Nottingham College – Campus Wide Teaching & Learning Spaces
Background
Nottingham College is one of the UK’s largest further education providers, serving a diverse and extensive student population across multiple campuses throughout the city.
Working in collaboration with GVAV, TOP-TEC were approached by Yasir Rafi, Head of IT Delivery, who oversees IT operations across the institution. His role is crucial in ensuring that the college’s AV and IT services are efficient, accessible, and aligned with the needs of both students and staff.
Yasir was looking to improve a number of spaces across multiple campuses and wanted to focus on delivering consistent, high-quality experiences that enhance teaching and learning throughout the college.
These included the renovation of several classroom environments, re-purposing unused areas across campus into staff and student meeting spaces and also developing a brand new Esports arena to provide a dedicated space for their gaming course.
“At Nottingham College, our mission is to ‘Unlock potential through learning’, and to achieve this, we must provide environments that are not only technologically advanced but also inclusive, flexible, inspiring, and future-ready.Partnering with TOP-TEC and GVAV has enabled us to deliver consistent, high-quality teaching and learning spaces across our campuses and provide spaces that truly support both staff and students in achieving their best.“Yasir Rafi |
Project Brief
One of the primary objectives was to integrate AV, IT and charging seamlessly into classroom furniture, eliminating the hassle and inefficiency of ad-hoc setups.
Standardising IT setups across rooms was another objective, helping to improve staff and students experiences by reducing setup time and ensuring more intuitive and consistent environments.
The college also faced challenges regarding space in a certain numbers of rooms, and required custom solutions that would maximise capacity in smaller rooms without sacrificing accessibility or comfort.
Furthermore, the college required furniture that was not only functional but also durable enough to withstand demanding education environments.
TOP-TEC also discussed integrated cable management, power and data access points, secure enclosures to protect equipment, and height-adjustable desks to accommodate diverse student needs in compliance with the Equality Act.
Key project criteria:
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Decision Process
Our relationship with Nottingham College began with an initial consultation followed by a site visit to one of our other campus wide projects at partner college. This visit allowed Yasir and his team to experience first-hand the high-quality, fully integrated furniture solutions TOP-TEC had delivered in similar educational settings.
From the outset, it was clear that Nottingham College valued not only high-quality products but also a collaborative and flexible design process. They also appreciated our ability to offer bespoke solutions tailored to the specific IT equipment procured by GVAV, their chosen AV partner.
Let us do what we do bestWe provided series of 2D room layouts and high-quality 3D renders to help visualise the proposed environments. |
How did we help?
Repurpose Unused Spaces across campus into student and staff meeting areas |
TOP-TEC installed several Hutch meeting pods across multiple locations. These pods provided an immediate solution for private study and collaborative meetings, without the need for complex refurbishment or changes to the college’s existing infrastructure.
Improved User Experience for teaching staff and students with consistent IT setups |
Working in partnership with GVAV, our integrated furniture streamlined the installation of technology and improved the overall end user experience. Our designs are built around a durable steel frame, ensuring longevity even in the most demanding academic environments.
Accessibility & Compliance including Equality Act compliant and height adjustable solutions |
All solutions were also compliant with Equality Act requirements with height adjustable positions installed into every teaching space, ensuring all students and staff could use the classrooms.
Create an Engaging Esports Space to run their dedicated gaming course |
TOP-TEC Esports have a rich history of providing immersive Esports spaces and were confident that we could help bring Nottingham College’s vision to life. The LED lighting, colour matched furniture and cluster style competition layout make players feel more immersed in the gaming space, enhancing engagement, focus and concentration.
Working alongside GVAV from the early planning stages, we ensured that all AV and IT requirements were fully integrated into the furniture solutions.
This seamless partnership allowed us to fully consider full cable management, secure device housings, power access, and connectivity, resulting in fully integrated environments that were both functional and easy to use.
By aligning our design and manufacturing process with GVAV’s technical expertise, we delivered a solution where technology and furniture worked in harmony, streamlining installation and enhancing the overall user experience for both staff and students.
The Result
Nottingham College has seen an improvement in both staff and student engagement across the refurbished spaces.
The standardised IT setups have reduce the time teaching staff spend preparing rooms, allowing lessons to begin promptly and run more smoothly. This has led to a more consistent and user-friendly teaching experience, especially valuable in a busy multi-campus institution.
Feedback from staff and students has been overwhelmingly positive. The meeting pods have become popular hubs for group collaboration and independent study, offering quiet, comfortable spaces that support modern learning needs.
| Download the full PDF case study here |
Integrator:
T: +44 (0)208 814 5950
E: info@gvav.co.uk
W: www.gvav.co.uk
“From the immersive Esports lab to collaborative IT lab furniture for special need SEND as well as technical Engineering CAD rooms, every solution was designed to enhance engagement, accessibility, and the overall user experience.Our new meeting pods have also become vital hubs for staff collaboration and student group work, reflecting a wider shift in education towards more agile, pod-based learning environments. These spaces empower our staff and students alike, supporting innovative teaching, fostering collaboration, and ultimately helping us deliver on our promise to unlock every learner’s potential.”Yasir Rafi |
