CCTV Control Room Furniture For Aston University

Aston University approached Thinking Space Systems back in 2013, after meeting at an AUCSO conference. Their security control room needed to be upgraded and was to be refurbished, so Thinking Space provided new control room furniture for Aston University and their staff, which utilises space more efficiently.

Aston University is based in the Midlands, UK, with over 14,000 students enrolled. It currently ranks 43rd out of 121 UK universities as identified in The Guardian University Guide 2019. It has a student satisfaction rate of 84%, placing Aston above average for the sixth consecutive year. Originally a School of Metallurgy in 1875, it evolved into the UK’s first College of Advanced Technology in 1956. It is now a Public Research University, having received its Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth II in 1966. The security control room monitors the 60 acre campus with sports facilities, libraries, open spaces, cafes and places of worship.

Two desks were manufactured, the two operator console having single PC bays either end for each operators’ IT hardware. Moni-Trak was positioned across the width of the desk, allowing each operator the space for mounting four flat screen monitors directly in front of them. The Moni-Trak system allows for all cabling to be neatly taken from the desk surface through the brush strip and down to power distribution units located in the desk void. Immediately in front of this console is a custom designed Evolution Media wall. This displays two rows of four 48” screens, for CCTV monitoring purposes. Integrated cable management and tilting crossbeams provides a tidy mounting solution for large flat screens, so that a “video wall” effect can be created. The supervisor console, located at the rear of the room, enjoys a PC bay as well as drawer units, including hanging file storage. Finally, a three bay 19” storage unit to match the materials and style of the control room furniture, completes the look. The materials chosen by the client, with the cobalt blue worktops, create a cool, clean look and now make the new control room bright, airy and spacious. Operators have immediately noticed how their working environment has improved wellbeing, focus and efficiency.

The final design deployed a dropped back style console, so that the screens are able to be positioned lower than the main desk height and allowing the operator optimum views of the airfield. Twin actuation for the main and dropped back desk portion is provided, to give extra adjustability for the operator, at the touch of the paddle. Each of the 10 operator consoles is positioned around the perimeter of the room, with the two supervisor consoles in the middle. All desks are equipped with PIP panels, gas sprung monitor mounts, equipment pods and speaker mounts, footswitches and VCCS mounts. 4 storage units are included in the technical furniture provision. Nova Saphir worktops and Platinum Crepe panels were the chosen finishes for the control room, creating a blue and grey cool, calming combination. The client required a mock up of single position console before the remaining consoles were manufactured. One of the adjustments made to the design was to provide parallel actuation, rather than independently controlled worktop height, which Thinking Space adapted accordingly.rnrnA further FAT inspection at the Thinking Space factory ensured that all equipment was positioned correctly, with any snags identified and additional equipment mounts identified. The consoles were then split in half for transportation to Ireland, lifted inside the tower and the halves reassembled and moved into their correct positions by the Thinking Space site installation team.