In 1999 Trinity School asked me to design and create a computer room that could also be used as a normal classroom too. I had a number of ideas, including foldable flatscreens, but the price of flat panel monitors was inhibitave.

The idea that went the furthest was having a glass panel sunk into the desk, with a crt monitor sat in a cradle at the rear of the desk. A pull out keyboard shelf on drawer runners would finish the desk.

I set about making a prototype, and after a number of crazy modifications I had the basic design sorted. The next difficulty was making the monitor cradle adjustable. It had to carry a mixture of sizes of monitor, from 14 to 17inch screens. I did some trig and maths and came out with 3 curved slots which would be cut in the side of each cradle which allowed the optimum movement for the selection of monitors that I had to hand.

After coming upon the final design, I got lots of 18mm MDF cut and created a few jigs to run the router around. The first jig was to create the cut-out in the 32mm worktop to sink the glass into, and the second jig was to cut the curves in the monitor cradles. I later made another jig to put ventilation slots in the 12mm MDF back panel.
I have all the plans and cutting lists, but they are just sketches and my wafflings, and would probably not make sense to anyone including me. If you want any further details please ask and I might be able to dig something out.

Since these photos were taken, the desks have been painted a nice blue, and the weird panel at the back has been replaced with a much better profiled mdf section.