Labs
The old world is dying, the new world is yet to be born; must now be the time of monsters?
No. Now is the time for brave minds.
ATLA Labs - An immersive lab where bold ideas become shared futures.
ATLA Labs offers an intensive workshop that helps communities create immersive simulations of the future they want.
By “community,” we mean any group with a shared stake: a neighbourhood, project, team, or organisation.
This is for you if you are:
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An NGO, foundation, municipality, or purpose-driven company.
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A team leader, programme director, or project coordinator.
Do you want to rekindle hope and imagination in a place or team that’s lost momentum?
Do you need to bring big ideas to life for your community, project, or organisation?
Do you need to align and energise your team or stakeholders?
ATLA Labs challenges the mindset that the future happens to us. It sparks movements that reshape the trajectory of communities and becomes a birthplace of hope, grounded in tangible steps towards a new way of living.
In a world facing climate crisis, systemic inequality, and deep uncertainty, ATLA Labs offers not escape, but encounter. It brings people together to prototype active, plural futures rooted in local knowledge and shared purpose.
How it Works
Visioning & Discovery
Participants begin by sharing bold visions of the future, moving beyond the limits of “what’s always been done.” Themes emerge, teams form, and imagination expands into possibilities that feel both daring and worth building.
Coaching & Reflection
Expert facilitators and mentors guide teams to uncover blind spots, question assumptions, and strengthen trust. This stage creates emotional alignment, ensuring people connect not only to the project but to each other.
Prototyping & Sharing
Ideas are translated into tangible objects found in the future. Participants simulate these through models, film, illustration, VR simulations, and more to make the future visible. These prototypes become powerful tools for sparking dialogue, influencing strategy, and inspiring aligned action.
By the end, futures are not just imagined, they’re built, shared, and ready to influence today’s decisions.
Contact us to see a detailed workshop agenda.
Why ATLA?
The ATLA team combines expertise in community development, leadership, strategy, sustainability, storytelling, and facilitation. Together, we bring the skills needed to design, deliver, and scale ATLA Labs.
ATLA offers two clear skillsets:
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Event management expertise - guiding everything from planning to delivery.
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Facilitation expertise - leading participants through a tested, transformative process.
Meet Our Team
Pierre Heistein
Pierre is the creator and strategic lead of ATLA Labs. A consultant and facilitator with over 15 years’ experience, he has worked with global companies including Accenture, EY, GE, Sony, and Deloitte on research and strategy engagements, while founding local initiatives that advance sustainability, gender equity, and education. He is the author of Talking to Iran and producer of the documentary Atuel. His experience bridges global consulting and community-led innovation, combining business acumen and systems thinking to grow ATLA into a scalable model for collective transformation.
Eveline van den Heuvel
Eveline is a neuroscience-trained specialist in human transformation who brings deep expertise in how people adapt, evolve, and expand their sense of what’s possible. A pioneer in e-mental health and co-designer of the world’s first Mind Spa for Rituals, she blends scientific insight with intuitive practice to help individuals and teams embrace change at the deepest level. At ATLA Labs, Eveline supports the emotional architecture of the programme, ensuring participants are not only intellectually stimulated but also psychologically grounded as they navigate ambiguity, imagination, and future thinking. Her work helps create the conditions for genuine transformation, from within.
Sue Stockdale
Sue is a polar explorer, leadership expert, and executive coach who specialises in helping people thrive in unfamiliar terrain, whether geographic or organisational. As the first UK woman to reach the Magnetic North Pole, she embodies the spirit of courageous inquiry and practical resilience that underpins ATLA Labs. With over 20 years of experience advising senior leaders in FTSE 250 and Fortune 500 companies, Sue brings world-class insight into how individuals and teams navigate ambiguity, build trust, and lead transformational change. She supports the mentor training model, ensuring participants are not only creatively inspired but also psychologically supported as they step into the challenge of imagining and shaping their futures.
Ellie House
Ellie's practice centres on community stories, place and futures, using emerging technology to make change tangible. She blends strategy with hands-on delivery. PRINCE2-trained with a regeneration background, she turns complex, multi-partner ideas into clear plans and accountable delivery. She provides calm and ethical leadership, and creates purposeful, supportive environments for collaborators.
Ben Cook
Ben is a filmmaker and creative educator working across Europe, Southern Africa and South America. He specialises in turning research and community knowledge into documentary films that move audiences and inform action. Topics include mental health, social housing, food security, urban nature, drone warfare and refugee experience. Skilled from project development through to filming and post-production, he collaborates with partners to translate complex issues into accessible stories that build public support and measurable impact. Alongside film and multimedia collaborations, he designs teaching programmes that connect evidence, lived experience and tools for change.
Why it Matters
From climate resilience to corporate change, this model helps you tackle complex challenges.
ATLA Labs doesn’t just generate ideas; it builds agency.
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For participants: it sparks confidence, skills, and the sense that they can shape change.
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For communities and organisations: it aligns people around bold visions and practical steps.
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At scale: it creates a global wave of events that seed hope, collaboration, and innovation.
Pricing
ATLA Labs offers three formats to fit different needs, budgets, and levels of ambition. Each format delivers the same core workshop framework, guiding participants to imagine and prototype compelling futures, but differs in depth and level of customisation.
Format: 6–8 hours, delivered online in one day or split over multiple sessions
Team: One certified facilitator
Best for: Small teams, early exploration, or distributed groups
Format: 6–8 hours, hosted at the client’s venue
Team: Two or more facilitators, bringing cross-disciplinary expertise
Best for: Organisations or communities ready to align partners and generate tangible prototypes
Format: Two-day, custom-designed workshop
Team: Senior ATLA team with creative, strategic, and technical partners
Best for: Organisations or cities seeking to create long-term strategies or community visions
