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A New Building, Multiple Furniture Needs, One Fitting Solution

Smith System brings durable, flexible, comfortable and stylish furniture to The Harker School’s state-of-the-art science and technology building

With early roots as a preparatory school for Stanford University, the 116-year-old Harker School holds itself to similar high standards, ranking competitively in academics, athletics and performing arts. Located in California, a state with one of the highest numbers of private schools, the independent Harker School is also well aware of the importance of staying competitive by fostering academic excellence, self-discovery and personal integrity in its student population, and does so through its nationally recognized programs, experienced faculty and staff, and many state-of-the-art facilities.

Though its faculty, courses and extra-curricular programs have always provided students with the competitive, high-quality experience they expect from The Harker School, a few of the buildings within the campus have not always been considered “cutting-edge.”

Since it was first built, the school’s 50-year-old science and technology building has helped many students excel at physics, chemistry and technology topics. Over its years, science and technology have evolved at a rapid pace while, despite several remodel attempts, the building became increasingly outdated. Harker finally realized that the building no longer provided a competitive edge, and decided that a new science and technology facility was needed.

Outfitted with a robotics lab and a pendulum that tracks the Earth’s rotation, the new Nichols Hall is not only a state-of-the-art building for learning about science and technology, it is also Santa Clara County’s first school building to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. With sustainable features including solar panels, a green roof, and an evaporative cooling system, Nichols Hall is a prominent display of Harker’s commitment to environmental issues.

Supporting the school’s mission of fostering academic excellence and preparing students for college, each aspect of the new $25.4 million facility was selected very carefully. When furniture – one of the most fundamental learning ingredients – entered the discussion, it was clear that the pieces selected needed to meet not only the school’s commitment to providing a high-quality, competitive education, but also the needs of four very specific audiences – students, teachers, the facility manager and the interior designer working on the project – as well as the school’s commitment to the environment.

Through research and trial, Harker discovered a furniture solution in Smith System, a classroom furniture manufacturer with seating and table solutions that met the needs of all parties – from comfort and durability, to form, function, flexibility and sustainability.

“Nichols Hall was designed to be a top-level facility for top-level students,” said Mike Bassoni, facility manager at Harker. “Every element of the building – from lighting, to structural materials, to furnishings – was selected to make Nichols Hall a building that would provide the quality of education that Harker is known for.”

A key stakeholder in the development of Nichols Hall, Bassoni knew well the school’s goals for the building and was determined to see that the new facility achieved these goals through every design element used.

Adding Furniture to the Equation
As the architectural components came together, interior design elements entered the discussion, and one very important topic was furnishings. A building devoted to both science and technology, Nichols Hall required two types of furniture: permanent (tables and fixtures for science labs) and movable (tables and chairs for classrooms).

Over the years, Harker learned the hard lesson of “you get what you pay for” when it came to furniture. While cost remains a top decision-making criterion, the school weighted heavily the longevity factor – a.k.a. how long would the furniture last and how well would it hold up.

As the school’s facility manager, Bassoni had plenty of experience with furniture in Harker, including his share of furniture that didn’t hold up to everyday use. With nearly 700 students expected to use the many classrooms in Nichols Hall each day, it was imperative that the furniture purchased was durable enough to stand up to daily wear and tear from teenagers.

“The furniture we had previously purchased aligned with the school’s budget; however, it didn’t provide the durability we expected,” said Bassoni. “We were open to considering other options because high-quality furniture for Nichols Hall was a must.”

Although not the ultimate deciding factor, Bassoni also wanted to find a furniture solution that was cost-effective.

Teachers Need Functionality, Flexibility; Students Need Comfort
Furniture functionality and flexibility is an important element for how Eric Nelson teaches. Whether pertaining to science or technology, each of Nelson’s classes call for a different way of learning: electronics classes are all lab-focused, modern physics is a lecture course, and other courses fall in between. And even within each course, the material taught often demands easy reconfiguration of the room, which requires that the furniture pieces be lightweight and easy to move.

Since Nelson changed the room’s furniture configurations regularly, the old furniture inhibited his impromptu “teachable moments.” And in some instances, the furniture became a running distraction in the classroom specifically when he would have to wait until the first student showed up and the two of them would “race the bell” to get the room configured properly.

“Topics in Modern Physics can lead to spontaneous round-table discussions, and the old lab tables couldn’t be moved quickly and easily to get the round-table environment,” Nelson said. “The size of the tables also put everyone too far away for the desired level of interaction, which sometimes led to students calling each other from across the room on their cell phones. Amusing yes, but not the desired effect.”

In addition to being flexible, the seating solutions needed to be ergonomic. Students in Nichols Hall would be sitting for several hours each day, so the chairs needed to be designed for comfort, allowing students to focus on learning. Students come in a wide array of heights and body types, so the chairs selected also had to be comfortable for all sizes.

Test Room Brought Needs Together
Harker had a staff architect who created the master plan for Nichols Hall. To assist with the interior spaces, Harker brought in Cathy Shields, senior interior designer at DES Architects + Engineers. Specifically, Shields was enlisted to assist with space planning, working with teachers to establish classroom layouts and specifying interior furnishings.

