What's shaped like a trapezoid and has nine configurations?

If I say "trapezoid," what’s the first thing you think of? I bet a desk didn’t come to mind, though if you’re a math teacher, maybe you pictured yourself in the classroom. Pitsco rolled out new trapezoid-shaped flexible furniture this year, which might not seem like the most obvious option for a desk but works well for students, especially those who need to function in smaller classrooms.

FLEX furniture was designed around the need for greater flexibility in the classroom, to allow for collaboration or for students to work alone. Students can move around and arrange their desks into nine different configurations, with a locking mechanism for stability if they choose to enable it. The trapezoid-shaped desks also come with an option for tablet storage, which could be used to store other light items.

For years, we've been seeing smaller classrooms struggling to accommodate a growing number of students. Our manufacturing team was asked to come up with a desk that would allow for greater mobility and leave a smaller footprint in space-challenged classrooms.

During the design process, we researched where education was going and began sketching ideas. In the end, we came up with a design that is more efficient for us to manufacture and for our customers to assemble. It packages well and is a simple, efficient design with fewer pieces. One criterion we kept in mind was that we wanted to be able to ship a single desk via UPS rather than send it on the truck line. This way, a school could receive and assemble the desk without our assistance if they had a need. We traditionally send a team to install furniture, but FLEX furniture is easy to ship and assemble.

Another benefit of FLEX furniture is the price in comparison to other furniture options. We wanted to meet the needs of all classrooms and felt this was a great addition. FLEX furniture enables students and teachers to break out of the rows and columns they’re used to and use their imagination. It has the capability of bringing students together in a team setting.

The manufacturing team will continue to keep an eye on the future, and we enjoy creating new designs to meet the changing needs of students. I think flexibility is one quality we will continue to see a greater need for. Download this PDF for more information.