Over the last quarter century, a fascinating model of cradle to cradle product design has been unfolding in the New Hampshire North Country. In partnership with DCI—one of New England’s largest and oldest contract furniture manufacturers—Dartmouth College harvests trees from its own forest through its sustainable forestry program and DCI turns those logs into lumber and then long-lasting hardwood furniture. We then install this solid maple furniture, fashioned from Dartmouth’s …
Case Study: The Bruin Shelter for Homeless College Students
Every once in awhile you get the chance to contribute to something really important. As a company, we’re quick to respond to these moments because they they give special meaning to what we do. When UCLA student Louis Tse reached out to me and shared the story of his burgeoning Bruin Shelter for homeless college students (now called Students 4 Students), I knew it was one of those moments. You see, Louis …
Technology & Student Housing Furniture: What You Need To Consider
What do dorm technology and furniture have in common? And when it comes to college students, why do you need to consider them together? As you well know, we live an an extraordinary moment in history when the sum total of human knowledge is always just a click away. We can use technology anywhere and anytime through our multifarious mobile devices. But don’t forget, for nearly all of human history …
How Student Wellness & Green Furniture Go Together
How do you manage student wellness in your residence halls? There are a lot of dimensions to wellness. Students these days are under a lot of pressure to perform and compete even before they reach college. Whereas straight A’s and top test scores once guaranteed a spot at the best schools, that’s no longer the case. And once students do start college, they’re expected to rise to higher academic standards …
How To Get the Right Furniture for Your Student Athletes
Do you have a robust athletics program at your school? Do you struggle to find appropriately sized beds for athletes? If you do, how do you accommodate special housing needs and requests by student athletes, or your athletic department? At DCI, we know a lot about making furniture for student athletes. DCI has a long history of making furniture for Division 1 student athletes, Olympians and professionals. We supplied beds …
Case Study: Penn State University
Summary: Penn State residence halls use rigorous standards to help them assess the best value when they select their residence furniture. Students play a key role in helping determine the final selection through Penn’s innovative Best Value Process (BVP). Project Name: Penn State Residence Halls Best Value Process Location: State College, Pennsylvania Size: 780 Sets Building Type: Residence Halls Project Team: Penn State, DCI Product List: Adjustable Height Beds; Two and One-Drawer Stackable Under-Bed Storage Units; Study Desks; Two-Door …
A Study in How to Include Your Students in Selecting Furniture
How do you select your residence hall furniture? Do you leave it up to just a few key people? Do you get input from a wide array of departments like residence life, facilities, housing, and the Dean’s office? That’s pretty standard, and it makes sense for obvious reasons. But have you ever considered including your students in the selection process? Why would you want to do that? Including Students In …
Want to Empower Your Students? Include Them In Your Purchasing Process
Students are a passionate lot. They’re idealistic too. So it can be a valuable and edifying exercise to include them in your decision-making process as you choose your residence hall furniture. That’s exciting to me. Why? Because at DCI, we’re also passionate and idealistic. We believe it’s possible to craft world-class furniture that’s completely sustainable at the same time. And these days, more schools are using their purchasing power to set an …
PSU: Installing Sustainably Harvested & Manufactured Wood Furniture
Almost ten years ago, we partnered with Plymouth State University (PSU) to furnish their state-of-the-art ecologically sensitive residence hall, Langdon Woods. We continue to work with PSU on new projects to this day. Building Awareness And Empowering Choices One reason we take sustainability so seriously is because we want to inspire green values in the next generation. It’s important that students understand their school is investing in the future of the planet. More specifically, students …