Can the networking follies at conferences really influence the way we meet people?

My first conference-like experience was in 2003 when I attended Milan's infamous fair, Salone Internazionale del Mobile. It was an incredible experience, especially since I was a student at the time, and everything just seemed beautifully intentional. . .from the networking follies, to the global representation of designers, to the gorgeous people in attendance, it was all unforgettable eye candy. You know it's a successful event when I'm is still talking about it 9 years later, right? A shot from my archives below.

Image below, Salone Internazionale del Mobile, 2003.

Earlier this week, the shot below was released as a teaser really, for the upcoming C2-MTL (Commerce + Creativity) conference which promises to reinvent the business conference experience.  Gorgeous right? Well, it made me think of two things.  One, the fact that networking is still a more successful activity when done face to face no matter what you facebook-addicts (linkedin-users) say. Two, what about those networking spaces? In recent years, some conferences/design shows/conventions etc...have been going out their way to design creative environments in a monumental scale. And so I'm curious,  can the networking follies at these conferences really influence the way we meet people?  I found a couple of recent examples to illustrate my wonder...see below.

Images below borrowed from the C2-MTL site.

Images below, courtesy of Fredrik Färg, of his installation / bar and furniture pieces for this year's furniture fair in Stockholm. 

Networking next to that giant yellow dinosaur was probably fun.

Images below of Novo Nordisk's new corporate conference center, Favrholm, designed by SeARCH architects, located in a historic farm 25 miles north of Copenhagen.  You can read a detailed article about it in this month's Architectural Record, click here.  Even the floor plan is alluring. Those Danes, what would we do without them? -  they foster innovation and restoration with great pride.  Can you believe this is a healthcare research facility (dash) conference center?

Images below borrowed from the Architectural Record site.

Topic No.1: Innovative Conferences, Cosmo THIS!