Innovative Furniture & Equipment Products Receive Awards at the Show

Best in Show

After observing how college students study on campus, KI designed its C-Table Max. The c-shaped base easily slides under the lounge seating students love, so they can draw the table closer and sit up straight while they work. It’s height adjustable, and the tabletop shapes fit together for collaboration.

Third Place

The CORE16 USB from PowerGistics is a wall-mounted charging and storage tower for Chromebooks and tablets. The space, time, and cost-saving solution includes a USB power strip and 20 USB-A to USB-C cords. Special features reduce touching, and keep devices at the front of the shelf for easy access.

The People’s Choice Award

The KIO Tinker from MiEN Environments combines a large surface area with a variety of storage possibilities. The inner storage compartment lid sits flush with the table top, increasing surface area and keeping resources organized. Additional storage on the exterior of the table provides for quick access to materials.

Second Place

CEF’s Chameleon Classroom System of mobile pods with multi-positional tops provides customized seating and storage for classrooms at every grade level. Pod configurations are designed in two- or three-seat increments, giving teachers the ability to change their instruction style from lecture to testing centers and everything in between.

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What trends were most visible on the trade show floor?

Adrienne Dayton: With health and safety still a top-of-mind concern, many products emphasized the ease of transforming educational spaces from collaborative learning areas to studentcentered and socially-distanced ones. Among them were learning pods, nooks, and outdoor classroom furniture & equipment. The exhibit floor was filled with colorful products in fun and functional shapes and sizes for kids from pre-K to college. The colocation with the Campus Safety Conference was excellent timing. School violence continues to be of high concern to school administrators who are looking for product solutions to help protect their students and staff from outside threats. Experience your room before you buy it with Jonti-Craft’s Room Design Service!

What new products generated the most excitement among buyers?

Among the awesome products on display were three standouts chosen by a panel of designers. These EDspaces Innovation Award winners were recognized in partnership with Learning by Design Magazine. • The C-Table Max Personal Work

Surfaces by KI: Best in Show • the Chameleon Classroom System by

CEF: second place • the Core16 USB by PowerGistics: third place

During EDspaces, attendees had the opportunity to vote for their favorite products. The People’s Choice Award went to KIO Tinker by MiEN Environments.

What COVID-related furniture trends are here to stay?

With the exception of short-term solutions such as Plexiglass dividers, many health-driven school practices will remain a mainstay of classrooms including antimicrobial surfaces and fabrics that can be wiped off between uses, moveable partitions,

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and sanitation stations. In addition, outdoor classrooms were gaining popularity even before the pandemic and will continue, particularly in warm-weather locations.

Products such as Adirondack-style chairs, benches, lounge seating, and log stools for collaboration and group discussions outdoors were popular and will likely remain so. Biophilic design – incorporating elements of the natural world into the built environment to positively impact human well-being – continues to be a trend displayed in several designed classrooms and exhibit spaces.

What educational sessions at EDspaces were most popular?

Some of the more well-received education sessions reflected current challenges school administrators face in planning, designing, and managing their educational facilities. Here’s a list of the specific topics. • The “S” Stands for State-of-the-Art

Signature Career Academies • Designing Sensor-Rich Environments to Transform Active Learning • Learning Playground: Adaptable

Design Strategies for

Equitable Access • Perception is Reality: How Design

Can Impact Perception of Safety • Hey, Students! Design Your

New School • Rethinking K-12 Design to Sync with Changing Instructional Trends

Bill Strickland, the founder of adult career training Manchester Bidwell Training Academy, gave a riveting presentation about raising children from all backgrounds to thrive by surrounding them not only with love and respect, but excellent learning environments, quality food, and adult mentors. Education sessions, workshops, mini-sessions, and deep-dive learning events were held throughout the event in six designed classrooms, and in specialty spaces on the exhibit floor.

What was the buzz – what were attendees talking about in terms of both products and business?

There was a lot of optimism. Business is brisk and orders have been healthy. That’s due to the school funding available; part of the nearly $200 billion that congress allocated for COVID-relief aid to public schools in the American Rescue Plan (ARP). While some construction projects tracked ahead of schedule due to buildings being empty for part of the year, the most disruptive impact on equipping and furnishing schools was due to supply chain delays.

What were some of the highlights of the school tours?

The Educational Facility Tours provided something for everyone with a variety of alternative, elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the Pittsburgh area, along with higher-ed venues. With two major universities downtown – Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh – and the Frick Environmental Center on the Higher Ed Tour, attendees witnessed sustainability initiatives including the use of recycled materials in building construction, outdoor classrooms, solar panels doubling as a parking carport, learning stairs, sustainable gardens, and more. The K-12 schools also showed a commitment to the use of sustainable materials and energy-efficient systems for conserving natural resources, reducing the carbon footprint, and saving school districts money. Pittsburgh’s local EDspaces advisory group was instrumental in researching and recommending the region’s best facilities. What will 2022 be like for the school equipment & furniture?

The supply chain will likely still be an issue, and challenges remain in keeping students in school for in-person learning going into the third year of COVID. Despite these challenges, the future is bright for companies delivering solutions for the next generation of schools from pre-K through higher ed.

We are excited to be bringing EDspaces to Portland, Oregon this year. The Northwest is a hub of innovation in school design. Architecture and design firms, along with school purchasing officials, have been approaching the EDspaces team to show off their creative solutions for learning spaces.

EDspaces is scheduled for November 11 through 13 at the Oregon Convention Center. For more information, visit ed-spaces.com.