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Location, location, location Acknowledging that meeting planners’ jobs are dificult — “We know how harried they can be,” said design consultant Joyce Bromberg — centrally located, dedicated workstations in the Foyer and outside the Forum will give them a home base, complete with built-in storage for all their “stuff.” (The workstations are designed so that they can be converted to bars at the end of the day.) And just to make sure the day starts as smoothly as possible, Sentry Centers will send a complimentary driver to pick planners up in the morning.
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Always-on technology At some point at almost every smaller meeting, Sentry Centers’ Chris Kelly said, someone says, “You know, we should really call so-and-so, and ask their opinion.” So meeting rooms will have conferencing phones and teleconferencing platforms set up “in perpetuity,” Kelly said. And every room will have computers hooked up to projectors.
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Seamless food-and-beverage When Bromberg and architect Michael E. Fazio talked to Sentry Centers staff, they learned that staff members want to provide great service but dislike feeling as if they’re intruding and interrupting the flow of meetings. So at 32 Old Slip, built-in refreshment stations will be located just outside every meeting room, where meeting attendees can pop out anytime — not just at breaks — for a fresh cup of coffee or refreshments. And all of the door mechanisms will be silent.
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Creating a “shared mind” One goal of every meeting, no matter what the size, is to preserve ideas and content, Bromberg said. So 32 Old Slip will be liberally supplied with pens and paper, dry-erase markers and boards, chalk and chalkboards, Post-It notes — any and every way that people can display content where it can be seen and learned from. Rooms can “flex to anything,” Bromberg said, but in this room configuration, mobile whiteboards are positioned at the end of every table, and can be moved around the room to share ideas — or even rolled out to another location.
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Retreating The Lounge area will have a whiteboard wall, and will be furnished with sofas, chairs, and ottomans. It can accommodate an intense brainstorming session, Bromberg said, or serve as a place where attendees can let off steam or even lie down.
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Breaking bread Arriving attendees will immediately encounter the Nourish Café; Bromberg calls its long communal tables “a great touchdown space” for people as they are coming out of meetings. There are computers nearby, and refreshments are always available to attendees in the café kitchen area.
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Thanks, TED Like the Lounge, this room is furnished with couches, chairs, and ottomans, but also offers high-top tables and stools, and a huge screen where content from the auditorium can be simulcast. The idea, which allows for people to interact with content in a more relaxed environment than the Forum, was taken from the TED conference.
DECEMBER 2012 PCMA CONVENE
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