Preventing the spread of viruses through clever design

With virus control high on the agenda, all industries have had to step up and adapt to what is now the new normal. Furniture design is no exception, as companies have had to relook at their collections and consider how they can be made more hygiene friendly in response to the global pandemic we are all living through.

Although we have certainly been amongst these manufacturers looking for ways to refine and improve our way of doing things, our collections for healthcare have always been designed with the utmost hygiene levels in mind, making them much more relevant today. Here are a few ways in which we have achieved this.

Clever stitching. The line where two fabrics meet can be a potential danger zone when creating a piece of furniture built for cleanliness. If typical stitching is used, bacteria and dirt can be trapped between the gaps, and as these areas are so small, they can be tricky to clean. Our chairs designed for healthcare have been created to avoid this, with a welded seam on the back and seat cushions, where possible, to reduce the risk of harbouring bacteria. This has always been a conscious design focus within the Knightsbridge team.

Mind the gap. Our chairs for healthcare also include a hygiene gap. This feature ensures there is a gap between the seat cushion and chair back, to avoid dirt becoming trapped in small folds of fabric or the seat’s padding. Allowing for this additional space makes the furniture easier to clean to ensure that chairs are thoroughly sanitised on a regular basis.

Swatch it. With most of our healthcare chairs available in at least 12 colours, the vinyl we use for these settings is antimicrobial, which is designed to kill or slow the spread of microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses. This treated material is invaluable within a healthcare setting, as is its waterproof properties to ensure the furniture can be easily cleaned. This process also extends to our timber products, which we have been coating  in an antimicrobial lacquer for more than 20 years. This lacquer uses silver-ion technology to continuously fight harmful microorganisms.

Have you had to change how you work in light of the coronavirus pandemic? We would love to carry on the conversation on our social media @knightsbridgefurniture on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.