Look out Apple, frenemy Microsoft is building its own Silicon Valley 'Campus of the Future'
Microsoft is about to overhaul its campus...in Silicon Valley.
The Redmond, Washington, tech company can be forgiven if, as Apple collects accolades for its stunning Steve Jobs Theater and Space Ship Campus in Cupertino and Amazon shops for space for its next cutting-edge headquarters, it seems a little like it's waving from the side of the room saying, "Hey! Over here! We can build a Campus of the Future, too."
Microsoft's announced its plan to modernize its 32-acre Mountain View, California, location in a blog post on Tuesday. And, yes, the updated campus is just an 11 minute drive from Apple's fresh new digs.
The company is not a Silicon Valley newbie. It's had offices in the area since 1981. The upgrade is also part of Microsoft's wider effort at workplace modernization. Last week, Microsoft announced it was upgrading its Redmond, Washington Campus.
Like Apple, Microsoft's two-year project is focused on an eco-positive campus, what Microsoft is promising will be their "smartest, greenest office yet."
The 634,000-square-foot upgrade will focus on making the campus a more environmentally conscious space, especially as it pertains to resources like energy and water. It will use solar energy and recycle undrinkable water over and over again by harvesting rainwater and integrated its own waste-treatment plant.
There will be a living, plant-covered roof -- a popular feature in many Silicon Valley and California-based tech campuses -- and "sustainability-sourced" building materials like Cross Laminated Lumbar. The accompanying video, which features 3D renderings of some of Microsoft's new Silicon Valley Campus spaces looks eerily similar to some of the glass and wood-covered spaces at the new Apple Campus.
Microsoft is also focusing on how the planned 2,000 employees can work and interact around the campus. They will bask in the natural light from all the glass walls (tech companies love their giant walls of glass) and gather in "modern work spaces" (I wonder if they will use a lot of Steelcase furniture) and at a new conference space and, yes, even a new theater and Technology Center where Microsoft plans to demonstrate -- and maybe unveil -- new technology.
The entire project should take roughly two years, with a planned Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus reopening set for 2019.
Topics Microsoft
Lance Ulanoff was Chief Correspondent and Editor-at-Large of Mashable. Lance acted as a senior member of the editing team, with a focus on defining internal and curated opinion content. He also helped develop staff-wide alternative story-telling skills and implementation of social media tools during live events. Prior to joining Mashable in September 2011 Lance Ulanoff served as Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for the Ziff Davis, Inc. While there, he guided the brand to a 100% digital existence and oversaw content strategy for all of Ziff Davis’ Web sites. His long-running column on PCMag.com earned him a Bronze award from the ASBPE. Winmag.com, HomePC.com and PCMag.com were all been honored under Lance’s guidance.He makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Fox News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, Kelly and Michael, CNBC, CNN and the BBC.He has also offered commentary on National Public Radio and been interviewed by newspapers and radio stations around the country. Lance has been an invited guest speaker at numerous technology conferences including SXSW, Think Mobile, CEA Line Shows, Digital Life, RoboBusiness, RoboNexus, Business Foresight and Digital Media Wire’s Games and Mobile Forum.