![]() “Panos came through one day and said, ‘There’s a space over at 86, I think it would be perfect for you guys to show and expand your thinking here,’” she said. When Hunter was transferred from Xbox to the devices team, she was asked to replicate that experience - this time with a designated space. Over the years, the lab in Studio B on the west campus hosted about 7,000 people, including clothing designers, members of congress and even competitors like Nintendo and PlayStation. “It was just this passion project.” Though that was initially imagined to be an incubator for the Xbox team to work with designers and engineers, it evolved beyond gaming. “Some of the team members came together, we built IKEA furniture over the weekend,” she said. Senior director of hardware accessibility Kris Hunter described it as a “grassroots effort.” ![]() The new Inclusive Tech Lab is the successor to an earlier version on the West campus that the Xbox team opened in 2017, when it was developing the Adaptive Controller. “This is an embassy for people with disabilities,” accessibility program manager Solomon Romney said, “it is the connection between the community and our product making teams.” They were eager to welcome the world into the carefully designed room. On a recent visit to the Inclusive Tech Lab, I met a few members of the team (and Panay briefly dropped in via video chat) ahead of the launch. Across the street is building 88, where you’ll find chief product officer Panos Panay’s office, while down the road is the Hardware Lab in building 87. Importantly, it’s close to key personnel in Microsoft’s product teams. It only seems fitting, considering what Microsoft envisions this lab to be: a place to welcome members of the disability community, the tech industry and its own designers. ![]() ![]() This 2,000-square-foot room used to be a reception area, with a set of doors leading to the offices within and another pair facing the rest of the world. The company is gearing up to launch its new Inclusive Tech Lab, which sits in Building 86 - one of 125 buildings in its Redmond, Washington grounds. On the north campus of Microsoft’s 500-acre headquarters, anticipation is quietly mounting. ![]()
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