Collaborative furniture

from Gresswell Brochure - September 2022

Encourage participation

Discover our collaborative spaces

Collaboration is one of the key four so skills, and today is recognised and valued by organisations across the globe. The concept of a collaborative space stems from the emergence of alternative places dedicated to sharing ideas and working on projects together.

Nowadays, libraries are no longer solely responsible for the circulation of materials and providing access to information. A library must facilitate a group’s ability to meet, exchange and share knowledge and know-how.

It is essential that libraries o er spaces that o er an environment conducive to collaboration and group working, where workshops, conferences and presentations can also take place.

Access to these spaces, also called “third places” is linked to having a modular and adaptable space, depending on the needs of users.

We must be able to adapt the space we have with light, easy to move furniture, and portable IT equipment such as tablets, laptops, and Wi-Fi.

Collaborative Furniture

Create spaces to collaborate and share ideas.

Why is collaboration important? Providing regular opportunities to collaborate allows students to explore their ideas to find solutions that reflect their primary vision, in a constructive way. It is proven that group work leads to the development of more original solutions. This encourages students to process and synthesise information and concepts more actively, rather than using their memory for facts and figures. Benefits of working in groups include: Improved acquisition and retention of information (up to 50%!), self-discipline and leadership, acquisition of new skills and knowledge, improved interpersonal skills and teamwork and encourages active participation.

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Connect Table

VERSATILE AND FUNKY. The flexible and dynamic shape of the Connect Table makes it a brilliant classroom solution. Connect Tables can seat one person within a classroom environment or up to three people when a full working space is not essential. • 32mm round tube frame finished with scratch resistant speckled light grey

Duraform paint • 18mm MDF top available in a variety of colours • Resilient Duraform spray PU edging in either light grey or charcoal Dimensions: W940 x 890mm at widest point.

Code: 4080632 £145.00 Price per table segment.

Jewel Table

ULTIMATE VERSATILITY WITH ENDLESS SHAPE COMBINATIONS. The stylish modular design of the Jewel Table is extremely versatile, providing working space for large groups of pupils when placed in numerous shape combinations. Three tables together create a hexagonal table of 1730mm diameter. With a 32mm round tube frame in light grey Duraform and 25mm MDF top the Jewel Table is a truly robust classroom table. Dimensions: W1440 x D866mm.

Code: 4080621 £239.00 Price per table segment.

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When ordering please tell us the colour : see swatch below. Height S1-S6. TABLE TOP COLOUR EDGE COLOUR

3 good reasons to equip your library with writable surfaces

A great way to modernize, improve and create a learning space that encourages participation for all is to add writing surfaces such as, whiteboards, scribble walls, glass, tables with writable surfaces. Of course, libraries and classrooms are already well equipped with white wall boards, the essential triptych of our childhood. Yes, but students too o en consider them as spaces reserved for the teacher or sta member, which makes them di cult to access. Considered a formal teaching tool, they can pose as a creative barrier. By making whiteboards and writable surfaces plentiful and accessible you can encourage creativity and student participation and they are just plain fun!

THEY ENCOURAGE GROUP WORK AND FACILITATE COLLABORATION

When students work on a common project, it allows them to write and draw their ideas, to explore them, facilitating communication and understanding within the group. It is a key resource, especially for students with visual memory. The writing surfaces allow them, for example, to draw the steps of creating a robot, visualize errors in their code and even better plan their project by creating a timeline.

Paper o ers the same possibilities, but it does not have the flexibility of an erasable writing surface, which allows students to easily write, erase, rewrite and gives them more writing and drawing space - big and freer to express yourself.

THEY PROMOTE THE MAKER CULTURE AROUND THE GAME

TThe Makerspace culture, the emergence of Fablabs in libraries and schools encourages people to think about the layout of spaces and the most suitable furniture. Whiteboards are a key part in a design and manufacturing process. Whether it is for programming, coding or in the planning of a prototype, they allow you to draw and visualize while having fun. On their own, they make it possible to create fun, interactive spaces and encourage project pedagogy. Do you remember the highlight of your schooling? O en our most vivid memories come from projects to which we have actively contributed, which we have carried out as a group. The whiteboard is a key element that allows projects to take shape.

THEY ALLOW STUDENTS TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES

Walls, tables and other writable surfaces can become spaces for students and teachers alike. It strengthens the autonomy of students by allowing them to have a place where they can create and express themselves with few restrictions.

Students have used writing surfaces in many creative ways. Some students wrote a question each week and the students added strokes as votes.

A student who was passionate about a particular series of books drew fan art for the promotion of their favourite books. Another student would come in every morning to draw a new cartoon he was creating.