Lecture Theatre Seating FAQs

What size of lecture theatre seating is available?

The size lecture seat you require depends on a range of factors – where it is being used? Does it require arms? How much space do you have? Since every layout we manufacture is designed to suit your requirements, we don’t have standard lecture theatre seating sizes. Incremental-sized seats are not used; space between aisles is maximised to give the most generous seat space possible. As a guide, chairs which contain arms should be no less than 490mm, while chairs without armrests should be no less than 450mm.

Can chairs types be tailored to suit?

Our chairs can be fitted in any way: floor-fixed, riser-fixed and removable (to allow for the provision of wheelchair-bound patrons). We also offer special mobile writing ledges that can be used by wheelchair-bound patrons to provide a fully-adjustable writing surface, allowing complete autonomy for the user.

Can curved layouts be achieved?

We have a wealth of experience designing lecture seating, in both straight and curved rows. Our fixed tiering can be fitted to almost any curve/radius and most seats can be adapted to suit. Writing ledges are manufactured here in our factory, with our state of the art CNC machines allowing the exact radius to be achieved.

Can you provide fixed tiering/stepped flooring to a lecture theatre?

This is one of our specialities – we have installed bespoke tiering at many of the UK’s largest universities, which can be tailored to your specific requirements. It is common for the tiering to bridge over and around ducting, allowing air to be pushed from below and delivered through grills/diffusers in the riser face or treads. Additional layers of deck or dampening pads can be fitted to improve the absorption of the structure and keep footfall reverberation to a minimum. All tiering is installed to meet and often exceed current British Standards, with calculations supplied if required.

We can provide rails or balustrades if needed, in addition to carpeted floor finishes. In the past, we have worked with other specialist contractors to get the exact final requirements. CAD files can be exchanged to ensure complete coordination of detailed dimension information.

What row rise measurements are available?

We can tailor the row rise to suit your building and sight line requirement. Variable risers or incremental risers are designed to the millimetre to allow the structure to work best for your application. Minimum and maximum dimensions apply to meet building regulations, but we can advise you on the specifics.

What row depth measurements are available?

As with the row risers, row depths are designed to meet your specific needs, given the importance of sitting positions when using lecture seating. It is vital that lecture chairs are located at the correct distance from the writing surface in order to maximise comfort, whilst also complying with regulations in regards to means of escape.

Which finishes are available for lecture seating?

We have a selection of standard offerings, but we have used a range of suppliers from all across the globe, so you won’t be limited by choice.

Fabric selection for seating

Our fabric comes from a range with no restrictions on colour choice. We have often used multi-colour layouts to create an interesting seating unit; feel free to contact us and our in-house design department will mock up a drawing.

Writing ledges & modesty panels

A recent addition to our facility is our new CNC/edge-banding equipment. Ledges and modesty panels are manufactured using MDF and finished with a choice of colours including high pressure plastic laminates, complete with matching edges.

Outside backs/under-seat bottoms

In most instances, these are upholstered to match the main body of the seat. We can provide timber panels to create a special look or feel. We can also provide perforated under-seat panels to assist with acoustic properties.

Metalwork

All metalwork is powder-coated in-house to RAL 7016 anthracite grey or RAL 9005 black as standard. We are always happy to use a specially selected RAL colour to match your building’s colour scheme.