Situation room The situation room was a small section located on A - Deck of some starship s in the 22nd century . ( ) On those craft that included a situation room , it was situated at the rear of the bridge . The room was designed for officer s to discuss mission details . As such , it was a precursor to the briefing room aboard Federation vessels , where senior officer s could hold discussions on subjects such as the progress of a mission . ( , " et al . " ) When it was not used for briefings , the situation room was often manned by several crew members . ( ) Layout . The situation room was marked by several computer displays and stations ( including the environmental control s ) , with the monitors projecting status display s , and a small table . A table graphic was displayed on the table , and a plasma screen was used as a back wall monitor in the room . ( , " et al . " ) The monitors in the situation room could be turned off remotely , from the science station . ( ) The situation room was additionally accessible through a door located on the port bulkhead , through which there was an entryway equipped with an intercom . ( ) This area was easily accessible from the command center . ( ) Forward of the door on the port bulkhead was the ship ' s environment station , with a hand hold on either side . ( ) Variations . In the mirror universe , the NX - class did not have a situation room , but a wall and a bank of computer monitors in its place . ( ) NX - class starships that did have a situation room include , , and , in the mirror universe , the . ( ) While Captain Archer visited " Columbia " in 2154 , a worker wearing a faceplate was welding the central support column of the situation room ' s table onto the deck , and the bulkheads were hidden behind plastic drapes . ( ) In 2155 of the mirror universe , the situation room of the aforementioned ISS " Enterprise " was almost identical to the equivalent rooms of the prime reality , although the port - side door was emblazoned with the emblem of the Terran Empire . ( ) History of a situation room . In October 2151 , the situation room on " Enterprise " was visited by Vulcan Captain Sopek . As such , the room was used for a meeting between him , Commander Tucker , and Lieutenant Reed . ( ) While " Enterprise " was in battle against three Mazarite ship s in February 2152 , a panel in the ship ' s situation room suddenly sparked . ( ) In 2152 , the table in the situation room was used by Commander Tucker to detach a section of " Enterprise " s outer hull . ( ) The situation room aboard " Enterprise " was visited , later that year , by an Enolian official who spoke with T ' Pol and Reed there . ( ) En route from " Enterprise " s command center in 2153 , Archer , T ' Pol , and Tucker traversed the situation room to access the bridge , rather than using the turbolift on the bridge . ( ) Archer and T ' Pol again used the situation room to journey from the command center to the bridge later that year . ( ) Later the same year , a spatial anomaly passed through the situation room , suddenly creating some sparking overhead and causing a crewman who was in the room to stumble . ( ) Another spatial anomaly passed through the situation room in December of 2153 . The room was unoccupied at that time , though the anomaly caused sparks to fly from the room ' s wall - mounted equipment . ( ) During a mutiny in January 2154 , the situation room was used by Reed and another Starfleet security officer to storm onto the bridge , which was currently occupied by MACO soldier s ; Reed and his crewmate rushed into the situation room through its doorway . ( ) The situation room was one of numerous areas aboard " Enterprise " which was damaged in the Battle of Azati Prime . Shortly following that confrontation , the room was used for a staff meeting during which a surge in the EPS grid on A - Deck caused an explosion in the ceiling , showering sparks and debris down on the room ' s table and the area ' s occupants , who – thanks to an intercom warning from engineering about the surge – managed to quickly take cover by ducking . ( ) Background information . In the script for , the situation room was said to be included as part of the NX - class bridge , within sight of the bridge stations . It was also described as " a tactical center off the Main Bridge , filled with various read - outs and a large table graphic . " The design for the situation room obviously took cues from the aft section of the from , also designed by Herman Zimmerman . He , however , likened it to such comfortable retiring rooms located off the bridge as the observation lounge on the from . " " By putting it in the bridge itself it gives you the opportunity to have quiet officer meetings close to the center of command , " " Zimmerman stated . " " And it also gives extreme depth to the look of the set : you can shoot both from the viewscreen through the bridge to the Situation Room , and from the back of the Situation Room all the way to the viewscreen . " " ( ) The set of the situation room was built on Paramount Stage 18 . Table . The situation room ' s plotting table was designed by illustrator John Eaves , who described it as " a really cool piece " and " really a great project to work on . " Recounting the table ' s genesis , Eaves exclaimed , " " Herman just said : make us a nifty table to have meetings at ! ! ! " " Though this item of furniture is slightly similar to another table – used in engineering of TNG ' s " Enterprise " - D , an item often nicknamed the " pool table " – Eaves took no inspiration from that table in coming up with the design of the NX - class plotting table . John Eaves initially sketched two variations of the table , a pair of drawings that described the item of furniture as a " conference table " . Whereas the first of these illustrations had a raised plotting surface , this area was flat and recessed in the second picture . Once the first suggestion was approved , Eaves produced a final drawing that took cues from this image while also adding more detail . The table underwent more alterations between this couple of similar illustrations and the final product . Explained Eaves , " " The early ideas were of the same layout [ as the final table ] except the rounded table top had plotting rules and sliding scales that would be able to move and plot across the entire surface . The curved surface would be made of milk plex and the images would be projected from underneath so it would act like a big hands - on cartographer ’ s mapping system . This was axed to be instead a clear covering with a flat screen system under glass , and the sliding scales were thought of as too out of date . " " Eaves also clarified that the evolution away from the idea of the table incorporating a projection setup was due to the amount of flat screens used elsewhere aboard the NX - class . The plotting table was built by Construction Coordinator Thomas J . Arp ' s set construction team and was detailed by Michael Okuda and Anthony Fredrickson . The size of the table was dictated by how big its screen was , so it turned out smaller than originally conceived . The table also featured swing - out chairs built into its structure , though those never appeared in the series . Ultimately being of the opinion that the table " has a definite sub feel , " John Eaves found the building of the table to have been " beautifully " achieved and thought the process of Okuda and Frederickson adding their finishing touches was " stylishly " done . Eaves was disappointed , though , that he couldn ' t take the actual table home with him as a keepsake , after the making of ended . Rear screen . The situation room ' s rear screen was designed by Michael Okuda and James Van Over . Eaves described their collaboration on this screen as " awesome work " . Footage of Van Over designing a computer readout to be displayed on the screen can be seen in the documentary " On the Set " , available in the ENT Season 1 DVD and Blu - ray . Other areas . In the scripts for " Star Trek : Enterprise " , various other areas were termed " situation room " s . One example was in the script for , which not only featured the Starfleet situation room aboard " Enterprise " but also a room in the White House bearing the same name ( in the script of , the same part of that building was referred to as " situation room " and " conference room " ) . Another instance was in the script of , which included a scene description commenting , " " Sickbay has been turned into a temporary Situation Room . " " A Kazon situation room was featured in .