Facebook’s MPK 20 Menlo Park HQ campus is a 433,000-sf building topped with an expansive nine-acre green roof. Completed in 2015, the build team of Facebook, Gehry Partners, and Level 10 Construction didn’t rest for long before beginning MPK 21, a 524,000-sf expansion.
Much like MPK 20, MPK 21 includes a giant level of single-floor, open-plan office space with break-away spaces and service amenities. A single pathway runs the entire length of the building and leads to five unique dining options, 15 art installations, and a 2,000-seat event and meeting space.
MPK 21’s 3.6-acre green roof (MPK 20 provides an additional 9 acres of green roof space) includes walking trails that weave around hundreds of trees, grasses, and shrubs. Nature doesn't just exist on the roof, however, as 40-foot-tall Redwoods are included in the Town Square, a sheltered green space. MPK 21 connects to MPK 20 via The Bowl, an amphitheater-style courtyard, and also features a bridge that leads over a highway and connects to hiking trails along the neighboring wetlands.
See Also: Apple’s new $5 billion headquarters has a glass problem
Courtesy Facebook.
Among the new building’s sustainability features are a reclaimed water system designed to save 17 million gallons per year and a 1.4-megawatt PV system that creates 2 million kWh of electricity annually. The new building is targeting Leed Platinum certification.
MPK 20 was built in 21 months and, despite being almost 100,000 sf larger, MPK 21 was built in just 17 months. Both buildings include signature Frank Gehry elements such as exterior metal paneling.
The Town Square. Courtesy Facebook.
The Bowl. Courtesy Facebook.
For a more in depth look at MPK 21, click here.
Related Stories
| Apr 13, 2011
Red Bull Canada HQ a mix of fluid spaces and high-energy design
The Toronto architecture firm Johnson Chou likes to put a twist on its pared-down interiors, and its work on the headquarters for Red Bull Canada is no exception. The energy drink maker occupies 12,300 sf on the top two floors of a three-story industrial building in Toronto, and the design strategy for its space called for leaving the base building virtually untouched while attention was turned to the interior architecture.
| Apr 13, 2011
Former department store gets new lease on life as MaineHealth HQ
The long-vacant Sears Roebuck building in Portland, Maine, was redeveloped into the corporate headquarters for MaineHealth. Consigli Construction and local firm Harriman Architects + Engineers handled the 14-month fast-track project, transforming the 89,000-sf, four-story facility for just $100/sf.
| Mar 29, 2011
Chicago’s Willis Tower to become a vertical solar farm
Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) is set to become a massive solar electric plant with the installation of a pilot solar electric glass project.
| Mar 29, 2011
Read up on Amazon.com's new green HQ
Phase IV of Amazon’s new headquarters in Seattle is nearly complete. The company has built 10 of the 11 buildings planned for its new campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood, and is on-track for a 2013 grand opening.
| Mar 11, 2011
Blockbuster remodel transforms Omaha video store into a bank
A former Hollywood Video store in Omaha, Neb., was renovated and repurposed as the SAC Federal Credit Union, Ames Branch. Architects at Leo A Daly transformed the outdated 5,000-sf retail space into a modern facility by wrapping the exterior in poplar siding and adding a new glass storefront that floods the interior with natural light.
| Mar 11, 2011
Chicago office building will serve tenants and historic church
The Alter Group is partnering with White Oak Realty Partners to develop a 490,000-sf high-performance office building in Chicago’s West Loop. The tower will be located on land owned by Old St. Patrick’s Church (a neighborhood landmark that survived the Chicago Fire of 1871) that’s currently being used as a parking lot.
| Mar 9, 2011
Hoping to win over a community, Facebook scraps its fortress architecture
Facebook is moving from its tony Palo Alto, Calif., locale to blue-collar Belle Haven, and the social network want to woo residents with community-oriented design.
| Feb 14, 2011
More companies willing to pay extra for green office space
New CoreNet Global/Jones Lang LaSalle survey shows real estate executives forging green strategies that balance environmental, financial and workforce issues.
| Feb 11, 2011
RS Means Cost Comparison Chart: Office Buildings
This month's RS Means Cost Comparison Chart focuses on office building construction.
| Feb 11, 2011
Kentucky’s first green adaptive reuse project earns Platinum
(FER) studio, Inglewood, Calif., converted a 115-year-old former dry goods store in Louisville, Ky., into a 10,175-sf mixed-use commercial building earned LEED Platinum and holds the distinction of being the state’s first adaptive reuse project to earn any LEED rating. The facility, located in the East Market District, houses a gallery, event space, offices, conference space, and a restaurant. Sustainable elements that helped the building reach its top LEED rating include xeriscaping, a green roof, rainwater collection and reuse, 12 geothermal wells, 81 solar panels, a 1,100-gallon ice storage system (off-grid energy efficiency is 68%) and the reuse and recycling of construction materials. Local firm Peters Construction served as GC.
