Frank Gehry redesigns Facebook's west campus Around Town, posted by Editor, Palo Alto Online, on Aug 24, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Frank Gehry is to architecture as Mark Zuckerberg is to social media: A star. The famous architect, known for award-winning designs described at times as "a collision of parts" is now gracing Menlo Park with his expertise.
Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, August 24, 2012, 12:44 PM
Posted by Lots o' buildings, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Aug 25, 2012 at 8:15 am
"Facebook has a "director of global real estate"? How silly is that?"
Not at all. Most companies have facility managers for a single building. For a company like Facebook with offices around the world, it probably takes a team to manage all of that, hence a director to be in charge.
Posted by Richard_B, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Aug 25, 2012 at 10:59 am
This kind of needless extravagance and unwarranted optimism in the future is really going to boost investor confidence, particularly in light of the IPO debacle and the losses experienced by both investors and employee-shareholders alike. This is now a publicly traded corporation, not a kid's toy. Management needs to realize that, and start thinking and acting accordingly. Are we looking here at the birth of "Enron of the Web"?
At least it's being designed as "one large room" - easily converted into warehouse space or other commercial options if the inevitable downsizing occurs...
Posted by Anon., a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Aug 25, 2012 at 12:47 pm
> This kind of needless extravagance and unwarranted optimism in the future is really going to boost investor confidence
It is sure not a very business smart move, true, but these days investors seem to be more about superficial image and gambling, so maybe it will. Investors in Facebook have to be pretty stupid anyway to buy a stock that was so quickly revealed to be pumped up at least twice its value ... and probably more drops in the near future if you ask me.
Posted by Richard_B, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Aug 26, 2012 at 8:17 pm
"Anon" - you hit the nail right on the head. If you didn't pick it up from my post, I was being highly sarcastic with my remarks that it would boost investor confidence.
Your comments about the superficial image and, especially, gambling hold true through all of the speculative IPOs I've seen the past few years. It's sad that corporations have to satisfy Wall Street in order to survive. The days of long-term strategy are gone (although some of us keep that as a top priority) - it's what Wall Street wants to see in the morning.
I'm not writing naively. I grew up in Palo Alto and spent a good part of my life there (I still have a house there). I only left because I got the proverbial "Offer I Cant't Refuse").
As CEO of a Fortune 50 company in the midwest, I'm straddled every day with the agony of struggling between Wall Street expectations and the truly right things to do to ensure growth, and to make that growth successful. In Facebook's situation, I wouldn't have even wasted my time listening to a presentation on the new "campus" - not given the stock's performance. I'd have had people doing damage control, not flaunting blind arrogance.
You've correctly guessed the I'm writing under a fake name. But, I grew up in Palo Alto, love the city, and that's why I stay in contact.
But, I'm grown up now. I know the business world. Some things just aren't going to fly.
Posted by Peter Carpenter, a resident of Atherton, on Aug 27, 2012 at 7:16 am Peter Carpenter is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online
Having actually looked at the design I commend Facebook for this choice. It wil be a beautiful structure and probably very energy efficient. It is not clear that the total cost will be very different from something much more ordinary.
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