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SENSATIONAL
NEW
DEVELOPMENTS
IN HIGH SCHOOL

INTELLIGENT DESIGN

THEIR
FUTUR
E’S FUT
URE

LITY
UA
L V IRT
REA

VANE R UM
 2
INTERACTIVE
Vanerum specialises in the integration of furniture and
technology for teaching environments.
We listen to your expectations and we develop,
produce and supply creative solutions based on them.
We have all the tools on offer to realise your ideas and
the necessary expertise to support you in the selection
of a comfortable, well thought out environment.

tradition + technology

VANERUM Kleine Schaluinweg 7 3290 Diest Tel: 070-222.600 Fax: 070-222.601 info@vanerum.com
Vanerum Nederland BV Duwboot 89 Postbus 494 3990 GG HOUTEN Tel : 030-21.22.010 Fax : 030-21.22.011 NEDERLAND info@vanerum.nl
Vanerum Objekteinrichtungs GmbH Harpener Heide 7b 44805 BOCHUM Tel : 0234-70.70.43 Fax : 0234-70.71.07 DEUTSCHLAND verwaltung@vanerum.de
 Vanerum carries Franklin’s philosophy in their heart. And “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I
rightly so, as the continuing innovations within education remember. Involve me and I learn.”
show. Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are (Benjamin Franklin)
following the international trend towards more ICT in the
classroom, with the objective of teaching children to work
more independently and consequently a shift from 'transfer of
TABLE OF CONTENTS
knowledge' to 'exchange of knowledge' But this tale involves
much more than just ICT: teaching children social and other Introduction 3
basic skills remains important. The changing society and new Shaping their future’s future 4
technologies also have an intervening effect on education:
Designing naturally 7
from the conventional authoritarian teacher at the front of the
Intelligent design in the classroom 8
class to the coach who inspires interactively, tutor and
counsellor. Vanerum has all tools on offer, which can help you Real virtuality 10
to realise these expectations, and the Create your own reality yourself 11
necessary expertise to
Space is precious 13
advise you in word
and deed.
Students are valuable 14

VNR magazine, 1-2007 3

SHAPING
THEIR FUTURE’S
FUTURE
The theory behind the term
sustainability is easy to understand:
if raw materials are consumed
faster than they can be
renewed or produced, the
source will be systematically
emptied and in the long term
exhausted. In a sustainable
world the demand for raw
materials must, however, be
4 VNRM magazine, 1-2007
in balance with what Nature
can provide.
At Vanerum we understand
this completely: not only do
our designs reflect the trend
towards a renewed awareness
of environment and climate, a
new creativity arose from our
consciously dealing with
Nature and ecology, which
seeks solutions to achieve a
new way of product
development, design and
ecologically responsible
production methods. Only
when we learn to handle our
raw materials respectfully do
we have the chance to secure
our future.
At this moment the ecological
footprint of Man is more than
23% above the ability of the
planet to regenerate. In other
words it takes more than 14
months before the Earth has
replaced what Man consumes
in a year. This problem is
often underestimated and
rarely approached effectively.
By measuring the ecological
footprint of a population (an
individual, a town or city, a
country or the whole of
humanity) we can determine
by how much we are
exceeding the capacity of our
environment to regenerate
and do something about it.
For industry one of the
answers is 'Lean
Manufacturing', for 3
important reasons. The ultra-
competitive global market
that we now know obliges
companies to work in a cost-
saving way, so that profit
margins can be increased
and/or the price lowered.
Moreover, the rapidly
changing demands of the
customer have to be met 'just-
in-time', by equally quick
product changes and speeding
up the production process.
Finally, despite the high
speed of production high and
constant quality also has to be
guaranteed.
The pressure to shorten the
'time-to-market' cycle will be
more intense for the majority
of companies.
These companies have no
other choice than to consider
the need as an opportunity to
think of new ways to develop
and produce new products
faster and more cheaply than
the competition, whereby
product quality is maintained
and even improved.
One of the possible ways to
keep production costs down
is to handle the raw materials
used sustainably. Let us think
of rainwater recovery, the
cleaning and re-use of grey
water, better use of raw
materials through
sophisticated molds and
cutting patterns, space-saving
packaging methods to cut
transport costs and the
reduction of CO2, use of
reusable packaging materials,
energy-efficient machines,
recyclable materials,
MAMBO,…
Viewed geographically,
Belgium and Holland also
have excellent trump cards
for action against the
consequences of climate
change. Water, wind, sun and
An Van Ginderachter
topography make a Ecologist, adviser to the Vanerum group
widespread use of sustainable
energy sources possible and
“A product is generally determined by economic, technical and
thanks to the large area given
aesthetic criteria. Eco-design adds eco-efficiency to this list: estimation
up to agriculture there is
of all ecological aspects throughout the complete lifecycle of the
space to grow bio-fuels. It
product (from development of all raw materials through the production
will depend on both the and manufacturing process the use by the end user to the waste
citizen and industry becoming phase).
more sensitive and the need If every phase of the lifecycle of a product and its components is
to consider sustainability as a developed accurately from an ecological viewpoint, and all materials
challenge that provides are selected with ecological care, the result is minimum environmental
progress, not as an expensive stress.
limitation of our freedoms. By applying eco-design during the design process the necessary
product adaptations can be made without facing intrusive investments
Sustainability and ecology are or costs. Applying eco-design in the design process also means that a
not a choice against the product design is at a higher level of innovation than in the
conventional design process. This product will also be more durable
economy, but a bubbling
and last longer. Both small and simple products as well as large
barrel full of new
complex ones are considered for eco-design.
opportunities and possibilities
that will shape our future.
VNRM magazine, 1-2007 5
 2
DESIGN
Vanerum specialises in the integration of furniture and
technology for teaching environments.
We listen to your expectations and we develop,
produce and supply creative solutions based on them.
We have all the tools on offer to realise your ideas and
the necessary expertise to support you in the selection
of a comfortable, well thought out environment.

