Microsoft only just announced a major overhaul to its Redmond headquarters, and now it's revealing similar plans for its Silicon Valley campus as well. Microsoft says a modernization project for its Mountain View location recently broke ground and will represent its "smartest, greenest office yet" once finished.
Microsoft is aiming to make the 32-acre campus, which is home to 2,000 employees in the Bay Area, the first from a tech company to meet the Living Building Challenge by achieving net zero non-potable water certification. Says Microsoft:
Our campus will have an integrated water management system that operates under the guiding principle of putting non-potable water into service more than once. This includes harvesting rainwater and installing an onsite wastewater plant for treatment. This innovative approach helps us reduce potable water consumption by more than 5 percent, which is good for our business and the local community, and couldn't have been considered without the support and input of the City of Mountain View.
The campus overhaul will also include a 4-acre "living roof", harboring plant species intended to "promote species diversification in the area adjacent to the Stevens Creek habitat." A glass exterior on buildings will ensure natural lighting from anywhere on campus, solar panels will provide energy, and Microsoft says it is using sustainably sourced timber for construction. And like its Redmond campus renovation, Microsoft's Silicon Valley effort will include athletic fields and a new onsite fitness facility for employees.
The Silicon Valley campus modernization project is expected to be completed by December 2019.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
We're going to see tons of game delays this year and that's OK
We'll be seeing a lot of games delayed throughout 2021, more than were delayed in 2020. Right now, you should only depend on playing things that were originally supposed to release last year. Here's why that's OK.
AMD's Radeon RX 6000 GPUs have arrived. Here's where to find them.
AMD's Radeon RX 6000 GPUs aren't easy to find, and you might be wondering which models are available where. Check out the retailers and models you can expect to buy when stock normalizes.
These are the biggest PC announcements from CES 2021
CES 2021 was different in that it wasn't held at a physical location. Instead, companies relied on press kits and virtual presentations to showcase all the new products. We've rounded up the best PC-related announcements in case you happened to miss the show.
These are the best GPUs for playing Escape from Tarkov
Looking for a new GPU to play Escape from Tarkov? Here are our top picks for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, from both NVIDIA and AMD.