Funding is not as it once was for creative subjects and many schools put their budget into STEM subjects. Refurbishing art classrooms may seem risky, but the creative arts industry contributes billions to the UK economy. In the United Kingdom, the government is set to invest almost £500 million in arts and cultural education programmes between 2016 and 2020. In 2017, nearly 250,000 pupils took GCSE exams in one arts subject, making up almost 50% of 16-year-olds.

For the above reasons, contractors and architects are encouraged to approach art class design projects with certain considerations in mind to give educational facilities classrooms they can believe in with furniture focused on enhancing the learning process.

Find out below five considerations that art classroom design renovations should include.

1) Unique furniture

Art classrooms contain a diverse collection of furniture. From stain-resistant surfaces to bulk-storage shelving and cupboards, art classrooms need hard-wearing furniture with functionality.

In line with the curriculum and individual student talents, artrooms need to have sections to fit specific forms of art, such as spaces for easels and sculpting, separate rooms for photography projects and also hard surfaces for leaning on to sketch or write.

With this in mind, art classrooms contain a lot of equipment and creations in a limited space. Classroom storage makes organisation simple and also keeps the classroom uncluttered, improving safety and learning space.

2) Variety of equipment

The organisation is essential in art classrooms, and an ideal design will include furniture options for storage. Art supplies aren’t cheap either and having a place to safely store them will help avoid damage to equipment and artwork.

Whether it’s materials for ceramics and sculpture or paintbrushes and paints, such large quantities and diversity of equipment can cause mess and confusion. Shelving or drawers are ideal material stores because they can be labelled and accessed easily. Within the time constraints of lessons, it becomes even more important to locate and store equipment efficiently.

Dependent on the needs and size of the art classroom in your next renovation project, a bespoke manufacturing service will mean you can completely utilise the classroom space to fit even more room for educational resources.

3) Inspire creativity

More room for educational resources means more room for creativity. Like artistic creations, a good design can make a school more than just a collection of classrooms and bland corridors. A focus on furniture, colour and layout can turn schools, universities or colleges into hubs of collaboration where staff and students work in unison.

Access to creative materials and a classroom with art-orientated furniture gives students all the tools they need to be inspired. Art classrooms are strongly thought to be places of self-expression, sociability and imagination for all age levels.

Another design feature linked to creativity is colour. Bright colours are thought to boost creative minds as opposed to dark, drab colours that can make classrooms feel small and restrictive. For a classroom where so many colours make up a students palette, there’s no reason for the furniture colour to be restricted.

Our colour visualiser tool enables you to test combinations of colours to create that vibrant creative feeling or to match with the educational facilities house colours.

4) Showcase learning

Following on from inspiring creativity, showcasing student work and creative pieces is frequent in art classrooms. It not only helps other students to see what they can create but is also practical for schools when showing around parents or educational inspectors to show off the high quality of work the school produces.

Storage walls aren’t just ideal for keeping equipment and work in. They’re also an inventive option for showcasing creations. This frees up other walls for other resources such as interactive technology or spur shelving.

By including free spaces in your design that can be suited for the showcasing of work, teachers and students can create unique displays that reflect them.

5) Collaboration

Making sure art classrooms are enticing and inspiring will help students to remain interested in the arts. Being able to work collaboratively can have a huge impact on how students work. Typically, art classrooms benches are large and allow multiple students to sit around them.

While maths classrooms are traditionally set up in linear formats because group work is not important, art classrooms typically allow students to face and interact with one another to discuss projects and work collaboratively.

Collaboration is also a huge part of our own company ethos. We offer a personal approach from the very beginning of working with a client in order to make sure the entire process is seamless.

One of our goals is to use our manufacturing ability and design knowledge to work with you to maximise the available space, something that we’ve already mentioned is key for art classrooms. Alongside our business excellence and honesty, you can rest assured that your project is completed to the highest standard in order to give your client the best classroom to support their students.

Need a certified manufacturer for your next project? Contact Benchmark Products today at 01953 889 603 or email enquiries@benchmarkproducts.co.uk

This article was written by Dean Fryer, Estimator at Benchmark FF&E Solutions since 2012.

Passionate about the collaboration between sub-contractors on-site and a demonstrated history in assisting building contractors and architects with producing comprehensive and definitive schedules at pre-tender and pre-contract stages, Dean is an invaluable asset to Benchmark Products and contributes towards the end goal of perfect delivery every time.