First Look: Facebook's Next Campus

Frank Gehry to design it

It doesn't look like much now, but Facebook has big plans for a plot of land down the street from its current HQ.

This one is being called the "West Campus," or the "second" campus. \

And, unlike the current headquarters, which was previously occupied by Sun Microsystems, this one will be Facebook's from the ground up.

Even famous architect Frank Gehry has been drafted to design it.

Somewhere around 3,000 Facebook employees are expected to work there; as if we needed further proof that Facebook still plans rapid growth, no matter how Wall Street values it.  

The plans, as released by Facebook (and confirmed by Menlo Park City officials), show a spread out campus surrounded by trees, with lots of organic touches.

As for the city, Menlo Park Councilman and former Mayor Richard Cline told me the City's relationship with Facebook is now, after lots of back and forth over the East Campus, very strong, and he expects smooth sailing when it comes to colonizing the West.

Mark Zuckerberg posted a photo (top of article) of Gehry on his Facebook Timeline with the following statement:

I'm excited to work with Frank Gehry to design our new campus. The idea is to make the perfect engineering space: one giant room that fits thousands of people, all close enough to collaborate together. It will be the largest open floor plan in the world, but it will also have plenty of private, quiet spaces as well. The roof of the building will be a park that blends into the community with a long walking trail, a field and lots of places to sit. From the outside it will appear as if you're looking at a hill in nature.

Scott is on Facebook, and Twitter, too: @scottbudman

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