MORE THAN ARCHITECTS
A team of holistic design specialists
Our furniture planning team works to illustrate how furniture can be used as a tool for learning, how it can create a culture and how it can support your brand.
Finding the right tools to help students achieve more.
Furniture planning integrates furniture, architecture, educational delivery, culture and brand. Huckabee employs a holistic approach to the process, believing the right furniture allows all users to be more successful and more engaged within a space and with each other.
When designed correctly, the use of furniture contributes to the development of campus culture. Huckabee guides our clients through this process to ensure the realization of their vision and help set up their investment for success.
FURNITURE PLANNING LEADERSHIP
Tami O’Neal, RID
FURNITURE PLANNING SPECIALIST
Tami brings a strategic and creative mindset to Huckabee. She is a licensed interior designer and works collaboratively with clients and project teams to coordinate furniture selection. She utilizes a holistic approach to furniture coordination that results in a custom-fit solution based on educational delivery, desired level of engagement, function and overall brand.
If you’d like to learn more about our Furniture Planning services, please email Tami.
toneal@huckabee-inc.com
Lynn Lem, RID
FURNITURE PLANNING SPECIALIST
Lynn helps outfit schools with visually exciting, highly functional furniture. She knows that furniture can effect change in the classroom by creating choice, redirecting attention and adding flexibility. She is a licensed interior designer and uses her well-rounded professional background to engage with clients, listen empathetically and present solutions that align with school culture.
If you’d like to learn more about our furniture planning services, please email Lynn.
lynn.lem@huckabee-inc.com
OUR SERVICES INCLUDE:
Room by Room Furniture Layouts
Power and Technology Coordination
Showroom / Project Tours
Assistance with Dealer Selection
Individualized Furniture Layouts
Product Selections / Suggestions
Creation of Furniture Standards
Furniture Demos
Pilot Furniture + Evaluation Plan
Furniture Finish Selections / Suggestions
Value Engineering
Furniture Quotes + Pricing Based Upon Co-op Contracts
CASE STUDIES
Sheldon ISD
Collaboration and Adaptability
C.E. King High School is a 563,000 sf building that features six learning academies as well as a large student commons and multiple break-out spaces. Our furniture team worked with Sheldon ISD to achieve two main goals: (1) offer students and educators a variety of options to support movement, choice and collaboration, and (2) select pieces that would adapt to instructional and programmatic needs.
We facilitated a comprehensive and holistic process that involved educators, administrators, architects and interior designers. As a team, we visited manufacturer showrooms, toured projects, interviewed dealers and helped coordinate a furniture test pilot in a classroom setting.
For the academies, the team selected movable furniture of varying types, sizes and heights. Teachers and students can move freely throughout each space, using furniture to define individual, small group or large group settings. Soft seating is used prevalently in common areas and small spaces adjacent to the academies. These pieces create space for students to study, meet, work or socialize; they create an environment similar to a collegiate or professional setting.
Mansfield ISD
Playful and Purposeful
Mansfield ISD’s Dr. Sarah K. Jandrucko Academy for Early Learners is one of the most unique educational facilities in Texas. Our furniture team worked in collaboration with the district, a museum consultant and the design team to create an interactive learning environment for 3- and 4-year olds. We expanded existing standards and incorporated custom and unique selections to create playful and purposeful spaces that directly reflect the district’s bold vision for learning. Every piece supports instruction. Shape and color were used to reinforce brand and culture.
The academy consists of four learning pods, each with four “classroom” experiences and a common space for dining and instruction. Furniture was custom designed for the commons to enable family-style dining, small-group instruction and quick reconfiguration for large-group activities. We selected colorful ottomans and active seating to enhance flexibility.
The team was intentional in how it addressed the needs of educators and the community. Two teacher planning rooms were designed with desks, personal storage, soft seating and standing-height tables for gathering and collaboration. A community and training space was designed like a district classroom, featuring choice in height and type of seating.
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD
Flexibility and Collaboration
Cannon Elementary School is a STEM-based campus. Our team worked with GCISD to select pieces that would fit a variety of purposes, feel natural to students, enhance project-based learning and encourage teaming. We were able to build off of the district’s existing standards and create something special and unique.
Classrooms and adjacent collaboration areas feature a variety of seating types and heights. Pieces can be pushed together or separated, giving students choice and control over their learning environment. Custom pieces were designed in spaces like the STEM lab and robotics arena which required a standing height workspace for students. Soft seating was used throughout the building to create space for students to gather and share their work. The shape and finish of furniture aligns well with the environmental graphics and interior design of the building. Hexagon shapes are found in all three elements.
Prosper ISD
Long-term Functionality
We helped Prosper ISD select furniture that offered flexibility within their new middle school but that could also transition to other campuses in the future as the district experienced growth.
Prosper wanted choice for students in how they gathered for instruction and socialization. We helped coordinate a pilot classroom to test a variety of furniture options. Their selections included standing height tables and soft seating in the classrooms, alongside more traditional furniture. Teacher workspace became more mobile, allowing increased flexibility.
The library and cafeteria are multi-functional as well. Within the library, furniture supports instruction, small-group work and professional learning. There are different settings to appeal to different audiences. The cafeteria offers more than traditional folding tables. Students can select from standing height community tables, large group seating or tables with movable chairs, reflecting more of a coffee house than dining hall.
