Microtropolis was a 178-foot, stylized, immersive installation of Manhattan with
buildings towering at 15-feet and avenues wide enough to walk through. It featured
over 200 Windows 8 devices placed along rooftops.

 
 


Windows 8 is personal to the user, but in this experience the profiles were tailored
by neighborhood. Notable New York artists, chefs, and culture creators curated the
content in the places they call home.

 
 


Just like the real city of New York, Microtropolis had its fair share of surprises. Stand
in Central Park and tweets printed on leaf-colored pieces of paper would float down.
Go to Times Square and you could have your photo taken and image splashed across
the digital billboards. Stand at the viewing platform above and you could take and
share photos of the entire exhibit through vintage-styled view finders.

 
 


The experience was cut short by Sandy, but in just the few days it was live it
changed the social conversation around Microsoft and put Windows into the hands
of people who hadn’t touched a PC in years.