“SDB really thinks along with you”
BiNaSk: biology, physics and chemistry. If you studied these subjects at school, you’ll no doubt remember that these classrooms always looked different. Extra-sturdy school desks with connections for gas and electricity, fume cupboards and washbasins, for example. Fully equipped for free and safe experimentation.
One of the few Dutch companies specialising in the fitting out of BiNaSk classrooms is B4 Technical Furniture. They work throughout the Netherlands, from the drawing board to completion. And if schools need display cabinets, they give us a call. Why? “Simple: SDB really thinks along with us,” says Klaas Zuurman, project manager at B4. “Where possible, they suggest standard products. These are less expensive, which is good for our quote. And if necessary, they help us think through bespoke solutions. That’s how we make every project a success.”
Mostly biology classrooms
B4 has been coming to us for about ten years now, mostly for biology classrooms. In that subject, schools often want to display objects, such as taxidermy animals, embryos in formaldehyde or natural specimens. “And a shelf or cupboard just won’t do,” says Klaas. “These items need to be kept safe. That’s possible with special safety glass for public spaces.”
“Sometimes they even beat me to it: ‘Do you remember this or that?’, they’ll say”
Special projects
According to the project manager, we’ve realised our finest collaborative projects at schools in Tilburg and Amsterdam. “In Tilburg, the skeleton of a human body is displayed behind glass,” says Klaas. “This bespoke display case is two metres high, has no shelves or a base cabinet, but features beautiful flowing lines. Another special display case is located in our capital. It has even been given an architectural function: the cabinet serves as the partition wall between the classroom and the corridor.”
A natural fit
B4 is based in Giessen; we are roughly thirty kilometres away, also in the province of Brabant. Is the collaboration a natural fit, then? “Now that I think about it: actually, yes,” says Klaas. “But that’s mainly because things have been running smoothly for years. Communication between the designer and the display case builder is direct, minimizing the risk of errors. And sometimes they even get ahead of me: ‘Have you thought about this and that?’, they’ll say.”
“It also helps that SDB has been working with virtually the same team for many years,” he continues. “That means a few words are enough for us. It’s telling that phrases like ‘remember back then?’ or ‘just like in project X…’ come up regularly. We get on really well!”
