February 3, 2022

LMN designs new buildings on Microsoft's West Campus

Renderings by LMN [enlarge] [gallery]

Looking south, the existing 1990s buildings are in the foreground, with the four new buildings (one ghosted) and power plant to the south.

On both sides of state Route 520, spanning over 500 acres, Microsoft has what most call its East Campus and West Campus. The east side is older, and that's where a dozen-odd cranes now indicate the massive expansion project begun some three years back. Fourteen old 1980s buildings have been razed, and 17 new ones are planned — thus creating about 3 million square feet of new offices. Multiple architects and contractors are involved.

When the plan was announced in 2017, the goal for opening the first building was late 2023; others will open in the following two-odd years. As with other big projects, the pandemic and ongoing concrete truck drivers' strike will affect the final schedule.

Meanwhile, the newer West Campus has mostly been quiet, except where the new bike/ped overpass is landing there. But new buildings are planned on that side of the highway, too, which has not previously been reported.

LMN will brief the city of Redmond in today's virtual design review for what it calls RedWest South. That's a now bare, 26-acre patch of parking, wetlands and scrub growth at 14848 N.E. 51st St. It's south of the four buildings and two parking garages of RedWest North, which was developed in the 1990s. It's north of the 7-Eleven and east of Bellevue Golf Course. Microsoft bought the land from Nintendo in 2007, as part of a larger $42 million deal.

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The sunken, terraced central plaza would connect to all four levels of the garage.

At RedWest South, LMN is planning three five-story office buildings. The first two will come under a prior development agreement with the city. Those will total about 478,292 square feet. The third will be permitted later, before the entire project begins.

There's no schedule for RedWest South, which also includes a two-story companion amenity building, also labeled as a food hall, which will have about 56,332 square feet.

Then the 15,000-square-foot Thermal Energy Center will provide the power. Those, too, are part of the prior development agreement. LMN estimates that will allow 549,650 square feet above grade.

And finally, under a future new permit, the third office building — closest to the freeway — will add perhaps another 300,000 square feet. (That's a guess based on the massing).

All those numbers are over and beyond the prior figures for the East Campus expansion.

The RedWest South entitlement process is well advanced, and the design is fairly well refined. Numbers will change, and design tweaks will surely follow. And some of the names below may change as well.

At RedWest South, below the initial three buildings — excluding the TEC, which is pushed east — will be four levels of underground parking with about 2,164 stalls. Lots of bike parking is planned, along with repair stations and a network of bike/ped trails that link to the 520 Bike Trail that's immediately east of the site.

The office buildings will feature a variety of terraces and decks, plus green rooftop areas.

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From one of the many decks, office workers would have this view looking north, with the food and amenity building at right.

LMN arrays the buildings around a large sunken, terraced plaza. The architect says plaza will connect directly with the garage on all four levels. LMN writes, “This garage portal is integral with the design of a dramatic terraced outdoor landscaped amphitheater.” The latter would be suitable for outdoor meetings or presentations.

The amenity building will also connect to the plaza on two levels (one below grade). It'll have “two floors of food-focused dining and seating experiences and one floor of multi-purpose meeting rooms.”

If the Thermal Energy Center sounds familiar, that's because the first TEC is now under construction on the East Campus.

The second TEC will provide heating and cooling for both the old and new portions of RedWest, via large thermal energy storage tanks and ammonia chillers. It's unclear now if it'll be linked to the East Campus TEC

Microsoft described the latter, when it was added to the plan to replace a natural gas system, as a kind of heat control and storage system for its 875 geothermal wells — which are linked by 220 miles of piping. That TEC is part of the company goal of being carbon negative for the entire campus, with all its energy coming from renewables. RedWest South will evidently follow that model, and benefit from the new technologies deployed.

The RedWest South team also includes GLY Construction; CBRE, project manager; Geoengineers, geotechnical; Talasaea, environmental consultant; Brumbaugh & Associates, landscape architect; Coughlin Porter Lundeen, civil and structural; McKinstry, mechanical and plumbing; Valley Electric and Stantec, electrical; Graham Baba Architects, interiors; Fisher Marantz Stone, lighting design; B+H Advance Strategy, environmental graphic design; Lerch Bates, electrical; and Atelier Ten, sustainability consultant.

Excluding RedWest South, Microsoft's previously announced expansion and renovation project will total about 10 million square feet in over 100 buildings. The old plan also called for renovations to older buildings that are being preserved, not demolished.