Facebook
Sydney
The design of Facebook’s office in the Sydney, CBD was won by Bates Smart through a competitive design process. Occupying the top floor of the Apple building in King Street and enjoying a six metre ceiling height, this project offered an exciting opportunity to work with a global leader.The design embodies the energetic culture of Facebook, characterised by rapid growth and a sense of anarchy. Facebook wanted to express the creative energy of a startup company and sought a design that expressed changeability, the ‘incomplete’, and a sense of irreverence.
The Facebook culture is characterised by interconnectivity, technology, nonconformity and youthfulness. The design plays upon these themes, adopting an energetic colour palette contrasted against honest raw materials, used in an unconventional way. For example combining polycarbonates with raw plywood.
The open workspaces are positioned in the centre of the space, encouraging connectivity with the reception, meeting rooms, breakout hub, and staff/client bar area. The space caters for a young workforce, with a variety of workspaces, including a relaxed lounge, individual bench space along the perimeter and separate ‘cosy’ rooms.
The design had to meet Facebook’s global standards and involved approval processes with both local and US client representatives. Facebook have since commissioned Bates Smart to design their new Melbourne office.
