Orbiston Community Hub

Orbiston’s interior focuses on flexibility, movement and a sense of grown-up professionalism. Rather than confining lessons to single rooms, the building encourages teachers to move pupils between learning settings suited to different tasks.

Flexible activity spaces
Activity zones sit between classroom clusters and are designed to feel different from teaching spaces.
For these, we supplied:
- Curved mobile bookcases to help define zones
- Beanbags and soft seating for informal tasks
- Collaborative tables arranged for groups of 4–6
- Teaching walls with built-in whiteboards and roller boards
- Green-screen areas for digital content creation
- Mobile benches and stools to support varied activities

These spaces promote independence and allow staff to adjust the environment based on subject, group size or teaching method.

Dining and shared social spaces
To ensure that Orbiston’s dining hall could double as an additional teaching and event space, we fitted it with -
- Banquette seating along the perimeter
- Huts that create quieter, sheltered zones
- Fold-out dining tables that can be put away when not in use

This multipurpose approach allows the hall to shift between eating, performance, learning and community functions throughout the day.

Specialist teaching areas
The STEM room was designed as a standout space for practical work. To make it functional, versatile and durable, we chose -
- Denny Pixel Boxes, which can be reconfigured into platforms, seats or tables
- Curved tables for fluid group layouts
- Pegboard walls for flexible storage and display
- Pinnacle’s Konvolve system, with interchangeable base units and a retractable demonstration desk
- Dual-use furniture, such as seating with a whiteboard backing

Cooking lab
The dining space features a fully mobile island bench for demonstrations and participation, with shutters for safe storage.

Drama box
The building incorporates a flexible performance area that opens onto two adjacent spaces, allowing school and community events without additional staging.

Community environments
The community entrance is deliberately stylish and, unlike a traditional school space, creates a welcoming front-of-house experience.

To give it a grown-up feel, we fitted:
- Café-style tables and chairs
- High-backed booths for meetings or one-to-one sessions
- Soft seating arranged in zones
- Bookable meeting rooms with contemporary furniture

Mike explains: “The space is more like a modern workplace, and that was deliberate. It ensures the building feels like a community asset rather than an educational facility only.”

Early Years Centre
Although smaller than similar hubs, Orbiston’s early years provision includes separate spaces for different age groups, wet play areas, and messy zones, along with areas for quiet, sensory, and active play. Each space features a unique assortment of furniture, each suited for a specific activity. It, along with partitions, is movable, giving staff the ability to reconfigure spaces.

Project delivery
The building’s scale meant deliveries were phased, with furniture installed around ongoing construction and snagging works. Despite logistical challenges, the programme remained controlled, and the Hub opened successfully.