Designing Multi-Purpose Rooms

With real estate prices where they are, many clients will be interested in exploring multi-use room solutions. One of the best places to start is to help the client to define the term ‘multi-use’ says designer Yvonne Charbonneau. ‘If an organization comes to me asking for a multi-use room design, I ask all parties involved what they mean by the term. At first, it seems obvious what a multi-use room is, but in practice everyone means something different from the term.

multi-use room

Just what ‘uses’ and for whom? How will it be used, and will a multi-purpose room accommodate those needs? A room can’t be all things to all people, so the client organization needs to prioritize and make tough decisions about what it will be used for. Often, clients think that a multi-use room will solve all their space (and sometimes political) issues but a designer runs the risk of an unhappy client after the design is implemented if the difficult questions aren’t answered.

Is a Multi-Use Room the Right Solution?

A Fortune 500 client comes to Charbonneau with a problem: they are running out of large meeting room space for groups of up to eight people. They are looking for a multi-use room solution to handle the extra load. After looking into the issue more closely, however, Charbonneau finds out that employees are booking the existing larger rooms when a small one would do, for reasons such as it has windows, or it’s there, might as well use it.  The solution isn’t a newly designed multi-use room it is an improved room booking system.

Asking the Right Questions/Helping the Client Define Their Needs

Stephen Cameron Smith, a facilities manager hired on contract to the law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain, says, ‘organizations waste a lot of money designing solutions that don’t work’ not because the designers aren’t talented, but because the client has not fully defined what it is they need. 80% of the work is in the design scope specification, 20% in the follow-through. It’s  important, therefore, to ask the right questions before designing a multi-use room.

Clarify the problem. Why are you coming to me for a multi-use room? What is not being supported currently by your room configuration? What’s the problem that needs solving?
Gather information. How do you use your rooms? Do you know the frequency of meetings, meeting sizes, type of activities that need to be supported (like AV, lunches, training)? What is the average length of meetings, or other sessions (longer sessions need furniture designed for comfort)?

Talk about the long-term. When talking about multi-use rooms, many clients are excited about what it will be able to do, but they don’t think about maintenance. Without proper maintenance, however, a multi-use room will quickly lose its usefulness, leading to an under-utilized space. So it’s important to discuss long-term maintenance at the outset of a project, and build that into the design. On average, you need to allow an hour to setup and takedown a multi-use room. Do you have the staff to manage multi-use room switchovers? How will the organization support multi-use down the road? Will you provide training in room switchovers and the particular technology that is being used in each solution? Do you have the storage available, and is it easy to get the furniture in and out?

Keeping it light

Like conversation at the in-laws, it’s good to keep it light. Portable tables should be easily manipulated by people of average physical capability.
Storage without damage

A multi-use room solution won’t function if the furniture loses functionality or is diminished in appearance. In general, multi-use room furniture gets damaged more quickly so it’s good to use durable materials and finishes. Many portable table solutions are easily damaged going in and out of storage. Flip-tops (see below) are often the best at protecting themselves from damage during regular moves.

Portable power & communication

These days, whenever possible, it’s good to provide power and communication capability at the table top, even with a mobile solution. Voice over data Voice over data technology means that people can shift rooms instantly without dealing with maintenance staff. All they have to do is take their phone set with them, plug it anywhere in the office, and their extension will work.

Quality matters

Quality is often overlooked by clients and designers who want a multi-use room. About quality, Charbonneau says, the product has to compensate for human error. You can never really predict how people will treat it. The initial design may satisfy the client but the room no longer works due to human error. It’s good to go with a supplier who will support the products in the future.