tradition + technology

VANERUM Kleine Schaluinweg 7 3290 Diest Tel: 070-222.600 Fax: 070-222.601 info@vanerum.com
Vanerum Nederland BV Duwboot 89 Postbus 494 3990 GG HOUTEN Tel : 030-21.22.010 Fax : 030-21.22.011 NEDERLAND info@vanerum.nl
Vanerum Objekteinrichtungs GmbH Harpener Heide 7b 44805 BOCHUM Tel : 0234-70.70.43 Fax : 0234-70.71.07 DEUTSCHLAND verwaltung@vanerum.de
DESIGNING
NATURALLY
Man has been inspired by Nature from the
earliest of days. Initially for the creation of art
(from the first cave paintings to the global
work of Gaudi), but also in developing new
technologies and techniques that make all
kinds of activity possible, which were not set
aside for Man till then or more recently in
health applications.
VLAEMSCH

In the product-development
field the renewed awareness of
nature and the environment is
reflected in the materials used,
the naturally ergonomic
shaping and designs and the
preparatory strength
calculations based on different
Qrater by EXTREMIS
materials and material
structures. Naturally, the
objective remains to improve
the product in question,
whereby imitation of
ecosystems is going to play an
increasingly important role in
the future: to disturb the
ecosystems within which
industry is located as little as
possible by closing the cycles
of raw materials, increasing the
productivity of raw materials, Monomax by VANERUM

reducing the physical losses

and enforced carbon reduction.
Possible action points for
companies: exploit each other's
spare production capacity, use
joint energy supplies, reduce
transports,…

VNRM magazine, 1-2007 7

Tord BOONTJE Algues by VITRA

 INTELLIGENT DESIGN
IN THE
CLASSROOM

Mark Koninckx
AV- Project & Product Manager

From our experience in integrating ICT into

Although many teachers are

classrooms and particularly SMART Board and
other SMART Technologies products it seems
that students have been won over to renovation.
It is primarily the teachers who have to be
retrained to use these technologies to the full.
SMART has understood this well and supports
its users with an educative website from which
ready-made lessons are provided free of charge.
still frightened off from using
ICT in the classroom,
the currently existing newer
applications offer a selected
platform to profit best from
the synergy between present-
day communications
techniques and education.
This synergy makes it pos-
sible to work in new ways.
Doing so we think, for exam-
ple, of the live use of the
Internet to go and look for the
answer to a specific problem,
to call up the television news
for the same day, the ability
to use animated exercises or

