Epic's Incredible Verona Campus
(Originally posted on LinkedIn)
In fair Verona (Wisconsin, that is) lies over a thousand acres of treehouses, art, scooters, and New York subway cars. This place is home to one of the largest IT campuses in the United States: Epic. For being one of healthcare's top IT software companies, it's hard to imagine Epic's campus being anything besides white and sterile with classroom-style buildings. But when you take a look at it, it couldn't be further from boring! Epic's campus has quite a magical, fairytale feel to it with the goal of promoting productivity, comfort and enhancing creativity. Nearly 10,000 Epic employees call this place home, and thousands more visit every year to take classes and receive their certifications.
This campus is home to enormous sculptures, a Harry Potter-themed stairwell, a human-sized rabbit hole, an Indiana Jones tunnel, an Alice in Wonderland slide that shoots you into a room with miniature furniture, and a conference room encased by waterfalls with a shark pond (thank goodness the shark is fake!), just to name a few. There is an auditorium with 11,400 seats and room for a future 3,000-seat balcony. A '50s style diner, Black Dragon Cafe, and your classic cafeteria are just a few different eatery options.
If there is anything we're learned so far, it's that the vision that Epic founder, Judy Faulker, had for this campus was to value fun" Faulker's fascination with fantasy played and continues to play, a large part in the creation of headquarters. The Capital Times reporters Katelyn Ferral and Erik Lorenzson said, "Faulkner’s love and patronage of art is well known. Sculptures, paintings and imaginative furniture fill Epic’s company’s buildings and campus, many of which are bought at Art Fair on the Square, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art's annual summer art fair. Faulkner frequently buys big-ticket pieces that can make an artist’s year."
If you're one of the lucky ones who can visit such a peculiar place, it is not one that is soon forgotten. There seems to always be something new or altered on campus on a monthly basis, only creating more curiosity and eagerness to find those hidden gems!