New York-based KPMG LLP hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and press conference Jan. 14 for the grand opening of the consultancy’s new $450 million training and development facility, KPMG Lakehouse.

Located near Orlando International Airport, the sprawling 55-acre site features 800 single-occupancy guest rooms, 90 learning and innovation spaces, a 1,000-seat town hall space and more recreational amenities.

“We think [Lakehouse] is going to have phenomenal returns for us, whether you’re talking about our clients and client service, or you’re talking about us as a firm and our own culture,” said KPMG Chief Learning Officer Corey Muñoz in an interview.

In his role as CLO, Muñoz supervised the design of the facility’s learning model. They decided to move away from the traditional classroom-instructor model to what he calls a facilitation model, “which is really having the facilitator act more as a guide … moving our participants along a learning journey.”

A huge component of this, Muñoz added, is in the learning that happens after the individual leaves the classroom. Outside of its classrooms, Lakehouse was designed with numerous onsite locations for learners to network, connect or collaborate, or to reflect on their newfound knowledge and how to apply it back home. The facility is also large enough to host multiple learning groups at once, allowing attendees to connect with more than just the other individuals in their own team.

During its first year, KPMG plans to host roughly 800 employees per week, totaling more than 1 million hours of in-person professional development, according to a press release.

When it comes to designing a facility like Lakehouse, Muñoz said it’s important to collaborate with those outside of learning to build the learning environment.

“I think we all know this as CLOs, but having the opportunity to really orchestrate and design that environment really gets you to think about the end-to-end experience,” he said. He knew that everything down to the colors selected for Lakehouse’s classrooms would have an impact.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for Lakehouse was attended by city and county officials, KPMG leaders, employees and interns, as well as some of the firm’s external partners who helped in construction and design of the facility.

Photos courtesy of KPMG.

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