Ares Line
A lecture room is not one product repeated: it is three different benches doing three different jobs. The E5000 makes that explicit. The front row carries a writing table, tip-up or fixed, plus the vertical panels that run down to the floor. The intermediate row carries a table and a tip-up seat. The end row carries the seat alone — because the table for that row belongs to the bench in front of it.
Read it once and the ordering logic falls into place: you count rows, not chairs, and each row resolves what the row behind it needs. Everything sits on the same continuous extruded aluminium beam, whose internal ribs and external grooves let uprights, tables and feet be positioned without pre-set drilling, at a pitch that starts at 51 cm and is adjustable from there.
On top of that skeleton come three versions — fixed table, tip-up table, tip-up table with arms — and layouts that run straight, curved, tiered or on a slope. La Mercanti specifies E5000 for UK lecture theatres, with samples and the finish schedule agreed before the order.
Technical information based on data declared by the manufacturer.
Collection: E5000
Manufacturer: Lamm — Lamm S.p.A., Italy
Design: Orlandini Design
What it is: a continuous, integrated system of seats and tables that can be composed in a straight line, on a curve, on tiers or on sloping floors; an evolution of the E4000 system, from which it inherits its main features
The three versions: fixed writing table · tip-up writing table · tip-up table with arms (arms are available on this version only)
The three bench types: front row, with tip-up or fixed writing table; intermediate row, with tip-up or fixed table and tip-up seat; end row, with tip-up seat only
Structure: load-bearing beams in anodised extruded aluminium, black or silver; upper and lower bars with a rounded square section, internal ribs and external grooves that allow uprights, tables and feet to be positioned without pre-set drilling; uprights in pressed and painted sheet steel; feet in pressed sheet steel prepared for floor fixing, with technopolymer covers in silver or black; the feet at the start and end of each row always align with the uprights; epoxy-polyester scratch and corrosion-resistant coating in semi-matt silver or semi-matt black RAL 9005. In the fixed-table version the bench has no upper horizontal bar and the table is carried on painted metal brackets
Dimensions and geometry: adjustable seat pitch, minimum 51 cm (20.1 in); the drawings for the version with arms show a 57 cm (22.4 in) pitch; minimum curve radius 500 cm (196.9 in); dimensioned drawings for tiers up to 10 cm (3.9 in), up to 24 cm (9.4 in) and from 24 to 50 cm (9.4 to 19.7 in). On tiered installations the backrest height varies with the height of the tier
Tip-up writing table: retractable, with anti-panic movement and a slowed, damped closing system (Patent Pending) that takes the table from use to rest position in a controlled and silent way; top in HPL double-laminate chipboard in beech, oak, grey oak, eucalyptus, graphite, silver or black, matching ABS edge, 14 mm (0.55 in) thick, 45 × 30 cm (17.7 × 11.8 in) (deeper on request); technopolymer supports and slide guides; fixed to the continuous extruded beam, including on curved runs
Fixed writing table: HPL double-laminate chipboard in the same finishes, ABS edge with rounded corners, 30 mm (1.2 in) thick, 30 cm (11.8 in) deep (deeper on request)
Front-row panels: single vertical panels running to the floor, for straight or curved layouts: plywood with HPL double-laminate finish in beech, oak, grey oak, eucalyptus, graphite or silver, or plywood in beech or oak treated with a clear polyurethane coating that is anti-glare, anti-slip and scratch-resistant
Seats and backs: plywood with HPL finish, beech or oak with clear polyurethane coating, or upholstered with the increased padding supplied as standard: back with internal plywood support and non-deforming, flame-retardant polyurethane foam; seat in cold-foamed polyurethane; CertiPUR® certified padding. Tip-up seat mechanism with damped automatic return
Accessories: arms with painted tubular and sheet-steel frame and armrest in solid beech or oak, or upholstered (tip-up table version only); storage basket in 2 mm (0.08 in) steel flat bar; inter-row bar for installations without floor fixing; seat numbering; row identification element; provision for electrification and data cabling, with socket on request
Materials and testing: wooden components with low formaldehyde emission; tested to European standards; technical documentation Rev. 2 dated 06/2024
Not declared by the manufacturer: load ratings, warranty terms, lead times and references to specific standards
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Documents and Catalogues
FAQ
Why does the end row have no writing table?
Because the table serving that row is mounted on the bench in front of it. The end row therefore carries only the tip-up seat. It is the detail that trips up quantities the first time a room is priced.
What exactly does the front row include?
A writing table, tip-up or fixed, and the single vertical panels that run all the way to the floor, available for straight or curved layouts. Those panels are what closes the room visually at the front.
How do I count what to order?
By rows rather than by seats: front row, intermediate rows, end row, then the pitch. The pitch is adjustable from a minimum of 51 cm, and the drawings for the version with arms show 57 cm.
Can rows curve or step?
Both. Compositions run in a straight line, on a curve with a minimum radius of 500 cm, on tiers or on sloping floors. On tiers the backrest height varies with the height of the step.
What changes between the three versions?
The fixed-table version has no upper horizontal bar and the table rests on painted metal brackets. The tip-up version keeps that bar and adds the retractable table. Arms are available on the tip-up version only.
Pricing a lecture theatre row by row
Five steps that keep the quantities honest.
Count rows before you count seats
Front, intermediate, end. Each row type is a different bench, and the difference is not cosmetic.
Remember the end row carries no table
Its writing surface belongs to the bench in front. This single line prevents the most common quantity error.
Fix the pitch after the site survey
Minimum 51 cm and adjustable, because the beam has no pre-set drilling. With arms, work from the 57 cm shown in the drawings.
Check the geometry against the plan
Straight, curved at 500 cm minimum radius, tiered or sloping. The geometry decides more than the finish does.
Add accessories at the same time as the layout
Basket, seat numbering, row identification, electrification. Retrofitting them later means touching the beam again.
