SPRING LAKE, MI (July 13, 2010) – If they don’t roll, adjust up or down, or
power your technology, your college desk and chair might be graduating to
craigslist.org. At a campus near you, the team from izzy+ is on a mission
to replace yesterday’s classroom furniture with a brand-new option that focuses
on people, not textbooks. Taking the same elements of human interaction that Gen
Y enjoys about social media – networking, collaborating and sharing – the design
team from izzy+ is embedding these concepts into traditional and learning spaces
at major colleges and universities. This new wave of products is answering the
call from people who expect and want to work and learn in flexible,
easy-to-push-the-chairs-and-tables-together settings.
“The goal is to stretch people’s minds about how we now use common areas and
cafes as well as what is considered the traditional classroom,” says Rick
Glasser, vice president, marketing and product management for furniture and
seating expert izzy+. “New technologies have completely changed the way people
learn and interact. So what can we do to help create greater student and
professor engagement?”
Exhibit at SCUP-45
That’s why izzy+ is taking its case to the SCUP-45 conference in Minneapolis,
July 10-14, 2010 – to reach architects, facility planners, technology officers
and other decision makers focused on critical issues in today’s world of higher
education. The exhibit of izzy+ products at SCUP-45 includes:
· Dewey from Fixtures Furniture: Collection of tables, mobile
lecterns, height-adjustable teacher’s Helpdesk with plug-in power and media
ports, media cabinets and bookshelves. 2009 Best of NeoCon Gold Award, Education
Solutions. Designed by JRuiter Studio
· Dewey from Fixtures Furniture: New 6-top table for team
collaboration. 2010 Best of NeoCon Gold Award, Education Solutions. Designed by
JRuiter Studio and Chuck Saylor of izzy+
· HÅG seating : Designed to help people move more regularly and
naturally in their seats for all those "sit still" places—schools, universities,
libraries, cafes, meeting rooms, hotels, and conference halls.
· Fetch chairs from Fixtures Furniture: Practical stacker has
built-in handholds for easy lifting.
· Hannah chairs from izzy: Hannah's human-centered design means that
it does more than just look good. Its waterfall back serves double-duty as an
armrest.
Research shows impact of technology
From coast to coast in the U.S., and in cities around the world, izzy+ has been
conducting research – visiting universities and colleges and talking to
students, faculty and facility managers about how to design learning spaces for
today's students.
The findings show the tremendous impact of
technology on how people access information and communicate, on or off campus.
Lightweight tables and mobile chairs are beginning to replace rows of static
lecture hall chairs and tablet arms. And the Socratic method of learning has
morphed the teacher-to-student classroom into collaborative learning that’s more
peer-to-peer. Aha! moment: More learning happens outside the classroom than
inside.
Classrooms of the future
Leaders at colleges and universities across North America are choosing new
products from izzy+ that help inspire the design of new learning environments.
About izzy+
The people at izzy+ design, manufacture and market office furniture and seating
that help designers create inspiring spaces for Learning, Working, Living and
Healing Based in Spring Lake, Mich., U.S., izzy+ is a business of JSJ
Corporation of Grand Haven, Michigan.
