The new Frank Gehry-designed Facebook campus in Menlo Park opened its doors yesterday, and since we've all seen The Social Network and heard the tales of tech geniuses bouncing around their Silicon Valley offices on medicine balls, it's more or less what we expected, i.e. ball pit conference rooms, walls painted like a fancy day care center, enormous sculptural staircases, etc. But you know who wouldn't have expected it? Your great-grandparents.
"Yes, Gammy, it's a place where people work. It's actually considered very desirable to work there. This is... some kind of orange hallway, I guess? No, I don't know what that lady is doing. I don't think she's working—maybe she's taking a break. That's a big part of the whole culture there, actually. Not just breaks, but, like, relaxing and enjoying yourself. Right. Yeah. No, it's not your fault, it is confusing."
"I don't know, some kind of art thing, I guess? No, the company doesn't actually have anything to do with art—they just like it. Ah, good question, I probably should have explained: it's like a college yearbook, sort of, but for everybody. And you can connect with people all over the world and share photos and stuff. How many employees? Around 2,800. Yeah, I guess that does seem like a lot for a college yearbook. I'm not explaining this very well."
"I don't know either."
· First Look Inside the Frank Gehry-Designed Facebook Campus in Silicon Valley [Curbed]