Social Distancing in Venues with Auditorium Seating

From business conference centres to cinemas, there are a wide variety of establishments with auditorium seating, and as these venues begin to reopen to the public there is obviously a requirement to ensure that social distancing is adhered to.

 

Social Distancing Auditorium Seating In Cinemas

In partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and a range of other relevant organisations, the UK Cinema Association has recently published guidance on ‘Keeping Workers and Customers Safe During COVID-19.’

In addition to managing capacity and overcrowding by limiting the number of people able to access venues, it states that venues should reconfigure entertainment spaces to enable customers to be seated rather than standing.

In cinema auditoriums, a key objective is to maintain social distancing of customers wherever possible and particularly while they are seated. In its latest update, published 28^th July 2020, it states that this can be achieved by organising seating to ensure 2m distancing can be maintained; where 2m is not viable, 1m with risk mitigation is acceptable.

Whilst loose seating can be moved around and spaced out, auditorium seating is usually fitted in long rows and bolted to the ground, making it more difficult to facilitate social distancing in line with requirements.

 

Why ‘Home-Made’ Social Distancing Aids Don’t Always Work

Some venues have been using home-made social distancing aids on their auditorium seating – from simple signs printed on paper to wrapping tape around seats that are out of use. Whilst these might work as short-term solutions, they clearly have flaws with paper being easily ripped or removed and tape leaving a sticky residue behind if left in position for too long. Others have been buying in printed signs which hang over or stick onto seat backs, but these are easily knocked off and are too easy to ignore by those who don’t take the need for compliance seriously.

 

 Professional Social Distancing Solutions For Auditorium Seating

With social distancing being a reality for some time to come, many establishments are now seeking professional solutions such as Evertaut’s auditorium seat wraps (pictured above left). These allow venue managers to clearly mark seats as out of use and also prevent patrons from sitting on them.

Seat wraps, as the name suggests, wrap round the entire seat and back and can be printed with bold wording to clearly indicate seats which cannot be used. Their design and the way they fit means the seat is unable to be used without the discreet fastening being undone and the seat wrap removed.

If you’re responsible for a venue with auditorium seating, you may want to consider investing in professional solutions such as these which can be manufactured to whatever size is required to fit your seats. Unlike many home-made solutions, the fabric is treated with an antimicrobial coating which remains active for up to 30 washes at 60 degrees.

 

Not Only For Auditorium Seating

Social distancing seat wraps are suitable for use on auditorium seating in all types of venues and can be used as a solution anywhere there is fixed seating: Conference rooms, briefing rooms, training rooms, lecture theatres – the list goes on. They could also be used on beam seating in waiting rooms and even on loose seating where it’s not possible to remove seats or space them out sufficiently.

 

Auditorium Seating for Learning Environments

Lessons in higher education establishments are commonly taught in auditorium style teaching spaces. From large lecture theatres which can accommodate many hundreds of students to smaller classrooms set up auditorium style with a tiered floor.

Auditorium seating is robust and hard wearing, often giving many decades of service as it can withstand rigorous wear and tear. With a wide choice of seating styles and fabric colours, commercial interior designers use auditorium seating to help create modern and vibrant teaching spaces.

The majority of lecture theatres in universities and colleges will need either desks or some kind of writing surface. Most lecture theatre seating designed for auditorium use will come with the option of integral desks, whether that be individual folding writing tablets or long continuous rows of desking. It’s also possible to get standalone seats without any desks attached, similar to those found in theatres or independent cinemas.

Auditorium seating without desks

Large lecture theatre with rows of blue auditorium seating 

For classes where students or delegates are just watching and listening it may be that only seats are needed and there is no requirement for desks, as shown in the lecture theatre above. These bold blue seats create a professional image in this smart lecture theatre.

Auditorium Seating with rows of fixed desks

Large lecture theatre with rows of auditorium seating incorporating integral rows of desking

Where desks are needed, continuous rows as shown above are usually the most economical option. They are often attached to the top edge of seat backs with only a standalone desk and integral modesty panel required on the front row. This type of desking is usually fixed and can incorporate power and data sockets.

This is a good option where students may need to use lots of equipment and/or work collaboratively.

Auditorium seating with rows of folding desks

Small lecture theatre with rows of orange auditorium seating incorporating individual folding desks

A similar option to the above is where each seat has its own folding desk which can simply be ‘folded’ up out of the way when not required. This makes for easier access along the rows but gives less desktop space to each student. This style of desk is not ideal if power and data sockets are needed due to the fact that desktops are not stationary.

Auditorium seating with individual writing tablets

Large lecture theatre with rows of auditorium seating incorporating individual anti-panic writing tablets

This style of auditorium seating incorporates writing tablets which simply fold-away into the seat arm when not in use. This allows easy access along rows and prevents the writing surface being an obstruction when not required. Writing tablets such as these are usually ‘anti-panic,’ meaning they will automatically flip-up and fold back into the arm if someone stands quickly when the tablet is still in use (ie if there is a fire alarm or other emergency causing the user to potentially panic and try to exit their seat quickly).

This is a just a basic overview of the different types of seat and desk combinations on the market today. All of these auditorium seats can be used in small or large teaching spaces and are suitable for use on tiered, raked or flat floors.