Moving into a new space is always exciting, but doing so with thought and intentionality can bring the room’s intended purpose and character to life. Furniture selection plays a critical role here and can either become an obstacle in the room or an integral part of maximizing its potential. This applies to any setting, but especially in professional and academic environments; both share similar needs, yet the differences are numerous. It is crucial to keep the user’s needs in mind when designing these spaces.
Data Driven Design
Careful selection of furniture in both settings particularly benefits learning-oriented users. According to Gensler’s 2026 Global Workplace Survey, learning-oriented users are more likely to report that working in the office has a positive or very positive impact on their personal productivity. Attributes such as noise level, adaptable furniture, spaces to recharge, and access to technology are among the components of the experience they associate with an effective learning atmosphere. Workers also expect the workplace to support their various modes of work and the fluidity of their work, from deep focus to collaboration, solitude to visibility, and routine tasks to creative output.
The Academic Setting
While students and professors are the groups who use university campus buildings most, administrators, prospective students, and visitors are additional users who need to be considered, making functional diversity a high priority for designers and developers. Rooms must be adaptable to users’ needs.
While classroom furniture often follows a standard arrangement of desks and chairs, selecting furniture such as tables on casters with flip tops allows users to adapt rooms for various teaching methods or repurpose them for different activities. Stackable chairs add flexibility, making it easier to reconfigure spaces as needs change.
Study rooms require particular attention. These can provide students with both collaborative and individualized learning opportunities outside their residence halls, for group work or focused study. Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas provides a Learning Commons at its new Northwest campus, with multiple breakout areas so students can choose what works best for them and their learning needs at that time – all within arm’s reach of research and study materials, and with access to the latest technology.
Spaces such as residential lounges, cafes, and student unions are social spots for students, often furnished with typologies markedly different from those in learning spaces. These typologies allow for more student interaction and collaboration. Lounge groupings, such as the one featured in the Science and Technology Building at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, serve as touchpoints for students to socialize or gather.
Easy access to technology and digital tools is a fundamental expectation across many spaces on college campuses. Some users might prefer a more analog environment with less reliance on technology, and there are appropriate spaces for that approach.
Still, the option to access even limited technology should still be available. Integrating USB charging ports into furniture and embedding power and data into tables have now become necessities. Mobile power charging devices are also on the rise, enabling the rapid adoption and use of emerging digital tools. This helps prevent power units in furniture from becoming outdated quickly.
The Professional Setting
Many offices have embraced open-plan layouts in their workspaces. The biggest and most obvious benefits are ease of connectivity between employees and adaptability, which enables the space to be arranged as needs arise. The downside is that it offers little privacy, which is why it is imperative to provide spaces where users can work and meet effectively away from their desks when needed. Focus rooms, in particular, come to mind, and furniture can play a crucial role in this workplace experience.
Providing freedom of choice enables workers to use a variety of meeting styles, allowing them to own how they connect and collaborate. The typical meeting room layout, with a standard meeting table and mobile chairs arranged around it, is familiar and expected. This layout is used often because it works. However, it is beneficial to consider a variety of configurations to accommodate other meeting formats.
This might include lounge groupings with a sofa and lounge chairs, or a lower, lounge-height table to accommodate them. Laptop tables should also be incorporated to allow users to work on their laptops. Another option is to incorporate a standing-height table with stools, or a combination of a tall table at the back of the room with a seat-height table at the front of the room. This can provide virtual users with a better view of everyone in the room.
As noted earlier, focus rooms are necessary for heads-down work or phone calls, especially in open office layouts. At the same time, cafes are often used as more than just places to eat; many workers prefer to work and even hold meetings in a coffeehouse setting. In both cases, providing lounge furniture in addition to café tables is welcome. Providing touchpoint meeting and social zones in open areas throughout the office encourages impromptu collaboration and doesn’t require the privacy of a door.
Retractable acoustic walls can also be an effective use of space due to their adaptability. Office leaders at O’Melveny & Myers LLP in Dallas incorporated this solution into their space to transform the room quickly and easily from one large space capable of hosting a community event into smaller, individual training or meeting rooms.
Whether in academic or professional environments, investing in furniture enables spaces to support both quiet, focused work and team collaboration, providing the adaptability needed to tailor the environment to a person’s specific needs. A range of space types supports the diverse ways that people work and learn. Flexibility in furniture is key; it must be adaptable and accessible to all abilities.
Editor’s Note: Kelcie Holcomb is an associate interior designer and FF&E specialist at Gensler’s Dallas office.