4 ms·

I used to work on this campus in 1997. It kinda reminded me of an apartment complex in that there is a large open areas surrounded by free-standing buildings. A

I used to work on this campus in 1997. It kinda reminded me of an apartment complex in that there is a large open areas surrounded by free-standing buildings. At the time, there was a dry cleaners drop off, at least one small restaurant and an exercise facility. There's also a trail that rings the entire campus. In the building I had access to, the outer walls were built out with small offices that would fit 1-4 people and the middle part of the buildings had reception desks and labs. Everything was taupe and tan with the medium purple Sun color in contrast. The offices have nice large windows looking over the parking lot and the marshes beyond. There was plenty of nice break space, and I remember being surprised to find a room designated for women to pump breastmilk. But then, there were a lot of women on that campus. ETA: if you click on the map link in the article and zoom in, you'll get a pretty good look. The building off to the left side of the picture that is most separate from the rest was the exercise facility. The building in the upper right is the one I worked in.

portman 16y ago
Did you feel like there wasn't enough outdoor space? Comparing this (via aerial imagery) to working on the Microsoft campus in the late 90s, it seems like Sun campus is mostly indoors, as opposed to the "college" feel of Microsoft or Google. I would think that Facebook would want to emulate Google's campuses more, with a larger number of smaller buildings to promote a more collegiate atmosphere. But this is all based on four 45-degree aerial shots, so I'm curious what your thoughts are on the place.
- elptacek 16y ago
  Quite the opposite. I've never worked in another place where it was more inviting to be outside.
- philwelch 16y ago
  It doesn't seem like Facebook has much choice, really. Even Google had to take over an existing campus (SGI) that fit their requirements. Can you imagine the expense of building a completely new campus in Silicon Valley? Apple's been planning to build a new campus for years. Even they had to buy an existing property (HP's old campus), and reportedly are planning to build an entirely new campus on the same land. As successful and rich as Facebook is, they aren't Apple-rich. They probably aren't even Apple-picky about what their new campus is like--not that they don't care, but it's hard to imagine anyone else having the same level of perfectionism as Apple.
thwarted 16y ago
I remember being surprised to find a room designated for women to pump breastmilk. But then, there were a lot of women on that campus. I believe that, in California, companies of a certain size need to provide a room for this independent of how many women the company employs. From http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14389 http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14389 : Cal. Labor Code § 1030 et seq. (2001) provides that employers need to allow a break and provide a room for a mother who desires to express milk in private. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=94664316561+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=9466431...

portman 16y ago

Did you feel like there wasn't enough outdoor space? Comparing this (via aerial imagery) to working on the Microsoft campus in the late 90s, it seems like Sun campus is mostly indoors, as opposed to the "college" feel of Microsoft or Google. I would think that Facebook would want to emulate Google's campuses more, with a larger number of smaller buildings to promote a more collegiate atmosphere. But this is all based on four 45-degree aerial shots, so I'm curious what your thoughts are on the place.

elptacek 16y ago
Quite the opposite. I've never worked in another place where it was more inviting to be outside.
philwelch 16y ago
It doesn't seem like Facebook has much choice, really. Even Google had to take over an existing campus (SGI) that fit their requirements. Can you imagine the expense of building a completely new campus in Silicon Valley? Apple's been planning to build a new campus for years. Even they had to buy an existing property (HP's old campus), and reportedly are planning to build an entirely new campus on the same land. As successful and rich as Facebook is, they aren't Apple-rich. They probably aren't even Apple-picky about what their new campus is like--not that they don't care, but it's hard to imagine anyone else having the same level of perfectionism as Apple.

thwarted 16y ago

I remember being surprised to find a room designated for women to pump breastmilk. But then, there were a lot of women on that campus. I believe that, in California, companies of a certain size need to provide a room for this independent of how many women the company employs. From http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14389 http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14389 : Cal. Labor Code § 1030 et seq. (2001) provides that employers need to allow a break and provide a room for a mother who desires to express milk in private. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=94664316561+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=9466431...