Following last month’s move to Facebook’s California campus, the social media giant has yet again commissioned Frank Gehry to build two more neighboring office buildings.
A report from LA Times stated that the company has already presented a set of plans at the Menlo Park City Hall. This establishes Facebook’s aim to to expand its presence within the city. The new structure will also be built along Bayfront Expressway, just west of its most recently-built office.
The new building will mimic Gehry’s first design, the MPK20, featured by Forbes. It will have large open-plan office spaces, expansive green roofs and a basement parking. With the two buildings, Facebook’s new office will have a floor area of 90,000 square meters.
The 25-hectare site was purchased last year from TE Connectivity, a consumer electronics company. To start off with the construction, nine buildings will be demolished. Facebook has also renovated another structure within the western edge of the site. This will become the communal space for a cafe, a fitness center and a host of other amenities for the employees.
A 20,000 square meter public park will be situated in between the buildings. They will also create a provision for pedestrian and cycle pathways which will make the location safer and more convenient for the surrounding communities and travel routes.
Earlier, CEO Mark Zuckerberg initially turned down Gehry’s offer to design the building for Facebook, thinking that it would cost higher than their budget. However, working with Gehry proved to have been time- and cost-efficient, which prompted Zuckerberg to work with the Canadian architect again.
Zuckerberg commented, “It ended up costing us much less than any other major developments planned in Silicon Valley and taking way less time to build.”
Gehry first received the appointment in 2012 but had to revise the design to make the building look more anonymous. In late 2013, he was also asked to design the company’s offices in Dublin and London.
