humane solution, to the satisfaction of all stakeholders, including the manufacturers, distributors, school staff and pupils. Latest studies have shown the need to change traditional views about school workspace design, namely of tables and chairs, and the need for novel design concepts.