Redmond-based Microsoft is known for its great work environment. The firm’s Employees in washington are in for a treat as the company has built treehouses as office spaces. This concept is a part of Microsoft’s “outdoor districts” strategy where it promotes the flow of creative energies amid nature vis-à-vis its employees being surrounded by concrete walls.
Pete Nelson from the TV show “Treehouse Masters” constructed the innovative workspaces at Microsoft’s Washington campus. He has constructed three treehouses for employees, out of which two are currently accessible by employees.
The third treehouse will be made accessible to all by the end of 2017. Interestingly, these treehouses will be open for all employees so that they can work in these new spaces.
The creative workspace
Microsoft revealed news of these treehouses being used as office spaces in a blog post on Sunday, October 15. In the blog post, it was shared that all the three treehouses will be kitted out with all the latest technology that employees may need. Bret Boulter, an employee of the Real Estate and Facilities department in Microsoft, revealed that in their feedback - if given a choice - many people expressed a desire to work outside rather than inside. Boulter was also the head of the construction of this treehouse project.
He noted that being in the midst of nature calms people down and also changes their perception in the context of the work at hand.
The structure of Microsoft’s treehouse work spaces
Out of the three treehouses built on Microsoft’s 500-acre Washington campus, two are enclosed spaces while one is an open and sheltered treehouse lounge called the Crow’s Nest.
Shanon Bernstine, a business manager at Microsoft, disclosed that at first the employees were skeptical and did not believe that such a working space was being constructed. Now that the treehouses have been thrown open to all, people are very excited about the notion of working in the open, surrounded by nature.
In the blog post, they shared that treehouse number one has been built at height of twelve feet from the ground.
The treehouse sports charred-wood walls and comes with a high ceiling that has a round skylight, which will enable natural light to filter into the workspace. Apart from these installations, giving the workspace a cozy feeling, the treehouse has also been fitted with cinnamon-colored shingles. At the entrance, a hand-carved arched double door greets employees. It is here that they need to swipe their badge to gain admission. While the small room inside the treehouse does not come with climate control or an AV system, it does offer a farmhouse table surrounded by rust red seats.