8 VNRM magazine, 1-2007


to change board content
quickly and flexibly with the
aid of simple projection or a
digital school board. These
methods are not just handy in
the classroom itself, but also
require less preparation time:
all the preparations can be
done at home and endlessly
repeated without additional
efforts.
Moreover, if an electronic
learning environment is used,
the possibilities are even
greater: teachers can share
their work with each other
Computer classroom
Teleworking
and with the students, work
handed in by the students can
be used as the basis for
coursework, all kinds of
teaching objects can be made
available, time is devoted to
in-depth remedial work,
extracurricular discussions
and activities.
The greatest advantage? All
these techniques have existed
for a significant time, have
become common currency in
our society and fit seamlessly
into the world the students Printer
live in.
VNRM magazine, 1-2007 9
 Photo classroom Versa M

REAL VIRTUALITY
JUST AS REAL AS
VIRTUAL REALITY

As virtual reality applications continue to

develop, it seems as though we increasingly
have to begin assuming a real virtuality.

The present-day virtual reality

is almost sufficiently full-
grown to play an important

10 VNRM magazine, 1-2007

 CREATE YOUR OWN
REALITY YOURSELF

1. Outline plan 2. Add furniture

3. Outline plan with furniture 4. 3D perspective

Would you like to see virtual reality working in practice? Then take a
look at www.vanerum.com and click through to the 3D-planner (design
your space online).
In the planner you copy the ground plan of your space, with the exact
dimensions, corners, colours, materials and architectural elements.
Then you add the necessary furniture from the libraries prepared by
Vanerum: drag the item of your choice to the right place, give it the
exact colours and materials, and rotate it till it fits, or fill a whole
space full at one time based on a freely adaptable outline plan. After
adding the right lighting accents you can assess the result from
different static and dynamic 3D-viewpoints and pass your design to
Vanerum, whereupon a detailed offer will be prepared.

role in the planning, prepara- are fully correct and realistic

tion and simulation of various
projects. In interior design it
is very comforting to see in
advance whether a specific
room “feels good” and to be
able to assess the effects of
specific changes. This reduces
the risk of faulty estimates
and judgements considerably,
which also brings the design a
step closer, with a more plea-
sant and more considered
environment as a result.
Since these VR-simulations
for a good “virtual” assess-
ment of the results, they can
also be used in practice:
designing and dividing up a
space is no longer just reser- VANERUM booth at NOT
ved for specialists, but is
accessible to everyone
thanks to the naturalised
techniques and the easy
learning curve. The different
technologies behind it allow
everyone to realise their own
designs and opens the door
to “individual series work”.

VNRM magazine, 1-2007 11

 2
INTEGRATIE
Vanerum specialises in the integration of furniture and
technology for teaching environments.
We listen to your expectations and we develop,
produce and supply creative solutions based on them.
We have all the tools on offer to realise your ideas and
the necessary expertise to support you in the selection
of a comfortable, well thought out environment.

