Microsoft remodels building for incubator home (photos)
The software giant, sometimes criticized for a lack of innovation, refurbished one of the older buildings on its Redmond campus to accommodate its incubation project, the Microsoft Garage.
Jay Greene
Jay Greene, a CNET senior writer, works from Seattle and focuses on investigations and analysis. He's a former Seattle bureau chief for BusinessWeek and author of the book "Design Is How It Works: How the Smartest Companies Turn Products into Icons" (Penguin/Portfolio).
The reception area of the Microsoft Garage, the newly remodeled building 4 on Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., campus, features plenty of glass and natural light. The Garage is the company's effort to incubate grassroots innovation, supporting after-hours projects by Microsoft employees.
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Microsoft Garage lobby
The lobby in the newly remodeled building 4, the home of Microsoft Garage, has a large skylight to let in the sun, which occasionally makes an appearance in the Pacific Northwest. The building, one of the oldest on the company's Redmond, Wash., campus, used to be a dim warren of one-person offices.
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Along a stairway in the Microsoft Garage, the company has included a "living wall," a ficus vine. In addition to bringing a bit of nature inside, the ficus also offers air filtering benefits.
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Microsoft Garage pods
The new Microsoft Garage building includes temporary workspace, or pods, for two, three, or five employees to set up shop to collaborate on a project. Employees will cycle through the offices (in the background of this photo) when their project is completed.
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Microsoft Garage meeting space
The eponymous room in the Microsoft Garage building is a conference room and lounge area that can be opened up by raising two garage doors.
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Microsoft Garage cafeteria
Unlike other cafeteria's on Microsoft's campus, the dining spot in the Microsoft Garage is set up specifically to encourage random meetings. Employees can sit at picnic bench tables, and they can take in presentations as well.
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Microsoft Garage bike workshop
Microsoft has included a bike workshop in the Microsoft Garage building, a place where employees can store and fix their bicycles. There are also a few bikes for anyone on the team to grab to get around campus.
