The Scottish Event Campus (SEC) embraces Scandi style as it launches new events area
With its muted grey tones, slouching chairs and oak-style wood panelling the new meetings space at the SEC has a claim to be a good exemplar of the on-trend word for 2018 – còsagach. An ancient Scots word meaning ‘snug, sheltered or cosy’, the term is tailor-made for the Glasgow venue’s newly-launched SEC Meeting Academy, which has put cosinesss and comfort – similar to the Danish concept of ‘Hygge’ – at the heart of its fresh and appealing design.
I’m visiting the new facility before it is officially unveiled in February and my first thought is how well the SEC Centre has managed to update yet another of its spaces to appeal to event planners. I’m reminded of how well executed the design for the stylish Clydebuilt Bar & Kitchen, at the front entrance, was pulled off; this is another string to the SEC’s bow. The academy has a contemporary look and light touch – carried off with panache by local design firm Dimension – that is certain to go down very well with a meetings industry that is continuously evolving and looking for new features and ideas.
It is in that spirit that outside the central 300-400 theatre-style capacity room – which is a revamp of the centre’s former restaurant and bar area – that there is a long counter with plug-in points for laptops and phones that would not look out of place in an Apple store. The £500,000 investment has largely come about as a result of the success of the SEC’s sales team – which went to market last year with its ‘We do wee too’ campaign, designed to appeal to to local events organisers.
This space is ideal for those self-contained small to medium-sized meetings, which are a good regular source of income for the venue; the area can also be integrated with the wider SEC conference facilities providing a larger space for VIP meetings, or even civic receptions. “We’re really excited that we’ve got this brand-new space at the SEC to appeal to the corporate market. We feel that we’ve got something a little bit different to what’s already out there and we have inclusive AV and wi-fi as well as great catering which means we can offer a unique product to the local market and beyond,” says Glenda Carlyle, Senior Sales Manager.
“It’s also nice, bright and modern and I think people will feel very comfortable up here. We have 19 meeting rooms and this will take us up to 20; we have a lot of big conferences that are growing and need extra meeting rooms so it makes sense to offer this to our international clients and also to the local market as something a bit different.”
There are breakout rooms and networking spaces overlooking the concourse and alongside the larger theatre space, the four smaller meeting rooms formerly known as the Seminar Suite are being upgraded in line with the new facility and form part of the SEC Meeting Academy. The new space acts as both a stand-alone conference offering, and as an additional provision for larger congresses. The area has its own contemporary colour palette and a fresh new identity, that sits alongside the growing suite of Scottish Event Campus brands. Bookings were being taken for the SEC Meeting Academy even before completion, highlighting the demand for such a product within the campus. Director of Conference Sales, Kathleen Warden, said: “The SEC Meeting Academy is a fantastic addition to our campus. The flexibility of the space means that we can accommodate more small to mid-sized meetings whilst offering larger events more space and more diversity in the product.
“The space is tailored to the needs of organisers and delegates, whether it be for training or a smaller local corporate meeting for 200 – 300, or for a large conference of 2000 – 3000. The new space has integrated informal workstations and charging points, and the latest conferencing technology for interactive sessions. The reaction from our clients has been terrific – it’s a great enhancement inside the campus, and complements the evolution we have going on outside the campus; from the new hotels to a whisky distillery.”
Còsagach was a term identified by VisitScotland’s Insight Department in a Trends paper published in December, which was designed to stimulate thought among Scottish tourism businesses.
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