Employees have started moving into Facebook’s new headquarters, a 435,555-sf building in Menlo Park, Calif., whose famed architect Frank Gehry describes as “unassuming, matter-of-fact, and cost effective.”
Gehry says he and Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, had been working on this project for more than three years. The building sits on 22 acres within Facebook’s complex, the former campus of Sun Microsystems that the social media giant acquired in February 2011. The new headquarters is the 20th building to be constructed on that campus, hence its nickname MK20.
Level 10 was the General Contractor on this project, whose cost has not been disclosed by Facebook.
The headquarters features what Zuckerberg, on his own Facebook page, says is “the largest open floor plan in the world, a single room that fits thousands of people.” Winding staircases lead between floors. Zuckerberg says that the interior design “is pretty simple, it isn’t fancy. That’s on purpose.” About 2,800 of Facebook’s engineers will work in this building.
Glass-enclosed meeting rooms are situated in the center of this open space. One of the meeting rooms has been compared to a ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese or a McDonald’s playground. Indeed, there’s more than a little playfulness in the brightly colored furniture and walls throughout (including a glaringly orange hallway).
Facebook also hired Bay Area artists to design art installations for the building, which include an undulating mosaic wall and lots of dripping paint.
While it hasn’t released official photos of the headquarters, Facebook let Instagrammers with larger follower counts roam the building and photograph what they thought looked interesting or cool.
The building dips and rises from 45 to 73 feet. One of its attractions is a nine-acre rooftop park, designed by CMG Landscape Architecture, which includes a half-mile looping walking path. More than 400 trees were planted on what Wired magazine calls “a garden-roofed fantasyland.” The insulated roof also contributed to this building earning LEED Gold certification.
The exterior is sheathed in hyper-reflective siding, which is something of a Gehry trademark. But Facebook chose fritted window panes because the lines or patterns embedded in the glass are more visible, and, therefore, safer for birds that otherwise might fly into the windows.
Construction started on this building in early 2013. Among the concessions that Facebook made to get municipal approval include agreeing to build 15 low-cost homes or contribute $4.5 million toward affordable housing. It also agreed to restrict the number of vehicles that enter and leave the campus.
Facebook is creating a $500,000 charitable foundation and setting up a local job-training program. It is also cleaning up soil contaminated with toxic chemicals.
Related Stories
| Nov 3, 2010
Public works complex gets eco-friendly addition
The renovation and expansion of the public works operations facility in Wilmette, Ill., including a 5,000-sf addition that houses administrative and engineering offices, locker rooms, and a lunch room/meeting room, is seeking LEED Gold certification.
Office Buildings | Nov 3, 2010
11 tips for office renovation success
Only after you’ve done your homework on these critical success factors can you determine if you can produce a successful office renovation project for your client.
| Nov 2, 2010
11 Tips for Breathing New Life into Old Office Spaces
A slowdown in new construction has firms focusing on office reconstruction and interior renovations. Three experts from Hixson Architecture Engineering Interiors offer 11 tips for office renovation success. Tip #1: Check the landscaping.
| Oct 13, 2010
Editorial
The AEC industry shares a widespread obsession with the new. New is fresh. New is youthful. New is cool. But “old” or “slightly used” can be financially profitable and professionally rewarding, too.
| Oct 13, 2010
Modern office design accentuates skyline views
Intercontinental|Exchange, a Chicago-based financial firm, hired design/engineering firm Epstein to create a modern, new 31st-floor headquarters.
| Oct 13, 2010
HQ renovations aim for modern look
Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects’ renovations to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s New York City headquarters will feature a reworked reception lobby with back-painted glass, silk-screened logos, and a video wall.
| Oct 13, 2010
County building aims for the sun, shade
The 187,032-sf East County Hall of Justice in Dublin, Calif., will be oriented to take advantage of daylighting, with exterior sunshades preventing unwanted heat gain and glare. The building is targeting LEED Silver. Strong horizontal massing helps both buildings better match their low-rise and residential neighbors.
| Oct 12, 2010
Guardian Building, Detroit, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. The relocation and consolidation of hundreds of employees from seven departments of Wayne County, Mich., into the historic Guardian Building in downtown Detroit is a refreshing tale of smart government planning and clever financial management that will benefit taxpayers in the economically distressed region for years to come.
| Oct 12, 2010
The Watch Factory, Waltham, Mass.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards — Gold Award. When the Boston Watch Company opened its factory in 1854 on the banks of the Charles River in Waltham, Mass., the area was far enough away from the dust, dirt, and grime of Boston to safely assemble delicate watch parts.
| Oct 12, 2010
Building 13 Naval Station, Great Lakes, Ill.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Gold Award. Designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt and constructed in 1903, Building 13 is one of 39 structures within the Great Lakes Historic District at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill.