Gone are the days when teachers would snap your hand with a ruler if you dared to turn and speak to the student behind you. Collaboration is currently all the rage in education: it seems that two heads are better than one, after all. Independent designer Bram Boo is taking this group-centric thinking a step further with his Vivid seating for Vanerum Stelter. Four desks in one central arrangement, Vivid fosters collaborative thinking—and working or simply hanging out.

Vivid. Designed by Bram Boo. Manufactured by Vanerum Stelter.

Socialize, Rest, Or Work with Group Desking

Bram Boo likes to design objects that “disturb the usual rules.” Vivid is one such object: it forces us to “reconsider daily habits.”  An ideal seating system for nontraditional classrooms (or board rooms) or in-between spaces like common areas and large halls, Vivid cultivates synergistic interplay. Users sit in their own desk yet have “the freedom to turn side to side.” A ready-made pod for groups of four, Vivid helps teachers encourage group work in an unusual, playful architecture that’s sure to stimulate collective thinking.

Vivid does not ignore today’s technological needs. The seating system comes with USB and AC power access options, as well as wire management routes in the legs. The integrated tablets provide just enough horizontal surface area for “reading and light computer work” (not quite enough space for you to write the great American novel or a thesis on quantum mechanics).

Available in black, white, red, and stainless steel powder-coat finishes, Vivid is constructed of an aluminum tubular frame with aluminum sheet metal surfaces. All edges are finished, so nobody gets hurt—except from the sharp thinking Vivid promotes.

About the Manufacturer: Despite the exotic-sounding name, Vanerum Stelter is an American furniture company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Producers of desking, seating, shelving, and other assorted products for the education market, the company believes that ergonomic design can help students learn and educators teach. Vanerum Stelter creates i3 environments: environments that are interactive, integrated, and inspirational.