Dual Mode Training Desk for Training & Education Sector

A conversation with a company who operate 30 training centres in the UK, with over 3,000 training positions, led IORGroup to design and develop a new innovative dual mode ICT training desk. IORGroup solved the problem of different training formats by creating a dual mode desk that switches simply from being an IT based learning and training desk to a clear desk for conventional classroom setups and uses.

Organisations in the training & education sector face a growing problem in needing to have separate IT desks and classroom desks. Training room and classroom desks regularly need to be converted from one format to the other. Removing the PC hardware and screen from the desks and storing it elsewhere take time and need to be careful handling. Desks also need to be moved easily between rooms, to provide spaces for extra delegates at short notice. This means that they need to be able to pass easily through regular doorways.

dual mode desk

The initial concept for the dual mode training desk used a simple but liberating and innovative idea to free up the architecture of the training desk. By turning the computer processor through 90 degrees, and locating it behind the knee and leg space, the desk footprint is no bigger than that of a regular training desk but allows the desk to escape the conventional restriction of hardware mounted at the side.

The hardware ‘hopper’ is shaped so that screen, keyboard and mouse can all be slotted into the container, accessed by the flip top, so that the desk can be cleared in seconds. Nothing needs to be unplugged; saving time, wear and tear, and any need for technical assistance. The flip top is controlled by a small gas strut to ensure safe operation; it also makes the desk smaller so that it will go through any doorway or lift opening. Cables are controlled by easy-to-use loom fittings inside the “hopper”, and there’s space to allow cables to ‘daisy-chain’ through a row of desks if required. These looms also help to tidy any spare cable so that a sufficient amount is free to connect, and the rest kept under control.

The top shape was designed to permit almost any layout without ever looking contrived.

A small flat on each side makes rows logical, but the curved ‘corners’ mean that groups of 4s and 6s, crescent rows and “U” shapes all work comfortably and come together without a great space planning input. The interior of the “hopper” has a protective lining by the screen to prevent scuffs, but the extremely robust metal frame will withstand movement and use, including reconfiguration when fully loaded with hardware.

Having developed and proved the design, IORGroup are working with an architect specialising in school interiors, and a PFI project is under discussion. The design team at IORGroup have researched most European and North American training desk manufacturers and found there is nothing on the market that uses this architecture to deliver an innovative yet simple, adaptable training desk.