Introducing Barn X

Welcome to Rare

At Rare, we’re passionate about sustainability. On a trip to our campus, you’re bound to spot this in its many eco-friendly features – park your electric vehicle at one of the charge points, drop off a bag of your old clothes in the fabric recycling bin, then we’ll explore the grounds abundant with wildflowers, wildlife and solar panels.

We’re set against a backdrop of gorgeous English countryside here. Our 100-acre campus is strewn with fields, walking paths, streams and a serene duck pond where staff can take a break on a walking meeting.

On our way back in through reception you can purchase some Rare Honey, if you like, made in our on-site hives by hardworking bees who almost never sting anyone. You must be hungry – let’s head to the canteen and fill your belly with some locally sourced food, and then when you need to empty it again, remember to flush and wash your hands with plumbed-in repurposed rainwater (and soap, please).

Introducing Barn X

Now that you’re done with… that, allow us to introduce you to Barn X, our new building measuring 1200 square metres and running purely on the awesome power of electricity. This behemoth of sustainability was designed from the ground up to be a comfortable, eco-friendly space for the team to work together.

“What might the gaming studio of the future look like?” pondered Craig Duncan, Studio Head at Rare, before teaming up with Rare’s Facilities team, Microsoft real estate, London architecture firm LOM and Dublin-based sustainability design advisors RKD in a montage akin to that part in heist movies where the main character recruits all the supporting characters who are experts in their specific fields.

The LEED GOLD certified building has an inner structure made from locally sourced timber, and exterior of New Zealand Accoya which will withstand the elements for around 60 years without a lick of varnish. Xbox’s first mass timber structure, it has a carbon footprint lower than concrete or steel buildings through its ability to lock carbon in more effectively.

Snazzy wood isn’t the only thing Barn X has on its green credentials – the building boasts the ability to repurpose condensation from chillers that would otherwise be wasted, and houses cutting-edge cooling and ventilation systems. The Facilities team are also able to track energy usage throughout, from what we can only assume is some kind of NASA-esque control room, to ensure it remains as efficient as possible.

Keeping the Team in Mind

Another of the most important aspects of the design for us was to ensure a collaborative, creative, modern and positive space for all Rare’s wonderful employees.

“All of those things informed how we designed the space,” Craig can be heard saying from somewhere in the studio if you stay too late into the evening. “We need lots of room where teams can work together closely, but we also need quiet spaces and places with sound deadening. The building feels energising, creative and refreshing. It has a really nice vibe.”

Desks are designed to be personalised, huge windows allow natural light to pour in, accommodations are in place for neurodiverse folk in the form of quiet spaces and customisable lighting, and there’s enough greenery for it to occasionally feel like you’re transporting a crate of plants for the Merchant Alliance.

The décor is futuristic, yet cosy – it creates a beautiful space for us to look optimistically toward the future of gaming, and the planet, together. “It’s something our team really cares about,” Craig enthuses, “to work in an environment that has sustainability at its core, and to know that they work for a company on a sustainability journey.”

Fun fact for those reading until the end: Rare has four barns named A to D – the decision was made against continuing this trend as staff kept referring to the building as Barn E the Dinosaur.