Microsoft's ultra-luxury India Development Center is heavily inspired by the Taj Mahal's interior design

Microsoft recently opened a new (and remarkably luxurious) research and development facility in Noida, a satellite city of Delhi. The IDC (India Development Center) is Redmond's third facility in India, joining the existing IDCs in Hyderabad and Bangalore. 

The 90,000 square-foot complex is turning heads on account of its remarkable interior design. The interiors are described as being "inspired by the Taj Mahal," but perhaps not how you'd think. On the outside, the IDC is a standard six-story glass office building. The interiors, however, are heavily inspired by 17th-century Mughal architecture. The 1600s in India were a time of intense cultural exchange. Indo-Islamic architecture arose as a synthesis between local traditions and styles from Persia and the Ottoman Empire.

The IDC features a light color palette and materials like marble, alongside jali windows - thick stone lattices that allow natural light to shine in. With COVID-19 restrictions likely to lift in the months to come, Microsoft's Delhi team could soon start working from this remarkable workspace. 

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