“There was a long effort at trying to find the right balance between what open office means and what the need to focus requires, and from initial reviews we seem to have found that sweet spot,” said Sasaki principal Victor Vizgaitis, AIA, on the overall design.

“I think it remains all about balance and creativity,” says Vizgaitis. “Despite what the press talks about, it’s not about open vs private, it’s about creating enough variety that anyone can find the place to work that feels right for them. So it becomes about empowering the individual to choose, and about creating a place to work and interact and explore that you can’t find anywhere else. Otherwise, why come to the office?”

The Sasaki design team attended the IIDA NE Awards Gala in March to accept the award, with the Microsoft project beating out numerous other firms in the Large Office category.

Victor Vizgaitis on the IIDA NE award win, “It is always wonderful to be recognized for great design work—but it’s even more meaningful when it was such a close collaboration with the client, and when it’s had such an impact on how they work and their culture. That this has been such a re-imagining of the idea of workplace and what it means to work at Microsoft is an exciting outcome. With the addition of The Garage, there was this great opportunity to almost re-brand the front door vision of Microsoft—to think of them not just as a software company or a technology company, but as a creative company that does so much more than anyone expects.”

The full list of 2019 IIDA NE Award winners can be found here.