“Cube with Quirky Message”

Not so long ago, I paid a visit to a lamp manufacturer’s site. Not simple light bulbs or the run-of-the-mill ceiling tubers you can find in any home, no: the spectacular design stuff that makes your mouth water.

From the outside, the building presented itself as a quirky, black cube with some unpredictable lighter lines. It wasn’t entirely clear where the entrance was and I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Once inside: Gosh!! Behind each corner there was some unexpected room or space where part of the lamp collection could be shown. In one of these spaces the ceiling reached directly to the roof, three floors up. It contained a huge metal frame that held a five-metres-wide roll of paper. Rolling it down, it could alternatively function as a projection screen and a mammoth flipchart. And at the same time, as well!

The core of the cube was a neat roof terrace garden, directly connected to a gourmet kitchen. Every day, a serious chef prepared Italian food for both staff and visitors.

A fly-over led us over and across the production department (with daylight throughout). Over at the other side, people were working out on cycling machines that generated power for the building. There was no end to the imaginative surprises.

The purpose of the meeting was for a group of potential clients to discover the lamp collection. “Come and discover me!” said the building. And that is what the participants in this remarkable meeting did. With wide-open mouths and wide-open minds.

Rarely have I witnessed a better harmony between a building’s Venue Message and the objective of a meeting!