CLIENT: A leading healthcare organisation in the diabetes sector 
LOCATION: Lokomotivværkstedet, Copenhagen
The
Challenge
Our client, a leading healthcare organisation dedicated to advancing diabetes care, set out to host a landmark international forum that would unite healthcare professionals, government representatives, urban planners and architects from across the globe.
The goal was to explore how cities could become healthier environments for people living with diabetes, and to create new frameworks for collaboration between industry, healthcare and public policy.
This forum needed to go beyond a traditional medical conference. It had to feel innovative and inclusive, encouraging open dialogue and collective thinking. The event also needed to symbolise progress - a space that would reflect global participation and embody the client’s values of collaboration, innovation and shared purpose in improving urban health. 
The
Approach
After an extensive venue search, our team identified Lokomotivværkstedet, a 19th-century steam locomotive manufacturing plant in Copenhagen, as the ideal setting. The space offered over 10,000 square metres of industrial character and history, representing ingenuity and transformation - the perfect metaphor for the forum’s theme of progress through partnership.
Working from a completely blank canvas, we reimagined the building as a vibrant urban landscape designed to stimulate connection and creativity. A central avenue linked plenary and workshop areas, surrounded by “green spaces” with grass, trees and benches where delegates could gather
informally. Soundscapes of distant city traffic, birds singing and children playing added a sensory layer, transforming the space into a living city environment that encouraged human interaction.
Our design approach placed equal emphasis on form and function. Every space was built to facilitate learning, collaboration and cross-disciplinary discussion. Workshops and roundtables were central to the layout, enabling every delegate to play an active role in shaping ideas.
Activate managed every element of the project over 12 months, collaborating closely with local partners to deliver technical production, AV infrastructure, logistics, catering and accommodation for 400 international delegates. Every detail, from staging to signage, was designed to reinforce the sense of global connection and purpose.
The
Outcome
The Global Diabetes Forum became a benchmark event for international collaboration in diabetes care and urban health. Delegates left with new insights, new partnerships and shared strategies to address the challenges of diabetes in major cities around the world.
By bringing together professionals from across disciplines - from government policymakers to urban designers - the forum created an environment where innovation could emerge through conversation and collaboration. The event design itself became part of the learning experience, proving that creativity can actively support the exchange of ideas and accelerate progress.
Senior leaders described it as one of the most successful and impactful events their organisation had ever delivered.
“This was a truly outstanding project. Senior management have commented that this is one of the best events we’ve ever done. We’ve never worked with an agency that was so on the ball.”
Senior Representative, Global Healthcare Client
This project demonstrated how purposeful design can foster meaningful collaboration and innovation in the pursuit of medical advancement.
By transforming an industrial space into a dynamic environment for connection, the forum reflected the spirit of shared purpose that drives progress in global health. For Activate, it highlighted that creativity is most powerful when it helps people work together - and that the best event design does not simply decorate a story, it allows one to unfold.
