War rooms, breakout rooms, pods, cafés—what do they all have in common? They are must-haves spaces for creative professionals to come up with new ideas. Without these areas, collaboration and brainstorming would be a bust. Here’s why your in-house agency needs designated space for idea generation.

Talking logically around a conference table doesn’t encourage out-of-the-box thinking. And until recently, we brainstormed this way. Now we are out of our chairs with Sharpies in our hands, vigorously writing on sticky notes or sketching on whiteboards. Brainstorming is about actively capturing as many ideas as possible, with multiple people contributing.

Because the short-term mind is sometimes lacking when ideas really start to flow, if what you’re thinking isn’t captured quickly, it can be lost forever. Space that allows for a dynamic exchange—where people can work together to generate lots of ideas that they can go back to later—is indispensable to most creative teams.

Don’t have room for a war room of your own? Jake Knapp, design partner with Google Ventures says, “You can still make a war room by hacking the space around your desk. Use rolling whiteboards as partitions.” Small changes can have a big impact. And there’s always the traditional conference room. We have lots of those and we bring large flip charts with us so our ideas are portable, never losing momentum when we reconvene.

For inspiration on configuring a war room for your in-house team, check out this one-minute videofrom Google Ventures. It may inspire you to do something new with the space you already have.