How several years of milestones came together in one moment of reflection
SESSIBON and Laudy Bouw & Ontwikkeling have worked together for several years. We’ve organised their annual gathering for just as long. Each edition put a different milestone in the spotlight – a step the company took that year. This year called for something different: not a new chapter, but a look back at every chapter together. One big recap of the years behind Laudy.
To build that recap, we dug in again. Not from scratch, we know this company, but that’s exactly what let us look beyond the individual milestones. What we found: finding stability, creating predictability, growing responsibly. Put together, all those steps formed one whole. Without anyone framing it that way before, Laudy had played a complete first half.
We translated that idea into a name that captures the moment exactly: Whistle for the Second Half. You play a first half, you head to the locker room, you look back – and then the signal sounds that the second half begins. Not a break, then, but the turning point right before kick-off. That moment was the heart of the day.
From idea to experience
The experience started before guests even reached the door. Studio Radium sits on the grounds by the gasholder, and with so many guests arriving at once, we arranged parking right there – all the way up to the entrance. That’s not possible on every production, but the combination of a large group and a site visit Laudy already had planned nearby in Maastricht made it the perfect opportunity to make things as easy as possible for their guests.
From the car park, guests walked through an actual players’ tunnel into the studio. From that moment on, it was clear: this wasn’t a regular gathering, but a look back with a kick-off.
Inside, SESSIBON transformed Studio Radium into a locker room. Not a literal stadium, but the feeling of one: the place where a team comes together, looks back, makes decisions, and recharges for what’s next. The industrial space was the perfect fit. No rows of chairs, but a setting that made everyone part of the moment.
SESSIBON developed and trained Sam, a digital human, in-house. Sam was deployed during specific, pre-scripted segments of the programme. The quizzes were a different story: those were conceived, guided and organised by the SESSIBON team itself, from concept to execution. The styling and dressing of the venue were also handled by the team.
Alongside that, SESSIBON took on planning and show calling for the full programme. The schedule had to hold up against the school’s own wishes and the requirements of the Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst, in preparation for the visit of Queen Máxima. Every segment was timed to the minute and connected without a seam: the result of tight regie, not luck.
The Human 75
The clearest proof of that precision: a historic balcony photo from the school’s archive, recreated with 300 people on the same balcony, together forming the number 75. The scene was deliberately staged towards Queen Máxima, with as many people from the HMSM network as possible in frame: a logistical puzzle SESSIBON directed. Choreographed, briefed and captured by drone, from first instruction to final shot in four minutes.
The unveiling of an artwork, a separate moment in the anniversary programme, was also directed by SESSIBON.
In short
What started as a question about a digital human became full creative direction: concept, script, planning, show calling, styling, quizzes, an artwork unveiling and on-site coordination, for one two-day programme with more than 500 people, that had to work for a demanding audience, including a royal one.
Client
Hotel Management School Maastricht
Year
2025
