Microsoft: Creating New Methods For The Workplace Of The Future

As part of its long-term expansion strategy in Asia Pacific, Microsoft combined two existing offices into a single location, to create a modern workplace platform that aligns with its company vision—“Workplace of the Future.” The new Asia Pacific headquarters has six floors with planned workspaces for 1,500 people.

Microsoft appointed Cushman & Wakefield to deliver the workplace concept and find the right partners for this project.

The challenge for our team was to identify a design firm that could deliver a bold, relevant, and future-focused design built upon an understanding of what drives Microsoft’s workplace experience.

We used a new selection method to identify the most suitable interior design consultant.

Rather than conduct a traditional request for proposal process, we sent invitations for Expression of Interest to around 20 design firms and asked them to prepare the best ideas for pitching.

Our team sat through design interviews and charettes with no idea of the firms’ pricing, so we could concentrate on the design and the best fit team for Microsoft. We also ran scorecards through the process, which were shared with the stakeholders.

Microsoft embraced the new selection method that the Cushman & Wakefield team introduced. They also replicated the same process in their projects throughout Asia, resulting in changes to around one million square feet of office space.