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Comment by jacoblyles | Hacker News Reader

Apple style - one monolithic building designed down to the square foot.

Google style - a motley assortment of buildings spread out over a large campus, some of which are better than others.

Has Apple found a way to make the sun shine from the North? Otherwise I think there will be rooms that are better than others in the round spaceship, too.

On the other hand: no privileged corner offices.

No, but the building's thick enough that there will be three types of offices: outside, inside and no-windows-at-all.

Maybe there's "One more thing…" about it, and the whole thing rotates.

You know, I wouldn't be entirely surprised, either.

Or maybe some giant half-silvered mirrors north of the building, facing south, which only come out of their underground silos around noon +/- 4 hours.

As the sun wanders across the sky throughout the day and year, every office will have some time spent in direct sun and other times in the shade. I'd probably choose the south side if I could so I could get extra sun in the winter.

I used to have a desk next to a window. Me, and many others taped up newspapers to block the infernal glaring light.

Meh, i just use a screen filter.

And enjoy my view.

"The Daystar!" hisssss

"It burns us!"

Who knows what the internal architecture is but it's possible they have natural lighting columns throughout the building.

I have a bunch of friends at Apple. What you call Google's style is exactly what Apple's style is today, and it sucks. The best amenities are in 1 Infinite Loop, but employees in different groups are in random buildings all around Cupertino. Among other things, it means people end up walking 15-20 minutes just to meet coworkers for lunch.

Ypu're reaching. Didn't Jobs say at the beginning that Apple is currently in "a motley assortment of buildings spread out over a large campus, some of which are better than others."

I have to ask - what is Microsoft style?

Edit: Disclosure, I have been to Microsoft's campus, but I just couldn't help but ask this question. :)

Same as Google style I guess (though I think Microsoft buildings are quite uniform and almost all look the same)

I felt differently when I visited. If anything, they at least show a progression over the general phases of the campus. Buildings 1-9 are very similar, as are the triangle buildings 16-18. A lot of the newer buildings (ie the 'Studios') are almost exactly the same. There are a few other buildings on campus (late 20's or 3*?) that show a similar architecture to the studios. But then, there is 'Red West' which is its own little mini campus in terms of design.

The reason I asked was because I wanted to see Microsoft categorized in such an easy and quick manner as Google/Apple. I must admit that I myself can't do that.

Microsoft's Redmond campus is pleasant, collegial, and consists of nondescript corporate buildings of varying design connected by wooded pathways and large lawns. Actually a really nice place to work.

The campus has grown so much, however, that it has sprawled over several wide/ugly/pedestrian-unfriendly suburban roads in the process; there is substantially less greenery today than even a few years ago.

I worked in one of the main campus buildings that's been there for a while (Bldg 25) over the summer and walked to work every day. That is, hands down, one of the most pleasant walks I've had the joy of taking. I absolutely love the Microsoft main campus and think their design blends in perfectly. I'm not sure how to describe it but it just has this Seattle feel that makes the buildings seem very harmonious with the lush greenery of Seattle. If I had the chance, I'd probably pick that area over almost any other in the country to walk.

In case you can't tell, I've been back in Chicago for a year now and the weather is absolutely killing me.

Chicago winters are where you come to atone for your transient enjoyment of other cities.

I like the style of Epic Systems in Verona, WI. They have separate buildings connected by underground tunnels with geothermal heating/cooling for all of the buildings. Recently they started putting in solar and are working to increase that to the point of covering their energy needs. Parking is almost all underground with the ground around their campus designated as farmland so that nobody can build on it; they do run a farm on the land as well which I believe helps supply their cafeteria.

Every conference room has a theme and they allow self-guided tours. My favorite conference room is one where half of the room opens up to a pond that has a wooden walk way around it and a waterfall.

http://hq.construction.com/snapshots/0911_EpicSoftware.asp

http://www.jsonline.com/business/123206273.html

Microsoft NY is exactly like Dilbert's offices.

Google style is SGI's old campus - and the rest of that whole office park, essentially. You can walk around the streets, and some of the manhole covers have GOOGLE molded into them.

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