494 Interior Design Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. The hotel restaurant is also becoming a destination of its own. Cooking is an art and so should be the exhibi- tion space. Increasingly, hotel restaurants are becoming memorable spaces through design. Experiential, sense of place, local, and comfortable—from fi ne dining to casual dining—these continue to be the key words for design success. Some restaurants are even outside the building. Beachside food trucks ensure convenience and an additional revenue stream. Using themes is highly recommended in restaurant design to reach new peaks of creativity. Overall, the new generation of diners wants an experience when dining out. These diners want a place where casual comfort reigns, and where fi ne dining encompasses more than just white tablecloths and servers in tuxedos, Figure 14-11. The design of hotel meeting rooms is changing, too, blurring the line between the offi ce and personal social time. Multiple hotel chains are transforming sterile meeting rooms into more comfortable lounges to encour- age conversation, mingling, and the fl ow of ideas. The design of such areas includes conversational seating areas and a food service area. In addition, the designer may include shelves of books and decorative objects of interest. The total effect is more residential and relaxed. Convention Centers Convention centers are often attached to hotels in major metropolitan or resort areas. Due to the size and scope of many conventions and the resulting revenue generation, communities desire to attract as many visitors as possible. Flexibility and comfort is essential to convention center design. These centers must be fl exible enough to accommodate various group sizes, whether larger crowds or smaller gathering. They also must accommodate various size meetings. Therefore, meeting rooms often use retractable walls, allowing ease of reconfi guration between conference events. In the recent past, conferences were a means for communicating important information diffi cult to acquire in other ways. Because attendees can get most of a meeting’s content via website, simulcast, or online videos, the on-site face-to-face networking can become the most important element of the meeting. To encour- age conversations, the design offers small alcoves in larger spaces to provide areas for small groups of conference attendees to have private conversations. The design of mini-meeting spots and pod-seating areas fosters collaboration and a deeper connection in the community. The aim of convention center design is to offer a warm, stylish, and welcoming social experi- ence for guests along with effi cient space to learn and collaborate. The main lobby of a convention center establishes branding of the place and offers signage for wayfi nd- ing, Figure 14-12. Permanent facilities in the conven- tion center may include food courts, cafés, restrooms, and registration locations. Guests, staff, and mainte- nance workers require separate circulation paths. As with other commercial facility designs, the designer is responsible for specifying furniture, carpeting, draper- ies, tables, and chairs. Convention centers offer many activities on-site or access to the activities and attractions in the community. On-site activities may include access to Photographs: Kenneth M Wyner/Designed by ForrestPerkins Figure 14-11 The unique design of hotel restaurants makes these spaces memorable in the minds of guests.