A Meeting Is More Than a Meeting Room

More than 15 years ago,
we started designing meetings differently

We refused to confine them to a single venue

Our designs merged content and city 

We made the setting part of the experience
We spread conversations across different corners

Because when people move
their thinking moves

Compared with spending several days in the same room
a multi-location design is more engaging
paradoxically more rooted in place
and far more likely to generate genuine involvement

▌Rotterdam, the Netherlands

In Rotterdam
we arranged the reception in a café

People had coffee first
woke up properly
started talking naturally

Then we walked over to the meeting room, together

A few minutes on foot, chatting
and new friendships budded between strangers 

If the people are right
the location can help them to draw close 

Photo credit: CoCoA H2H

▌Barcelona, Spain

In Barcelona
participants gathered in a traditional food market

We began the morning with an experiential design session
making the city itself part of the conversation

Only in the afternoon did we return to the conference venue

When the city becomes the case study
the dialogue can no longer be abstract

▌Melbourne, Australia

In Melbourne
during a two-day meeting
we used four different venues

Different themes
different room layouts

Circular seating encouraged collaboration
Putting seats close to each other in dimmed light brought intimacy
Open spaces allowed ideas to flow
Small tables of four facilitated deep conversations 

Space is never a backdrop
Space is where the chemistry happens  

▌Milan, Italy

In Milan
on the final day
we held the last session in an airport meeting room

Participants from around the world
could walk straight to their gates

Designed close to reality
meetings do not float away from life

Photo credit: CoCoA H2H

▌Kaohsiung, Taiwan

In Kaohsiung
over two days
we moved from a rooftop hotel bar where participants painted
to a vinyl record café
to an exhibition space at Pier-2
to a meeting room by the harbour overlooking the sea

Watermelon Camp Edition 2

When we design meetings
we do not focus only on content and speakers

We care deeply about atmosphere
about how a space feels
about the chemistry a place creates

Designing this is not difficult

The real challenge
is the willingness to break habits

Like the traditional opening speech
the one everyone knows should change
yet rarely does

From 2026 onwards
Why not let the city become part of your meeting?

Integrate your content into the local environment
Create experiences that foster belonging

So participants are not simply attending a meeting
but stepping into a journey

Give meetings more life

Let’s design them together