How do you explain to a person from the 19th century what the future will be like? The challenge surrounding this project is similar to this question since it was not easy to find the way in which the needs of a state-of-the-art software and hardware company like Microsoft would be combined with a physical space dedicated to experimenting with that technology in a friendly environment for it.
Design
One of the key elements at Microsoft is the people who are employed to innovate and incorporate new ideas that can prospect trends and test their viability. For this process, the center was conceived under the premise of being a laboratory, but contrary to the classical conceptions we have of them, full of tubes, cables, and dangerous spaces. This, on the contrary, is a very fun laboratory that is provided with lighting and natural ventilation.
“Microsoft’s Envisioning Center is a lab, and like labs everywhere, it makes use of forms and structures unique to its purpose,” said O + A. It is a laboratory of new ideas where different structures emerge, each one with a different character, but that together creates an environment where human interaction and collective learning flourish; a multidimensional hexagon, steps at different levels, and a red totem that stands out not only for its color but also for its concavity where a person can be accommodated while they work.
The central element of this center is the large geodesic, designed for advanced video conferences, where a multidimensional interaction prevails between the participants, either in person or virtual. For this purpose, the use of color integrated in the lighting is of vital importance since it uses the color code to indicate its availability. The enveloping effect that this structure has combined with the use of technology is a great example of the synergy that can be achieved through the design of physical spaces supported by state-of-the-art technology.
Materials and Construction
The materiality of this project has very subtle characteristics, the base made up of a concrete floor which prevails throughout the space, in addition to most of the walls and ceilings in solid color, functioning as a kind of blank canvas that allows the protagonism of the textile and wood elements.
Although the space has natural lighting and ventilation, artificial lighting solutions have also been used through specific elements in the ceiling that elegantly illuminate specific elements almost imperceptibly.
The textiles used in the furniture and some built elements give color to the elements with more neutral characteristics, creating a fresh and lively atmosphere where collaboration prevails thanks to the cushions used in the stadium stands, as well as in other furniture elements.
The wooden elements are of great relevance in this project, almost managing to be the second most predominant material in the project, which makeup elements such as the geodesic, the stadium bleachers, and furniture used as bookcases. The flexibility in the morphology of this wooden furniture allows achieving different configurations that respond to the speed at which the world and the technology industry advance and the plasticity they require to be able to adapt to it. This same flexibility is reflected in the geodesic that can be opened for greater capacity.
“These modular components may be reconfigured to meet the challenge of each new day, zeroing in, as necessary, on interactive walls, interactive desktops, or the physical requirements of specific events” – said the awarded design firm.
The User Experience / User Profile
The description adopted by both the client and the designer is an “Activity Landscape”, and the vivacity is reflected in this space, thanks to its fluid and adaptable space supported by multifunctional furniture, that is clearly designed and strategically located so that users can develop their ideas in different facets in a state of entropy focused on passion for research and the inherent experimentations of a laboratory.
The physical expression of this space is a clear reflection of what is sought, a collaborative and multidisciplinary space where you can work individually for cognitive processes that require high concentration, but also in collective spaces such as the Meeting Hexagon which combines the benefits of physical space with technological advances.
The Microsoft Envisioning Center is a sample of what design can achieve when it is based on clear and modern ideas, focused on understanding current needs (leaving speculation aside) to be able to think of solutions that will be present on a day-to-day basis of the offices and homes of the future, and that come from young minds who are willing to push the ways in which we exchange ideas to the limit thanks to the fact that they are provided with a multifaceted space whose light, physical and architectural technological characteristics create a laboratory where vitality and innovation are present not only in the design but also the people who inhabit it.
City: Redmond, WA.
Year: 2016
Size: 1,556 SF
Photographer: Jeremy Bittermann
Team: Primo Orpilla, Perry Stephney; Rita Radley, Sarah Dzubia, Olivia Ward, David Hunter, Alfred Socias, Alex Bautista.
Award Winner: San Francisco Design Week Awards 2018
References:
Studio O+A. Projects – Microsoft Envisioning Center [online]. Available at: https://o-plus-a.com/project/microsoft-envisioning-center/ [Accessed date: 22/12/21].