Facebook

In pictures: Check out Facebook's new Frank Gehry-designed offices

The social network is paving the way for a major staff expansion.
7.45pm, 25 Aug 2012
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FACEBOOK ALREADY has 2,000 employees at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

But it’s preparing for a major expansion. Eventually, its current location – the East Campus – will hold 6,600 employees. Another 2,800 will occupy a second site, the West Campus, across the Bayfront Expressway.

Facebook has hired Frank Gehry’s architecture firm, Gehry Partners, to design a new, sprawling office building which will house those engineers in a big, open space, with walls cleverly angled so the insides don’t feel oppressive.

Here are some models and drawings which give an idea of Facebook’s new home:

In pictures: Check out Facebook's new Frank Gehry-designed offices
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  • 1. Here's the site.

    Right now it's undeveloped former industrial land. Environmental remediation starts in two weeks. (Image: Google Maps)

  • 2. Checking the model

    Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and renowned architect Frank Gehry inspect a model of the building's interior. (Image: Everett Katigbak, Facebook)

  • 3. Open plan

    Zuckerberg wanted the space to be one big, open building. (Image: Everett Katigbak, Facebook)

  • 4. Angled walls

    But a long, rectangular space would feel oppressive. So Gehry proposed angling the walls to create a more human sense of scale. (Image: Everett Katigbak, Facebook)

  • 5. Clusters

    Here's the result: rows of desks and meeting rooms clustered throughout the building. You'll be able to walk from one end to the other without passing through a door. Note the looping ramp in the upper left - that gets you from the basement to the first floor to the roof. (Image: Everett Katigbak, Facebook)

  • 6. Roof garden

    The roof will be planted with grass, trees and a vegetable garden. It's not just pretty - green roofs cut heating and cooling costs. (Image: Everett Katigbak, Facebook)
  • Right now it's undeveloped former industrial land. Environmental remediation starts in two weeks. (Image: Google Maps)
  • Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and renowned architect Frank Gehry inspect a model of the building's interior. (Image: Everett Katigbak, Facebook)
  • Zuckerberg wanted the space to be one big, open building. (Image: Everett Katigbak, Facebook)
  • But a long, rectangular space would feel oppressive. So Gehry proposed angling the walls to create a more human sense of scale. (Image: Everett Katigbak, Facebook)
  • Here's the result: rows of desks and meeting rooms clustered throughout the building. You'll be able to walk from one end to the other without passing through a door. Note the looping ramp in the upper left - that gets you from the basement to the first floor to the roof. (Image: Everett Katigbak, Facebook)
  • The roof will be planted with grass, trees and a vegetable garden. It's not just pretty - green roofs cut heating and cooling costs. (Image: Everett Katigbak, Facebook)

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