Facebook Opens Frank Gehry-Designed MPK20 Campus

Facebook's sprawling new Menlo Park campus MPK20 is now open.

Designed by Frank Gehry, the 430,000 square foot LEED gold certified building has a large open floor plan and multi-story windows.

"From the start, Mark wanted a space that was unassuming, matter-of-fact and cost effective," Gehry said in a statement. "He did not want it overly designed. It also had to be flexible to respond to the ever-changing nature of his business; one that facilitated collaboration and one that did not impose itself on their open and transparent culture. This is the building that we created for him. It is not a grand design statement and it has a toughness and a rawness that reminds me of the work I was doing in the early part of my career. I am very proud of the collaboration and I hope that it facilitates innovation and invention of the highest level."

CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page, "The building itself is pretty simple and isn't fancy. That's on purpose. We want our space to feel like a work in progress. When you enter our buildings, we want you to feel how much there is to be done in our mission to connect the world."

Zuckerberg may not deem it fancy, but it does have some fancy amenities, including a nine-acre green rooftop park designed by CMG Landscape Architects with more than 400 trees and the work of 15 artists exploring Facebook-relevant themes like systems, networks and communities.

There are dozens of images of the art and design features of the new Facebook campus viewable on Instagram's hashtags #mpk20 and #mpk20firstlook.

Zuckerberg himself posted about it on Facebook:

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Today we moved into our new Facebook building in Menlo Park, California.Our goal was to create the perfect engineering... Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, March 30, 2015

 

Frank Gehry is a genius, even in the way he designs staircases, with three story windows flooding light into the building. #MPK20

A photo posted by Andrew Blotky (@andrewblotky) on Mar 30, 2015 at 9:58am PDT

 

Facebooking on the giant #rooftop #teepee swing. #roofgarden #mpk20 #menlopark #siliconvalley #whereiwork

A photo posted by Connie (@conniec) on Mar 30, 2015 at 10:30pm PDT

 

Yesterday, some other Instagrammers and I had the opportunity to visit @facebook HQ and take a first look at their new building: #MPK20. It's a huge, open floor plan space designed by Frank Gehry. It looks like a fun place to work, and it opens today! Fun fact: FB worked with 15 artists on the new artwork in the building. Every piece was created onsite and is meant to speak abstractly to what FB does—many of the pieces are a nod to connections, community, networks and systems. This particular hallway makes me want an orange dessert. More photos to come. #MPK20firstlook

A photo posted by David E. Leøng (@d.leong) on Mar 30, 2015 at 9:00am PDT

 

3) Another staircase shot from yesterday's walk through of @facebook's new expansion campus. See previous post for more info and check out the link in my bio for the full gallery. #MPK20FirstLook #MPK20

A photo posted by Toby Harriman Photography (@tobyharriman) on Mar 30, 2015 at 4:00pm PDT

 

Me and my fraaaanndsss at work today! This floor to ceiling mural was painted by artist @chrislux and as you could guess I am obsessed with the colors. It has a graffiti feel but is inspired by visual arts and history, mythologies and fresco painting. Wow! This is one of 15 murals here and I hope to learn more about the remaining 14! Who wants to join in on the fun!? #MPK20muraltour #MPK20 #MPK20firstlook

A photo posted by Elizabeth Gilmore (@elizabethgilmore) on Mar 31, 2015 at 9:26am PDT