Tips for deciding the layout and arrangement of meeting rooms! What is the optimal solution in the era of hybrid work?

A recent trend is that the need for compact conference rooms and private booths is growing as small-group web conferences become more common. On the other hand, the frequency of use of large conference rooms is decreasing, and an increasing number of companies are considering eliminating or downsizing them.

Web conferences have become commonplace now, but if you try to join from a traditional conference room that is designed for in-person participation, the facilities and layout may be insufficient. Many issues remain, such as "difficulty in communication" and "time loss due to connection problems," which are experienced by many participants, because they were not designed for web conferences.

In addition, since large conference rooms are no longer used for daily meetings, their main use may have shifted to workshops and study sessions. In such cases, it may be necessary to change the layout to suit meetings.

Against this background, an increasing number of companies are now reconsidering their conference rooms.

Many people may have decided that they need to rethink their conference room, but are unsure of what type of conference room they should create.

When considering a conference room that will meet your needs, it is important to first understand the basics of conference room layout. Here, we will explain in detail the characteristics, Advantage and disadvantage of the six most commonly used layouts for office conference rooms.

The layout consists of long desks arranged in the shape of the kanji character for "口."
All participants can see each other's faces while maintaining a reasonable distance during discussions. The center of the conference room is empty, creating an open atmosphere.

The long desks are arranged in the shape of the katakana character "コ".
This layout has monitors and projectors set up in areas without desks. You can conduct meetings while projecting materials.

This layout has multiple desks arranged like independent "islands" within the conference room.
Participants are divided into small groups, and each group conducts its discussion in its own space.

The layout has all the desks and chairs facing the podium.
Like a school classroom, this format makes it easy for participants to focus on the presenter, so all participants can look in the same direction, making it easy to listen to the talk and take notes.

The layout involves just chairs lined up facing the stage; no desks are used.
Like a classroom, all participants face the same direction, but because there are no desks, it can accommodate more participants. Everyone sits and watches the screen.

The layout is that two teams sit facing each other across a desk.
Since the teams face each other, it will be easier for each group to convey their opinions to the other side.

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As you can see, each conference room layout has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is a good idea to base your layout on the format that best suits your office environment, taking into consideration the content and purpose of the meeting, installation conditions, etc.

​"Hybrid meetings" are meetings where people who are in the office and people who are online join together. Hybrid meetings have become a commonplace event, but there are probably many people who feel dissatisfied, such as "it's hard to see the faces of the people participating in the meeting room," "it's hard to hear their voices," or "online participants can't join in the conversation."

In hybrid meetings, it is important that people in the office and those participating online can communicate smoothly. When considering the layout and arrangement of conference rooms suitable for hybrid meetings, please be sure to keep the following points in mind.

If possible given the number of people involved, we recommend arranging the conference room horizontally rather than vertically.

Like the school and theater formats, this layout has all participants facing the same direction, but instead of providing each person with their own desk and chair, large desks and sofas are used, making it easier for participants in the conference room to communicate with each other.

Advantage of this is that everyone in the room is captured on camera without overlapping, making it easier for online participants to read everyone's facial expressions and gestures.

For hybrid meetings, a layout that incorporates curves, such as a semicircle or fan shape, is more suitable than lining up square tables in a straight line. This makes it easier for participants to meet each other's eyes, making it easier for everyone to talk together.

Incorporating curved designs into furniture such as tables and sofa sets can help ease tension during hybrid meetings and create a friendly atmosphere.

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To conduct a hybrid meeting smoothly, it is necessary to have a layout that allows all participants to see clearly and speak easily. Furthermore, it is ideal to have a space that creates a sense of unity between real and remote participants.
For this reason, it is also important to introduce appropriate facilities and devise locations for equipment placement and methods of operation.

As professionals in office design, ITOKI can propose meeting room layouts to suit a variety of issues and purposes. If you are having trouble running a hybrid meeting or are thinking about creating the perfect meeting room for your company, please feel free to contact us.

For those who would like to know more about creating conference rooms in the hybrid era, we are also currently releasing an archived video of the seminar we co-hosted with Lenovo Japan, LLC, "Make hybrid meetings surprisingly successful: How to create future conference rooms that break down the barriers to telework."
This seminar will cover the following topics in detail:

• The current state and challenges of hybrid meetings, and how meetings have changed since going online
• Key points for conference room layout to eliminate communication loss
• How to introduce a conference system to eliminate time loss and specific improvement measures

We hope this will be helpful for your office design!