Herman Miller, a leading provider of office furniture in the United States, gave a presentation on what was possible in regards to furniture, lighting, and color in a learning commons.  Some of their more interesting ideas involved creating adaptable spaces to suit individuals’ ideal study environment.  This included moveable “sails” that could enclose an area and desks with adjustable heights. In addition to that, they presented desks with somewhat-flowery canopies above them, to  give the space a more three dimensional feel.

They also recommended desks that could serve the Writing Center’s need for one-on-one assistance, unique opportunities for lighting and advertising, and introducing pink noise.  Pink noise is very similar to white noise, in that it is used in the background to mask noise.  One website that I found compared it to white noise thusly: “An advantage of Pink noise is the added low frequency emphasis.  This makes it less like static/rain and more like a distant ocean roar”. By considering sound as well as color and design, the Learning Commons will have a complete feel.

While I don’t have any pictures from the Herman Miller Presentation, one of the committee members went to the Greene County Library, where they have recently installed some of the furniture we were shown.

The "flowers" above the desks add vertical interest.

Notice how the network cables are run through the column, effectively hiding them.

The red wall area behind the flowers makes for a very vivid space.