Giant social media company Facebook has revealed recent photographs for its Frank Gehry-designed major expansion project at Menlo Park, in Palo Alto, California.

Called MPK 21, the overall complex, including the campus' other buildings, has been designed and completed in less than 18 months. Designed as a highly sustainable building, the office buildings rise with a 3.6-acre (14,568-square-metre) rooftop garden featuring over 200 trees and a half-mile meandering pathway. 

"We also brought the outdoors into the office space: The Town Square is a sheltered green space with 40-foot-tall redwood trees, and The Bowl is an amphitheater-style courtyard that connects MPK 21 with another Gehry-designed building, MPK 20," said the company. 

The interior spaces are designed as open workspace to foster collaboration between teams, as well as quiet areas for focused work. A single pathway runs the length of the building. Along this path are five unique dining options, 15 art installations commissioned through our Artist in Residence Program, and a 2,000-person event and meeting space with state-of-the-art A/V technology. The building was designed to promote teamwork and allow our people to do their best work.

"MPK 21 is designed to reduce impact on the environment and enhance employee well-being. The building encourages active engagement inside and outside of the building with pedestrian walkways, access to various outdoor areas, visible stairways, and flexible work stations," added the company. 

"The physical infrastructure is designed to reduce water, energy, and waste as well. The reclaimed water system recycles and filter’s MPK 21’s water and will save approximately 17 million gallons of water annually. The roof includes 1.4 MW of photovoltaic solar panels, which will generate nearly 2 million kWh of electricity annually." 

The architect designed bird-friendly glazing allows for clear views and natural daylighting, which reduces the need for artificial lighting during daylight hours. 

The building enrolled in Peninsula Clean Energy’s ECO100 energy option to reduce the building's carbon footprint, helping Menlo Park reach its climate action goals. The building is also designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification through the US Green Building Council.

"As we add offices in other cities in the Bay Area, we remain invested in Menlo Park, which will be our headquarters for the foreseeable future. It was important to us that MPK 21, which sits on a former unoccupied industrial site, be consistent with the natural environment and our neighboring communities," added Facebook. 

"Next year we plan to complete a two-acre park with a public plaza and event space, which can host our Facebook Festivals, mobile farmers’ market and other local programs. A highlight of the project will be a community bike and pedestrian bridge over the Bayfront Expressway. This landmark feature will connect the neighborhood and our campus to recreational trails and parks along the San Francisco Bay."

"Facebook stands for community. That commitment extends from our global community to our physical home in Menlo Park," the company added. 

With MPK 21 and Facebook's future expansion projects like the proposed Willow Village by OMA, the company aims to continue to attract exceptional talent to help them build the best products and to be a responsible citizen in the region.

Frank Gehry was first commissioned to design Facebook's Headquarters - called MK 20 - in 2012, but he was later asked to ease the plans. 

All images courtesy of Facebook

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