Microsoft's new 'Creative Spaces' gives us a sneak peek at what the future of workplaces will look like

Microsoft is partnering with Steelcase for its new Creative Spaces. The new Creative Spaces from Microsoft and Steelcase give us a sneak peak at the future of workplaces and how companies will work together to improve creativity. The new Creative Spaces are highly powered by Microsoft’s technology such as Windows 10, Office 365 and most importantly, the company’s Surface devices. Microsoft and Steelcase are launching 5 different Creative Spaces: the Ideation Hub, Respite Room, Focus Studio, Makers Commons and the Duo Studio.

Here’s how Microsoft describes these 5 creative spaces:

• Ideation Hub: A high-tech workspace that encourages active participation and equal opportunity to contribute, as people co-create, refine, and share ideas with co-located or distributed teammates.
• Respite Room: Creative work requires many brain states, including the need to balance active group work with solitude and individual thinking time.
• Focus Studio: Individual creative work requires alone time to focus and get into a flow. It’s a place to let ideas incubate, or to work with a co-collaborator, before sharing them with the group.
• Makers Commons: Socializing ideas and rapid prototyping are essential parts of creativity. This space is designed to encourage quick switching between conversation, experimentation and concentration.
• Duo Studio: This space supports a trust relationship in which two people can co-create shoulder-to-shoulder, while also supporting individual work. It includes a lounge area to invite others in for a quick creative review.

You can watch some of these spaces in action below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnZnj3bSOSI

The new Creative Spaces will be available exclusively through Steelcase, and the company is going to showcase these new spaces at 10 of their WorkLife Centres worldwide — this includes New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Munich and London.

If you are interested in the new Creative Spaces from Microsoft and Steelcase, you can find more details about it here.