We spoke with Marcelo Alegre, designer of Actiflex, the new collection by Federico Giner.

How did the possibility of collaborating with FG in the creation of this line of school furniture focused on educational innovation arise?

Marcelo Alegre: The collaboration between FG and Alegre Design dates back over 10 years, where we learned the values of FG when manufacturing school furniture. These values can be summarized in that FG products must be safe and durable; in current terms, we could define it as a rugged product.

Building on this experience, FG proposed a new challenge: to create new collections of school furniture for FG, keeping the values of FG products but implementing them with the new educational methods and the use of devices.

From this starting point, Alegre Design began the creation, along with the studies provided by IBV, and we started defining the future FG product.

In designing these pieces, you worked with input from the Instituto de Biomecánica de Valencia (IBV) and teachers through working groups. How was that experience? What needs did they communicate to you?

Marcelo Alegre: At the moment, there is a great evolution of educational methods in classrooms, where factors such as the use of devices, sharing knowledge, the new role of the teacher in the classroom, etc., create new needs. FG products need to address and Alegre Design must design for these needs.

This new paradigm required a fresh perspective and an improvement in user experience. Alegre Design’s mission was to adapt these new perspectives to the furniture while maintaining the philosophy of a traditional FG product.

Obviously, we needed the knowledge and field tests from IBV, the teachers’ experiences, and the needs of schools because it wasn’t about designing a new product simply adapted to current trends. The project was much more: to create the new classrooms for the future of education.

How did you manage to materialize these requirements into the design of these pieces?

Marcelo Alegre: The solution to this challenge was found by focusing on three values: designing traditional, durable construction solutions, using the most advanced industrial technology, and focusing on the user experience.

What are the main qualities of the PAD CHAIR and ACTIFLEX Desk?

Marcelo Alegre: The user’s safety and silence in the classroom. In this new educational environment where the teacher becomes a coach, where learning is collaborative, and where educational methods promote dynamism in the classroom, all of these concepts translated to furniture moving from being static to dynamic.

This shift from static to dynamic, and the introduction of wheels in school furniture along with the spontaneity of students, gave us a clear objective: to ensure safety and silence. Alegre Design has designed the products so that in their daily use in the classroom, supporting the new educational methods, they prevent any type of distraction for the user.

What new possibilities do these bring to teachers and educational institutions?

Marcelo Alegre: To teachers, FG’s new furniture brings mobility and dynamism to the classroom to support the needs of their educational projects and improve student focus while minimizing distractions. To schools, a reliable and durable product that makes daily maintenance easier.

What quality criteria do you apply in terms of materials, safety, and ergonomics, especially in those pieces intended for children and adolescents?

Marcelo Alegre: Alegre Design’s experience in designing products for children’s furniture, where child safety is the primary concern, and in office furniture design has been the foundation for creating these new product ranges.

Safe products, with no risk of entrapment, the correct dimensions for posture correction, and based on traditional, easily recyclable materials. Ultimately, a new philosophy for FG products.