Facebook is opening new offices in Dublin and London in efforts to further expand its international headquarters.
The 120,000ft2 Dublin office space in Grand Canal Square has capacity for 1,000 people, doubling the amount of staff the company currently employs.
Facebook’s 88,000ft2 London office will occupy three floors of 10 Brock Street, Regent’s Place, placing the company in the same building as rival social network Twitter.
The new offices, to be designed by architect Frank Gehry, seem to be in good hands. Gehry has been described by Vanity Fair as the "most important architect of our age" and is best known for buildings such as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
He is also working on Facebook’s new Californian headquarters, a 630,000ft2 property called Anton Menlo, which is more like a luxury housing state.
Employees based there will soon enjoy use of a swimming pool, spa and sports pub, while other perks include a rooftop entertainment deck, bike repair shops and a daycare centre for pets.
John Tenanes, Facebook’s director of real estate who is involved in the housing complex, told the Wall Street Journal last month: "One of Facebook’s corporate goals is to take care of as many aspects of its employees lives as possible. They don’t have to worry about transportation – there’s a bus for that. Laundry and dry cleaning? Check. Hairstylists, woodworking classes, bike maintenance. Check."
All this sounds really nice and I’m sure similar proposals will be applied to the London- and Dublin-based offices.
Should other companies follow their lead?
