The future of meeting rooms
Client
Microsoft
Location
Global
Role
Led concept development, designed and tested meeting room configurations, and shaped the global design standards and digital rollout for future-ready meeting spaces.
Project Overview
Scope
Strategy, prototyping, and testing of next-gen meeting spaces with inclusive, flexible, and tech-enabled features
Reflections
Designing meeting spaces isn’t just about layout or tech integration it’s about shaping the entire experience. By viewing meetings as a continuous journey rather than isolated events, I learned how critical it is to design for inclusion, ease, and adaptability. The most effective spaces are those that remove friction, invite participation, and support people no matter where they are.
Brief Introduction : Reimagining the Future of Meetings: Designing for Connection in a Hybrid World
In the wake of the pandemic, as hybrid work became the new norm, Microsoft partnered with Gensler to rethink the purpose and performance of meeting rooms. so employees could regain the energy of face-to-face collaboration while still embracing hybrid flexibility and safety. Over a 12-month sprint we built and tested six full-scale room prototypes each outfitted with touch-free entry, occupancy sensors, curved collaboration tables, cloud-synced displays, and ambient cueing (lights, timers, agenda boards) that gently guided behavior. The goal: turn every meeting into a fluid, inclusive experience where on-site and remote participants join with equal ease, see one another clearly, and pick up seamless visual cues that keep discussions on track. The results informed a provisional global guideline for retrofitting existing meeting rooms across Microsoft campuses ensuring meeting equity, clarity, and continuity in a hybrid-first workplace.
Design Process
Reframing Meetings for a Post-COVID World
Recognizing the shift to hybrid work, we redefined meeting rooms to support both in-person and remote collaboration with equal clarity and ease. Our approach was grounded in restoring face-to-face interaction cues like presence, gesture, and spatial awareness while improving remote inclusion through digital augmentation.
Experience Mapping Across the Meeting Lifecycle
We broke the meeting experience into seven key stages Plan, Prepare, Get-to, Arrive & Setup, Inclusion, Stay on Track, and Extend designing spatial and digital interventions for each. This included tools like smart agendas, meeting role prompts, real-time location and wayfinding, and ambient cues for time management.
Simulated Use-Case Testing
Prototyping & Room Configuration Testing
We designed and tested six physical room configurations across both short- and long-wall layouts using different setups such as curved tables, dual QLED displays, Surface Hubs, and portable whiteboards. These prototypes were evaluated for accessibility, sightlines, tech usability, and participant equity.
Post-Testing Synthesis & Global Rollout
Co-led the analysis of feedback gathered from multiple test sessions both in-person and remote focusing on what worked, what didn’t, and where technology was creating unnecessary complexity. These insights shaped the development of a global design standard and a practical digital toolkit, which was then rolled out as a provisional guide to help retrofit existing meeting rooms across Microsoft campuses for a more seamless and inclusive hybrid experience.
Each room was evaluated across three core meeting modes:
Informative (structured updates and briefings)
Evaluative (design critique and feedback sessions)
Generative (brainstorming and co-creation)
We developed and used detailed task lists and digital tools (e.g., scorecards, Miro boards, SharePoint check-ins) to simulate common meeting behaviors and gather user insights.
Designing for Remote Equity
A key focus was on supporting remote participants as full collaborators. We tested features like modular “remote canvas” displays, real-time spatial info sharing, mobile check-ins, and live meeting sync across spaces ensuring that even when moving from room to room, content and context followed seamlessly.