Open Air Business June/July 2018

FUNCTION VENUES
Flexible
and Funky
A Q&A with Ema Townsend about the addition of
two unusual contemporary structures at the Heart
of England Conference and Events Centre, and how
they are appealing to event planners
What spaces do you offer for business
events?
We are nestled in 160 acres of Warwickshire
Countryside and are close to main transport
links. We have a wide variety of both indoor
and outdoor space including various
meeting rooms and conference spaces.
Indoors, our flagship Birchley Suite
offers space for up to 650 delegates with
dedicated high capacity free Wi-Fi. We have
the giant Lakeview Marquee, perfect for
catering or in combination with the centre
as exhibition space. We’re well known for
being an extremely versatile venue with
oodles of outdoor space including lake,
park and woodland areas which are perfect
for team building events, corporate fun
days, product launches, obstacle races and
festivals.
Our newest features are ‘The Domes’. We
have a wealth of marquees and outdoor
temporary structures and our domes
complement these perfectly.
‘The Dome’ is the smaller of the two
domes and is 9.5m in diameter and 5m tall,
and used predominantly for quirky break
out space, although it is also perfect for
the smaller conference, product launch or
event. We have had baby showers, meetings
and parties in there and have a coffee house
product launch booked this summer; the
acoustics are phenomenal.
The ‘Big Dome’ is a whopping 24m
inflatable with a ceiling height of 7m. It is
an impressive space recently used for a
Lamborghini launch with the cars on show
inside and space to spare for catering and
visitors. We have conferences booked
already this summer with it taking 484
delegates theatre style. Both domes are
versatile and flexible and can be used
either as stand-alone or adjoining, making
for a perfect temporary village. The ‘Big
Dome’ is booked for a festival themed fun
day and is going to be the central meeting
point of the event, used for registration and
catering, and will be filled with games and
entertainment.
What made you include domes and an
inflatable structure into the mix?
We try and move with the times and keep
a keen eye on shifting trends. Over recent
years we’ve seen an upturn in festival
themed bookings whether it be an actual
festival or a corporate event that wants to
be more relaxed, flexible and fun.
The domes offer that level of flexibility
while building on the wow factor offered
by Heart of England. They are perfect for
when the weather isn’t good too as they are
large enough to offer protection from the
elements and are spectacular centrepieces
for any event.
Which types of events are particularly
suited to these structures?
The domes are great for conferences,
meetings, product launches, and the
smaller one in particular is great as a break
out area. Beyond corporates, the smaller
one can be used for private dining and
parties while the larger one can be used for
big parties and weddings. The possibilities
are endless… our motto at Heart has
always been ‘dream big as everything is
possible!’
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