tradition + technology

VANERUM Kleine Schaluinweg 7 3290 Diest Tel: 070-222.600 Fax: 070-222.601 info@vanerum.com
Vanerum Nederland BV Duwboot 89 Postbus 494 3990 GG HOUTEN Tel : 030-21.22.010 Fax : 030-21.22.011 NEDERLAND info@vanerum.nl
Vanerum Objekteinrichtungs GmbH Harpener Heide 7b 44805 BOCHUM Tel : 0234-70.70.43 Fax : 0234-70.71.07 DEUTSCHLAND verwaltung@vanerum.de
SPACE IS PRECIOUS
As a school management, you are primarily
responsible for providing a good quality
education.
Naturally, you must have a
building with sufficient
capacity, which is also good
and functional. Anyone who
says 'good and functional',
can have difficulty with the
term 'space management': all
rooms in the school need,
among other things, heating,
lighting, decoration and other
types of preventive and
corrective maintenance,
janitor services such as
locking and unlocking and
the like. All the needs
summarised above naturally
have their costs. In setting up
a broad school (see inset)
these elements are even more
important because small
spaces can be made available
separately more easily to
different partners, where this
is not always self-evident
with a larger space. In this
way an efficient use and
management of space help
not only to keep down the
costs associated with running
the building, but also reduces
the opportunity costs as a
aspects of sustainability and
ease of maintenance escape
their eye for detail.
result of the ability to make
every square metre pay.
It is in any event true that the
more efficiently an available
space is used, the lower are
the costs of the building as a
whole and the more can be
invested in achieving a good-
quality education. BROAD
Vanerum is fully aware of this
problem and provides the
experience and product-
knowledge of its employees
to draft and carry out the
widest variety of setups and
integrations, with an eye to
efficient use of space, without
wishing to be reduced to
uncomfortable and
In the last decade in the Netherlands there has been strong
disagreeable clichés. cooperation between schools, pre- and after-school clubs, local
and neighbourhood working and local provisions. Very often
From these challenges our the cooperation was initiated by the communities and a new-
build or rebuild project is ofter associated with it. The Brede
R&D team is constantly
School is really just a building, which is shared by the
developing ergonomic, different partners. In other countries such as the U.S., Sweden
comfortable products that and Denmark, similar cooperative trends can be seen. There
stand surely for sophisticated are 'Community Schools' for example, who want to create a
social network through far-reaching integration between the
use of space, optimum
neighbourhood, the parents and the school to tackle and
flexibility and extensive prevent problems in the school and the neighbourhood.
usefulness. Not even the
VNRM magazine, 1-2007 13
 STUDENTS ARE
VALUABLE
Does your ICT
class face you with
the dilemma between
theory lessons and
practical sessions?
The conventional computer
class is well suited to carrying
out tasks individually or in
small groups. But what if
you, as the teacher, again
want to have the full attention
of the students?
So as not to lose the attention
of the students during
variable times in lessons,
good mastery of the necessary
teaching techniques is
doviously important, but it
also helps if you can have an
appropriate infrastructure
available.
With the multi-functional
Rize furniture you no longer
have to choose between
theory and practice or give up
14 VNRM magazine, 1-2007
in the face of a disruptive
'reorganisation' of your class,
or worse yet: to move from a
conventional classroom to the
computer class. At one
moment you are still in front
of a multimedia classroom
full of screens, in the wink of
an eye later all the screens
and keyboards have been
hidden from sight to make
way for a classroom in which
standard lessons can be
taught and in which you
retain optimum contact with
the students during theoretical
discussions. Directly, with no
chaos. And when done,
everyone quickly back to the
PC again? Yeah, sure, you
decide!
LET STREET CHILDREN JOIN IN
Mobile school travels daily with 18 mobile school carts to more
than 30,000
street children worldwide. Local street-corner workers magic
these busses into
a large school and play board on wheels. In play they teach
the children to
write, do arithmetic and to believe in themselves. Could you
provide an extra
school? 100 million street children are counting on you!
Give Mobile School the thumbs up : 523-0802049-31 TAKE THE SCHOOL
TO THE STREET

VNRM magazine, 1-2007 15

 Vanerum België NV Vanerum Nederland BV
Kleine Schaluinweg 7 Duwboot 89
3290 DIEST Postbus 494
Tel : 070/ 222.600 3990 GG HOUTEN
Fax : 070/ 222.601 Tel : 030/21.22.010
BELGIË Fax : 030/21.22.011
info@vanerum.be NEDERLAND
info@vanerum.nl

Elbe-Vanerum Vanerum
Rue de l’Artisanat 7A Objekteinrichtungs GmbH
Zone industrielle Harpener Heide 7b
1400 NIVELLES 44805 BOCHUM
Tel : 070/ 222.600 Tel : 0234/ 70.70.43
Fax : 070/ 222.601 Fax : 0234/ 70.71.07
BELGIQUE DEUTSCHLAND
info@vanerum.be verwaltung@vanerum.de

WWW.VANERUM.COM

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Masthead
Published by: Vanerum International V.U. Gert Van Erum
The people who worked on this issue:
Carmen Buntinx (layout)
Ben Jochems (Editor)
Rudi Reynders (Editor-in-chief)
Gert Van Erum (Publisher responsible)

16 VNRM magazine, 1-2007