When Microsoft first started to build its Redmond, Washington campus in the 1980s, it used three things to entice workers: free soda, a lax dress code and private offices.
As it scaled up, it prioritized those offices and designed star-shaped buildings to get as many window seats as possible. Now, in the age of the open floor plan, the sodas and flip-flop dress code have stayed but the offices are changing.
"As our teams were coming in, thinking about collaborative workspaces, there was very little we could do with the (original buildings)," said Rob Towne, senior director of real estate for Microsoft's Puget Sound region. "So they decided to tear them down."