When furniture entered the discussion, Shields was tasked with putting together the needs of teachers and the facility manager to find a solution that met all of their needs. In addition, Shields had her own requirements of the furniture: its aesthetic needed to suit the design of Nichols Hall, while also being GREENGUARD certified to extend the building’s environmentally-friendly features.

Working together, Shields and Bassoni decided that the best way to meet the furniture needs of all parties was to create a test room complete with seating options from multiple furniture manufacturers where teachers and administrators could test the pieces firsthand.

“When it comes to furniture selection, it’s important for those who will be using or managing the pieces to test the different options before making a commitment,” Shields said.

To prepare for the test room, Shields looked through furniture catalogs and brochures with teachers to figure out what they liked visually, and more importantly, to understand their expectations of how the furniture should function. After noting everyone’s furniture requirements, seating options from a variety of manufacturers were brought into the school for testing, and in February 2008 the furniture test room was underway.

Nearly a dozen teachers and administrators from the soon-to-be-opened Nichols Hall had the opportunity to review seating options from four manufacturers, judging their durability, flexibility, functionality and comfort. Not only did teachers sit on the chairs, they were also encouraged to use them, move them, feel them – to really get a sense for how the furniture would perform under typical use.

“Involving the teachers in the selection process was a crucial factor in picking the right furniture for Nichols Hall,” Bassoni said. “This ensured that the decision the school was about to make was satisfactory to those who would give the furniture the most use.”

A Fitting Furniture Solution
After a weeklong test period, teachers, the facility manager and the interior designer shared their opinions of the furniture. In the end, the final verdict was unanimous: Smith System furniture stood out above the rest, being not only functional and durable, but also flexible, comfortable and attractively designed.

“The feedback on the Smith System furniture was incredibly positive,” Bassoni said. “Teachers found it to be durable yet at the same time very comfortable. Most importantly, Smith System’s chairs and tables met the teacher’s flexibility needs because the tables weren’t heavy or too large, and the built-in handholds on the chairs made them easy to move.” 

The Smith System furniture was lightweight enough for students to easily move around, yet sturdy enough to stand up to everyday use. The Smith System chairs also allowed for stacking, which would free up classroom space temporarily if needed.

Additionally, as GREENGUARD certified, Smith System furniture was manufactured in a manner that met stringent chemical emission levels, allowing the furniture to support student learning without polluting the indoor air quality, being a detriment to student health.

In the summer of 2008, following the test room setup in the spring, a total of 21 classrooms in Nichols Hall were equipped with 40 three-student flex stations, 207 Intuit sled-base chairs and 60 Intuit adjustable chairs with casters. Black was the furniture color of choice for Nichols Hall, as the furniture was to compliment the contemporary design of the building.

Furniture In Action
In September 2008, Nichols Hall opened, and the building was ready to serve the science and technology needs of Harker students. Since then, the Smith System tables and chairs have continued to meet and exceed the requirements put forth by the teachers and the facility manager, and have been an important part of the daily lesson plans for students.

According to Bassoni – the first person to hear if the furniture isn’t performing as expected – teachers especially have been enjoying the furniture’s flexibility, while students notice the comfort that the furniture provides.

“Students need to be able to concentrate and stay focused on their studies, and furniture plays a big role in encouraging focus and concentration,” said Bassoni. “The Smith System chairs are comfortable and suited for long periods of sitting, which allows students to stay focused on the tasks at hand.”

Shields also emphasized the long-term benefits of ergonomic furniture, predicting that the Smith System furniture will suit the needs of the students well, now and into the future.

“It’s important to give students the right tools to help them succeed immediately and in the long run,” said Shields. “The ergonomic aspect of the Smith System chairs allows students to succeed by making them comfortable and directing the focus back to the lessons – not on fidgeting or discomfort. Because of this, the Smith System furniture will have a very positive impact on students not just now, but into the future as well.”

Long-term student comfort is important to the teachers; however, the flexibility of the furniture was what many noticed first – a factor that was very near and dear to Nelson.

“The Smith System furniture is easy to move, and allows us to seamlessly adapt to a given situation,” Nelson said. “I now have a lot more options for those ‘teachable moments’.” 

With Smith System tables and chairs in Nichols Hall, teachers have furniture that is both functional and flexible, students have chairs that are comfortable, and the facility manager and administrators have furniture that is durable and sustainable.

Nichols Hall, the brand new, top-of-the-line science and technology facility, clearly conveys Harker’s commitment to providing a competitive learning experience to its current and prospective students – through its design, capabilities, and, thanks to Smith System, its furniture.

When the first school bell rang of the 2008-2009 school year, Harker students entered into more than a new science and technology building, they also walked into an environment that supported their learning needs in every aspect. Whether studying space exploration or robotics engineering, students, teachers and administration can rest assured knowing that they’ll have quality furniture to support every learning need for years to come.