When choosing school science furniture, there is no such thing as a “standard” laboratory design. Every classroom is different, needing to cater for varying numbers of students and science subjects, while there are also differences in the physical shape of the room to accommodate.
At Tecomak, our range of school lab furniture enables you to take all these factors into account. As specialists in the field, with more than 40 years of experience, we offer fully integrated solutions. Our modular designs give built-in flexibility in order to make the best use of all available space.
Types of School Science Furniture
A number of different types of school science furniture may be needed as part of a laboratory refurbishment or design, depending on your specific requirements. These could include:
Lab Benching: We offer three options for science lab benches. Pedestal benches are popular with schools because they are economical and practical, as they include cupboards supporting the worktops. Another popular option in school lab design, providing more flexible storage, is cantilever furniture, where the laboratory benching is supported by a steel frame. The third type is suspended benching, which is often a good choice for chemistry lab design in particular, because it leaves the whole floor clear, making cleaning much easier.
In school science labs, it is also essential that worktops have acid-resistant surfaces, and we have various options which all fit this requirement, so you can choose from laminates, a mix of granite and plastic, or acid-grade woods. Whichever type of laboratory benches we supply, you can be sure that they will be built to last for 20 years or more, from top-quality materials.
Seating: Stools to fit under laboratory benching are often needed in school science labs, but other chairs may also be required, for instance if the lab design includes one section for experiments and another for class teaching, with seats facing the front. Our school science lab furniture range includes stools, seats for general use and those for ICT purposes. All of these are sturdy and durable, and designed to ensure that students are comfortably seated.
Teacher/demo desks: A purpose-built bespoke desk or platform may be needed for teachers to address the class or demonstrate experiments, and we can provide this through our science laboratory design service. For instance, as part of a biology lab design at one school, we created a low platform, which teachers could use to address the whole class, with all the students seeing the demonstrations.
Storage: It is essential that enough storage is included in a science lab refurbishment or design project for all the equipment which needs to be put away. Storage can also give extra flexibility if a lab is used for more than one purpose. Our school lab furniture range includes cupboards under benching, purpose-built chemical cupboards and separate units, as well as filing cabinets and shelving.
Utilities: Sinks, water and gas taps, and electricity points all need to be correctly situated, both from a safety viewpoint and so that students will be able to access them as needed. We supply and fit different styles of sink and tap as required, ensuring that sinks in a lab environment are resistant to chemicals, staining, heat and hard knocks. We offer a choice of materials including cast Epoxy resin, which is highly heat resistant.
Specialist Furniture: If specialist items such as laboratory fume cupboards are needed, we can provide these within the science lab design. Our fume cupboards are regularly updated to ensure they comply with the latest regulations.
Flooring: In a school science lab, it is vital that flooring is made of hygienic materials which can be easily cleaned. If chemical experiments are being carried out, it is obviously also important that the flooring will not be easily damaged by spills, so it needs to be hard-wearing.
Additional School Lab Design Services from Tecomak Furniture Solutions
Tecomak’s service does not just involve supplying school science furniture, but also taking charge of the whole laboratory design project from start to finish. At the outset, we carry out space planning and look at the whole workflow in order to work out the optimum design.
This involves considering what science subjects will be covered, how many students will be using the lab, and how they need to be seated, for instance, facing the front or around curved worktops.
Other considerations include whether there are any unusual spaces such as alcoves which are likely to require specially-built pieces of furniture, and whether the school lab has to double up for any other uses. Building regulations and health and safety requirements must also be satisfied as part of the design, including correct siting of fume cupboards in relation to other furniture.
By calling on Tecomak when you need science lab furniture for schools, you will have a single contractor who can deal with requirements, design, manufacture and installation, as well as integration with other facilities. We have a long experience of working with schools, including science lab design and supply of school science furniture, so we understand the special environment and especially the need to work within the agreed budget.
If you would like to get in touch, follow this link and fill in the online form, or call us on 01732 852250.
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