University of Reading

University of Reading

Reading, UK

As the world of education continues to evolve, our leading Universities are under increased pressure to keep up-to-date with the ever-changing learning trends and revision requirements of their prospective students. In addition to this, with the average cost of undergraduate courses now reaching up to £9,000 per year; institutions are faced with higher expectations from those they are hoping to enrol. The University of Reading has recognised the demand from their current and future students to provide a high quality, productive learning environment that supports group revision, project work and the extended time spent revising.

The Product

The University embarked upon a £4.4m revamp to their library, the hub of student learning, with the aim to improve both the communal study areas and to ensure that those seeking a quiet area to revise alone are able to do so with minimal distractions. With the opportunity to revolutionise the way in which students learn and study, Boss Design Group looked to their state of the art Vista Office Pods to combat the requirements of the University. The acoustic pods, which have received unrivalled success across a range of open plan offices and workplaces, can be utilised to provide a separate environment which contains loud working groups – without affecting the area around the Pod itself.

University of Reading

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Perfect Solution

With these qualities, the Vista Pod provided the perfect solution to the client’s aim. Vista Pods come as standard with LED lighting and PIR motion sensors and also have high-performance acoustic ceiling panels to provide enhanced sound insulation. Various Vista Pods were installed with an added Display Screen Package. This includes a LED screen and built-in audio control to allow for groups of students to collaborate and share their ideas on screen, without disturbing other library users around them. The inclusion of Apple TV in this package also promotes easy connectivity for iPad, Macbook and other Apple products helping to improve the student’s ability to share work and ideas with each other. Boss Design also supplied soft furnishings to compliment the workspaces, choosing to implement the Arthur high back sofa.