Multipurpose-room Design Strategy

Accessibility, ease of use, connectivity & collaboration define modern multipurpose spaces. Multipurpose rooms help maximize ROI by spreading AV and IT technology around a facility to maximize usage

Tips to consider when coming up with multipurpose-room strategy.

Collaborate During the design stage, get input from every type of employee to see how they’re collaborating—and how they want to but currently can’t. What types of devices do they prefer? Tablets feeding projectors? Interactive whiteboards? Videoconferencing? Are most meetings an executive holding forth, or is there a lot of back and forth? If you’ll be using outside parties such as architects and AV integrators, include all of them as early as possible to avoid expensive change orders later. One common pitfall is putting meeting rooms on exterior walls to take in views. That design floods the room with light that often washes out displays and projectors, to the point that another $10,000 has to be found to pay for shades. Walls of windows also can produce temperature swings that force the HVAC system to run at a high rate, creating ambient noise that affects the mics’ ability to pick up speech.

Adaptable furniture and gear

Multipurpose rooms frequently have furniture and AV gear that can be moved around to support a variety of collaboration types, from lunch-and-learns to board meetings to all-hands sessions. So look for furniture that’s designed to provide flexibility, including for huddle rooms: small spaces designed for impromptu, Starbucks-style collaboration. Although WiFi and other wireless technologies have cut a lot of cords, plenty remain, such as for power. Getting everyone’s input about how they want to connect to AV systems ensures that the finished rooms don’t wind up with cables that are unsightly and trip hazards.

Sound matters

Microphones are key for effective collaboration in larger rooms, as well as smaller ones with remote participants. The better everyone can hear, the longer it takes for conferencing fatigue to set it. Regardless of the type of technology they use, wireless mics are worth considering because that’s one fewer set of wires to be a trip hazard or eyesore when a room is reconfigured. Years down the road, wireless mics also provide flexibility for accommodating meeting styles that weren’t invisioned when the space was first designed. Multidivisible and reconfigurable rooms are ideal for wireless mics, this is the main reason why our client The Forum decided to utilize them. 

Customized For Your Needs

Designed for meetings, conference, presentation, or training. The room has a capacity of 35 people for classroom style and can be configured to meet your needs from a conference table, to a classroom, or theater seating. Fully Digital For Today’s Multi-Media Needs The room is equipped with a projector, a wide projection screen, a microphone system, individual work stations, and an integrated video and sound system to record or broadcast your meeting. Food & Beverage Breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus are available along with beverages and break snacks during the meeting. Or, you can host a lunch or dinner at one of the many restaurants within walking distance on Bethesda Avenue.