16:13:31 | 2012-08-28
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(Menlo Park, CA) — World-renowned Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry has created ingenious, breathtaking designs for iconic institutions around the globe like Condé Nast Publications, IAC, Walt Disney, the Guggenheim and more – having left his mark with architectural works of art that have become tourist attractions.
Most recently, we have seen his New York by Gehry at 8 Spruce Street in Manhattan’s Financial District. At 870 feet, the rippled stainless steel tower is known as the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere and has been heralded as a symbol of rebirth for New York City.
Next in the project pipeline for the legendary, 83-year old architect is Facebook. Hired by the social networking giant to create an extension for its new headquarters in Menlo Park, California, Gehry has been working with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg to design a campus that will reflect the 28-year old billionaire’s hierarchical corporate philosophy.
The Gehry-designed Facebook West will boast an open warehouse-style space with work-group neighborhoods, conference rooms and break-away spots. The office will have 26-foot-high ceilings spanning across a 10-acre long room illuminated by skylights. The decor will consist of graffiti, workbenches and arcade game consoles. On top of the massive office will be a “lushly landscaped” rooftop garden, complete with eateries serving up sushi and barbecue,
“Mark said he wanted to be in the same room with all his engineers,” Gehry explained to Bloomberg News. “I told him we could put the building up on stilts, park cars underneath and create a room as large as he wanted.”
Facebook West will be connected to the company’s current Silicon Valley digs by a tunnel going under Highway 101. To make it easier to get from one end of the campus to the other via skateboard, the building will include also ramps.
According to Bloomberg, Facebook West is slated for completion in spring of 2015, and will be located located across a highway from Facebook East in Menlo Park. The 420,000-square-foot campus will be home to Facebook HQ’s 3,400 engineers.
—Email lisa@brokerpulse.com