{"id":5323,"date":"2018-05-22T07:00:58","date_gmt":"2018-05-22T14:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/garage-en-us\/?p=5323"},"modified":"2019-06-12T15:27:43","modified_gmt":"2019-06-12T22:27:43","slug":"microsoft-garage-expansion-continues-new-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http://approjects.co.za/?big=en-us/garage\/blog\/2018\/05\/microsoft-garage-expansion-continues-new-england\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Garage expansion continues with grand opening at New England Research Development Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

The seventh Microsoft Garage just opened its doors at the New England Research & Development Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts (or \u201cNERD\u201d). Hundreds of students, educators, and tech pros flocked to the three-day event introducing local Microsoft teams, innovative projects they are working on\u2014and the Garage equipment and spaces that the Boston area community can use to connect with Microsoft and each other.<\/p>\n

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Occupying seven floors of One Memorial Drive since 2007, Microsoft has long been a part of the Kendall Square community in Cambridge. Overlooking the Charles River, and with expansive views of the Boston skyline, NERD offers a picturesque location for Microsoft\u2019s 400 employees at the site.<\/p>\n

The Garage at NERD was the culmination of years of hard work. Planning for a multi-phase, multi-year renovation project had begun in 2014, led by Dena Quinn, Microsoft Real Estate and Facilities senior portfolio manager.<\/p>\n

\"people<\/p>\n

According to Quinn, the idea of having a Garage didn\u2019t come until after design and construction plans were nearly complete. The Garage had only two locations in 2014 and had just begun the evolution from a grassroots movement to a major player in the cultural transformation at Microsoft.<\/p>\n

A commitment to expand Garage programs worldwide happened when T. K. “Ranga” Rengarajan, Corporate Vice President of Engineering@Microsoft, sponsored the expansion of Garages at all Microsoft Global Development Centers (GDCs). This launched a multi-year effort and strong partnership with RE&F to build Garage facilities in Canada, Israel, China, India, Silicon Valley, and now, NERD.<\/p>\n

\u201cDena did an amazing job with all the changes thrown our way,\u201d says Linda Thackeray, who moved from her role leading The Garage\u2019s annual global Hackathon to become director of The Garage at NERD.<\/p>\n

Quinn returns the compliment: \u201cWe couldn\u2019t have done it without Linda as our boots on the ground. When she first started, we joked \u2018Don\u2019t worry, Linda\u2014we\u2019ll keep you busy.\u2019 But from that point on, it was go-go-go for her and for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Space for Innovation and Collaboration<\/h2>\n

The renovations to four floors of the building were completed in July 2017 and December 2017. And then, the grand finale: The Garage officially launched on April 26, 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the central tenets of The Garage is learning by doing,\u201d says Jeff Ramos, partner director of The Garage. \u201cSo it\u2019s our obligation to learn from past builds and make every successive Garage better. The Garage at NERD reflects all the best practices we learned from previous Garages. And we\u2019ll have three new Garage spaces in the next couple of years that will build off NERD.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Garage at NERD is built to optimize the connection between Microsoft and the broader community. With nearly 15,000 square feet of space, the new Garage provides:<\/p>\n