Facebook Finds New Digs in Vintage Silicon Valley Office
Text and photos by Chris Preimesberger
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Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg welcomes invitees to the open house on June 15.
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Facebook staff members and visitors socialize during the open house on the roof garden of the new headquarters, which is located in the Palo Alto foothills and has a view of downtown and San Francisco Bay to the east.
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Looking to the west, the roof garden/eating area bumps up against the Palo Alto foothills. The building had not been in use since about 2001, when Agilent moved to new quarters across town.
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The building is roomy enough inside for staff members to use skateboards to get around, should they choose to do so.
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The entire interior of the two-story building is designed for face-to-face collaboration among staff people. These “mini-cubes” offer some privacy for groups but don’t wall off people from each other. It’s an unwritten rule that if a person is wearing headphones, that means he or she is concentrating on a project and should not be interrupted.
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The open offices take advantage of the high ceilings and numerous skylights on the second floor. There are no conventional “cubes” in the building; there are a few small, private meeting rooms, but not many.
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A Facebook tour guide answers questions at the rear entrance to the new headquarters. This photo offers a hint at the conventional design of the building and how it is nestled into the foothills.