The Green Goblin Blog

Had a guided tour of Microsoft's soon-to-be finished Building 5 on Thames Valley Park. As you'd expect, it looks very similar to the previous 4 as most of the differences are around hidden things like energy efficiency and health & safety. There are a few innovations, like a couple of suspended meeting rooms which are glass most the way round and attached to the building by the ceiling instead of the floor. I'm sure those rooms will be fully booked for months to come when the building is opened. In the basement will be a gym and dance studio, neither of which I can imagine myself visiting (the gym at home doesn't see much activity so I can't see a public one being overused by me).

I did find the sweet dispenser of blue/red sweets in the builder's canteen amusing - "these are not sweets, they are ear defenders". Yum.

Also, you had to wear full building site kit and you get to keep it ALL! So I now have a hard hat, flourescent jacket, thin gloves (great for snowboarding at Bracknell) and protective glasses. These can be surprisingly useful...

Labels: Microsoft