An eclectic space with a “human touch”. The Microsoft headquarters in Milan, designed by DEGW, is inspired by the company’s project “New World of Work”, a flexible and technologically innovative approach to the smart working.
Flexibility, teamwork, openness and innovation are the four keywords of the Microsoft culture on which the company wanted to base also his headquarters in Milan.
That’s why DEGW has design the 7.500 sqm of the milanese Microsoft’s headquarters to allow a fluid organisation, with open-space work areas where everybody is free to move though the space, with an informal, domestic and playful atmosphere.
The non-assigned workstations on the various operating floors differ from each other in terms of layout and aesthetics in accordance with function, some encouraging communication and interaction and others more private, with meeting rooms and relaxation areas in between and customized “social hubs” focusing around three chosen themes: sport, nature and the city.
A greater flexibility of the environment is made possible also by a cutting-edge technology solution as the Building Management System, capable to control the environment through sensors, apps, interactive screens and virtual assistants, allowing a dynamic interaction among people, space and information.
The entire project has also been inspired by the architecture of the building, projected by Herzog & De Meuron, in the Porta Nuova area, influenced by the concept of a Gothic-style Lombard cathedral.
“The Microsoft headquarters are a place where virtuality encounters and becomes reality”, Alessandro Adamo, DEGW director said. “It is not just a simple office, it is a dynamic, transparent and recognisable environment open to the city, a benchmark for the company and its clients and partners”.
Text by Gabriele Masi.
