University classroom furniture: Lamm Runner benches on a stepped floor

Chicago judged Runner against school furniture, and gave it silver

Lamm

Orlandini Design

Runner
Runner An icon of Italian design
From $ 2,500

Already have something in mind?

Trade terms for professionals and design studios

Italian furniture collects prizes for how it looks. The award Lamm lists for Runner is a different kind: a Silver Award in the Educational Solutions category at The best of NeoCon 2006, in Chicago. Not a design prize given by a museum, but a verdict handed down at the American contract fair, in the category where school and campus furniture is judged.

That matters because the jury was not asked whether the piece was beautiful. It was asked whether it solved a lecture hall problem. What it had to show was a bench built on one set of extrusions that works structurally and supports the back in the same section, taking its uprights, tables, seats and feet through couplings rather than through a drilling pattern.

Nineteen years later the specification still reads the same way, which is the other thing an award of that sort tells a specifier: the product was not redesigned to chase the prize and then quietly simplified afterwards.

Runner runs straight or curved, on wide steps or on sloped flooring, in three model types, at centres adjustable from 20 in.

Technical information based on data declared by the manufacturer.

Collection: Runner
Manufacturer: Lamm — Lamm S.r.l., Italy
Design: Lucci e Orlandini
What it is: integrated and continuous system of seats and tables for lecture rooms, arranged in a straight line or in a curve, on large steps or on sloped flooring, with adjustable centre-to-centre distance
The three model types: front row desk, with tip-up or fixed writing table · intermediate row desk, with tip-up or fixed writing table and tip-up seat · end row desk, with tip-up seat
The two backrest versions: continuous, made of slats and extruded anodized aluminium sections with upper and lower part in bi-laminated or veneered MDF panels · single, in beech plywood. Both are also available padded and covered with fabric or eco-leather; all other technical features remain the same
The four dimensional families: fixed table with continuous backrest · fixed table with single backrest · tip-up table with continuous backrest · tip-up table with single backrest
Beams: anodized extruded aluminium; the load-bearing structure also constitutes the backrest of the system. Upper beam in rounded trapezoidal section with internal ribbing and external grooves that position and fix uprights and writing tables; lower beam in rounded square section with ribbing and grooves for uprights and feet. Complementary elements are fixed to the extrusions through couplings that require no drilling beforehand and no fixed-distance modular set-up
Uprights: pressed structural steel sheet, semi-matt silver scratchproof and anti-corrosion epoxy-polyester powder paint, with plates at the ends that connect to the beams and support the seat rotation components. The front of the uprights carries a patented connection system for fitting the backrest components
Ergonomics: the section of the backrest follows the anatomy of the spinal column, on flat floors, on large steps and in straight or curved rows
Seat: tip-up with automatic self-braking return and finish coordinated with the backrest; support plate in pressed steel; HPL bi-laminate or veneered plywood, or upholstered in expanded polyurethane foam. Rotation mechanism and support plate covered with a guard in pressed anodized aluminium sheet
Padding: CertiPUR® certified
Tip-up writing table (straight and curved rows): anti-panic movement; HPL bi-laminate chipboard with ABS edges and rounded corners, 9/16 in thickness, 17 3/4 × 11 3/4 in, increased depth on demand; supports and guides in die-cast aluminium with epoxy-polyester paint; the table slides on gaskets in self-lubricating material with rubber end-of-stroke shock absorbers
Fixed writing table: HPL bi-laminate chipboard with ABS edge and rounded corners, 1 3/16 in thickness, increased depth on demand; supported on metal brackets with scratch- and corrosion-resistant epoxy-polyester powder coating
Feet: pressed steel sheet, set up for floor fixing, with closing guard in anodized extruded aluminium
HPL finishes: panels, seat and backrest in beech, oak, grey oak, eucalyptus; writing table also in black
Painted wood: beech, oak
Paint and anodized aluminium: silver
Fabrics: Inca, King, Trevi CS, Silvertex, Extrema Au, Revive 1 collections
Wooden components: low formaldehyde emission
Floor Technology: Runner can be installed with the manufacturer's Floor Technology system, for telescopic foldaway movement of the study desks (only for straight rows)
Teacher's desk: with the same technical, design and aesthetic features of the system, created on request according to specific needs
On steps: declared bands H min 2 3/8 – max 7 7/8 in and H min 7 7/8 – max 13 3/4 in
Centre to centre: adjustable, minimum 20 in; first stretch of the row 10 in, closing 2 1/8 in
Heights: 32 1/4 in overall · writing table 30 3/8 in · seat 17 3/4 in
Row depth: 37 3/8 in with fixed table · 29 1/2 / 35 1/2 in with tip-up table
Curve: minimum radius 16 ft 5 in
Accessories: inter-row bar for installations that are not fastened to the floor · electrification and data line predisposition (socket on demand), with cable channel in anodized aluminium · row identification element · seat numbering element
Recognitions: Silver Award, Educational Solutions category, The best of NeoCon 2006, Chicago
Testing: tested according to European standards (the manufacturer states no standard numbers)

La Mercanti USA Llc — your partner for Italian design and contract supply.
Los Angeles, CA, USA · +1 855 335 8079 · info@lamercanti.us
Supply, quotes, specifications and project support across the United States and North America.

When it is the right choice

  • Specification that wants a recognition from the American contract market on the record.
  • Stepped or raked floor already in place.
  • Hall where power at the desk is part of the brief.

When another solution fits better

  • If armrests are required: Runner has none among its accessories, while Lamm's E5000 offers them.

Documents and Catalogs

Public Catalogue Conference Catalogue Education Catalogue

Let us know which finishes you'd like to explore

$ 180

Credited in full toward your purchase

FAQ

Can power and data be brought to a Runner seat?

The system is prepared for electrification and a data line, with the socket supplied on demand, and the cable channel is finished in anodized aluminium like the beams. The provision is specified with the room, not added later.

Does Runner have to be bolted down?

The feet are set up for floor fixing, and an inter-row bar is listed for installations that are not fastened to the floor. Which route to take depends on the build-up of the step or the slab.

How does a row begin and end?

The first stretch of the row measures 10 in and the closing 2 1/8 in, with centres adjustable from 20 in. Those are the figures that decide whether the last seat clears the wall.

What is the minimum spacing and curve?

Centre to centre is adjustable from a minimum of 20 in; the declared minimum radius is 16 ft 5 in. The tip-up writing table is built for straight and curved rows alike.

How much depth does a row take?

37 3/8 in with the fixed table, 29 1/2 to 35 1/2 in with the tip-up table. The difference is what decides, in a deep hall, whether another row fits behind the last one.

Bringing power and data to a Runner seat

The provision is designed in, not retrofitted. These steps cover the order it is decided in.

Establish what each seat needs

A hall used for exams needs nothing at the desk; one used for a laptop class needs an outlet at every place. Runner is prepared for electrification and a data line, so the count is a design decision taken per row.

Remember the socket is on demand

The manufacturer supplies the predisposition as standard and the socket on demand. Leaving that line off the order delivers a bench ready for cable with nothing to plug into.

Route the run with the structure

The cables follow the extruded bars, which carry grooves along their length and take fixings with no preset drilling. Mark the route together with the uprights so nothing has to be opened up afterwards.

Coordinate with the floor build-up

Where the feed comes up through a step or a slab it has to be agreed before the row is set out. This is the one part of the installation that cannot be moved once the structure is fixed.

List it row by row

Put the provision and the sockets on the order by row, not as a single hall total. A row that was meant to stay clean and arrives wired costs as much as one that needed wiring and did not get it.