America
Facebook 'logs' into sprawling, garden-roofed office
New York, March 31
The 2,800-strong Facebook
workforce has another reason to press the 'like' button: The social
networking site has moved some of them into a 430,000 sq ft sprawling
complex with a nine-acre roof garden in California, the mere sight of
which could leave anyone out of breath -- literally.
Designed by
Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, the new Facebook building,
called MPK 20, houses sweeping murals and art installations.
The
works of about 15 local artists, including famous sculpture-maker Evan
Shively, already adorn MPK 20 and more are to follow, Wired.com
reported.
The roof of the new Facebook building, about 70 feet up, offers a winding walk through nine acres of greenery.
This walkway sits above the marshlands of Menlo Park, California.
According
to Gehry, the man who fashioned the sail-like silver walls of the Walt
Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the floating battleship that is
the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in northern Spain, "Facebook founder and
CEO Mark Zuckerberg wanted a space that was unassuming, matter-of-fact
and cost effective".
"He did not want it overly designed," Gehry said in a statement.
The interior is really just one giant space - a space designed to foster the free exchange of ideas.
"It
reinforces our open and transparent culture," John Tenanes, Facebook's
vice president of global real estate, was quoted as saying.
"It is a place where people can collaborate. You can pretty much see all the way down the building," Tenanes added.
Though
it stands on the other side of an expressway, the new building is meant
as an extension of the company's current headquarters.
A tunnel runs between the two - under the highway. One could traverse on foot, bicycle or tram from one side to the other.
"Our buildings are a kind of like an industrial canvas," Tenanes said.