Lots of factors go into creating a good event space. Here are four tips from designers about how to create a memorable venue for events, whether indoors or out.
1. Indoor/Outdoor Balance
In June, the Atlanta Marriott Northwest at Galleria opened the second largest hotel ballroom in Georgia’s Cobb County. GM Roger Fleming said the design team from Birmingham, Ala.-based Element526 balanced indoor and outdoor spaces when creating the venue. “Customers want flexibility and options to not feel confined in an interior space all day,” he said. “All prefunction areas lead to outdoor spaces.”
2. Eye-Catching Style
Because many prefunction, ballroom and meeting room spaces are large and often empty, the team at BraytonHughes Design Studios creates these spaces to be interesting in case a guest wanders in. “We try to locate windows toward views [and] install great artwork so that the spaces double as galleries,” said Joel Villalon, executive advisor and principal at BraytonHughes. “Sometimes we will install lounge furniture so that these spaces can be used as alternate gathering zones.”
3. Biophilic Elements
New York-based firm MG2 designed the meeting and event space for the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington outside of Seattle with large windows to provide natural light and views of the surrounding landscape. “We’re always talking about wellness and natural light and bringing biophilic elements to the way we design,” MG2 Principal and interior designer Shannon Suess said. “It’s a new hot topic to really describe how you bring light, nature [and] green space into the building.”
4. Elevated Views
By putting a second ballroom upstairs at the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington, the MG2 team gave the property an outdoor event space on top of the first-floor ballroom. “So that provided another opportunity for a different type of indoor/outdoor experience,” Suess said.