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August 23, 2022

Outdoor Furniture for Schools

As the new school year gets under way, educational facilities welcome back students, faculty, families and visitors. While these school buildings have seen many changes in the needs, requirements and recommendations for health, safety and security in recent years, some important elements remain the same. Specifically, the site furnishings that add to the outdoor function and campus aesthetics continue to be necessary and even have grown in importance. Below are considerations in furnishing educational properties with commercial-grade outdoor amenities.

Outdoor Tables

Connecting with and exploring nature is a key piece of the learning experience. Table sets in a variety of sizes, shapes, heights and orientation create useful areas to bring education into the outdoors. Facilitate small group discussions, create collaboration spaces, offer outdoor classrooms, and invite outdoor dining and lunch breaks with durable table sets and counters throughout the school grounds. Learn more about choosing outdoor tables here: Tips for Choosing Outdoor Table Sets.

Bench Seating

In a school setting, benches are common at building entrances, inside the front lobby, at bus stops and loading areas or along campus trails. A bench can be a place for a parent to wait at pick up or for a student to sit and study. The color and design of the bench can be chosen to reflect school colors, showcase logos or coordinate with building architecture.

Benches can also be used as a way to honor donors and alumni through sponsorship and memorial solutions. An important thing to remember is to keep the furnishings consistent throughout the different areas of campus for a cohesive landscape design.

Trash & Recycling Solutions

As with any public facility with large crowds and high-volume usage, appropriate trash receptacles are a must on school campuses to promote clean spaces and encourage proper litter disposal. Easily-spotted, well-marked and frequently-placed trash cans help to reduce campus littering. Accompanying recycling receptacles support recycling or compost initiatives while also providing teaching opportunities for younger students to learn the importance of trash sorting. Building entrances, courtyards, parking lots, dining locations and near sports fields are common areas where trash disposal solutions are needed for waste management.

Bicycle Parking

Whether your needs are for a large college campus where students bike between buildings and classes or a small-town elementary school where children often bike to school, make sure bicycle parking is readily available. Bike racks offer a place to safely store and lock bikes while students are in class. Depending on the volume of bikes expected, the bicycle racks can be a series of single units or a multi-capacity racking solution.

Security Bollards

Safety and security are always of the utmost importance at school facilities, starting with the outdoor grounds and surrounding property. Protect building entrances and restrict access to vehicular traffic with bollards or strategically-placed planters. These simple solutions offer discreet ways to block areas and protect students from traffic. Learn more about the use of bollards here: What Is a Bollard?

Playground Furnishings

For our K-12 clients, playgrounds have their own unique needs. Buddy benches or friendship benches are a popular concept that offer children a way to meet and make friends on the playground. Kid-sized furnishings such as smaller tables and lower benches make a space customized and inviting to children. In any case, powder coated steel products allow for vibrant colors to mimic the fun and whimsy of a playground setting.

While parents and students are busy checking off their back-to-school supply lists of pencils, erasers, binders and more, campus facility managers and school grounds departments need to constantly evaluate their property to make sure their site furniture supply list is up-to-date and fully checked off. If there is anything missing, request a quote from Keystone Ridge Designs today to get your school year off to a great start with a full supply of campus furnishings and site amenities.

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