Lamm Runner lecture benches rising across a stepped hall

Runner can be made to disappear into the floor, one row at a time

Lamm

Orlandini Design

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

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Trade terms for professionals and design studios

Most lecture halls are single-purpose because the seating cannot leave. A room that holds two hundred students at nine in the morning still holds two hundred empty desks at six in the evening, when the faculty would rather hold a reception in it. Lamm states that Runner can be installed with the innovative Floor Technology system, for telescopic foldaway movement of the study desks.

Two things are worth reading carefully in that sentence. The first is only for straight rows: the manufacturer limits the foldaway movement to straight runs, so a curved hall keeps its rows where they are. The second is that Floor Technology is listed among the manufacturer's own services, alongside layout work, installation and testing: Lamm installs it, it does not arrive in a box.

Everything above the floor is the same either way. One family of extrusions does the structural work and the back support at once, the complementary parts clamp on with no preset drilling, and centres stay adjustable from 51 cm (20 in).

So the question to settle early is not whether the desks can retract, but whether the room is straight enough to let them.

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 anodised 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: anodised 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 co-ordinated 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 anodised 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, 14 mm (9/16 in) thickness, 45 × 30 cm (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, 30 mm (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 anodised 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 anodised 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 6 – max 20 cm (2 3/8 – 7 7/8 in) and H min 20 – max 35 cm (7 7/8 – 13 3/4 in)
Centre to centre: adjustable, minimum 51 cm (20 in); first stretch of the row 25,5 cm (10 in), closing 5,5 cm (2 1/8 in)
Heights: 82 cm (32 1/4 in) overall · writing table 77 cm (30 3/8 in) · seat 45 cm (17 3/4 in)
Row depth: 95 cm (37 3/8 in) with fixed table · 75/90 cm (29 1/2 / 35 1/2 in) with tip-up table
Curve: minimum radius 500 cm (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 anodised 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)

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When it is the right choice

  • Hall that has to serve more than one purpose, with a straight layout.
  • Steps or sloped flooring already built, with the system set onto them.
  • Specification that asks for a continuous horizontal line across the row.

When another solution suits better

  • Where armrests are specified: Runner does not list them among its accessories, while Lamm's E5000 does.

Documents and Catalogues

Public Catalogue Conference Catalogue Education Catalogue

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FAQ

What does Floor Technology do on Runner?

Lamm states that Runner can be installed with the Floor Technology system, for telescopic foldaway movement of the study desks, and limits that movement to straight rows. It is listed among the manufacturer's own services, so it is installed by Lamm rather than supplied as a loose accessory, and it is agreed with the hall before the layout is fixed.

Is the backrest a separate part from the structure?

No. The horizontal bars in extruded aluminium constitute the load-bearing structure and also the backrest of the system; the complementary elements clamp onto those extrusions without drilling beforehand.

Has Runner been recognised anywhere?

The manufacturer lists a Silver Award in the Educational Solutions category at The best of NeoCon 2006, Chicago, for Runner as a study bench system designed by Lucci e Orlandini.

What are the two backrest versions made of?

The continuous version uses slats and extruded anodised aluminium sections with upper and lower MDF panels, bi-laminated or veneered; the single version is beech plywood. Both can also be padded and covered in fabric or eco-leather.

How tight a curve will Runner take?

The declared minimum radius is 500 cm (16 ft 5 in), with centres adjustable from 51 cm (20 in). The tip-up writing table is made for straight and curved rows alike, which is why the curve imposes no fixed module.

Choosing the writing table finish on Runner

The writing table has a palette of its own. These steps settle it before the order goes in.

Start from the surface that gets written on

On Runner the writing table is HPL bi-laminate chipboard, and it is the one element students touch for the whole lecture. Decide its finish first and let the rest of the hall follow it.

Note the extra colour it carries

The writing table is offered in beech, oak, grey oak, eucalyptus and black. The fifth option does not exist on the panels, the seat or the backrest, which stay within the first four.

Check the edge you are getting

Both tables carry an ABS edge with rounded corners: 14 mm (9/16 in) on the tip-up version, 30 mm (1 3/16 in) on the fixed one. The depth can be increased on demand on either.

Decide whether to match or to contrast

Black against a beech or oak hall reads as a deliberate band at desk height; matching the panels instead makes the row read as one surface. Either is defensible, but the choice belongs on the drawing.

Put the finish on the order

List the writing table finish separately from the panels, seat and backrest. An element left unspecified is built to the standard option, and the standard is rarely the one that was drawn.