Basically. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Facebook wants to expand its West Coast footprint, with a spacious new facility--designed by no less than starchitect Frank Gehry himself--just across the expressway from its current HQ. So earlier this week, the San Jose Mercury News reports, the company laid out its plans for the Palo Alto city council's approval.

Before they could get the thumbs up, Facebook had to reassure the city fathers that they didn't want to erect some shiny architectural marvel that'd loom futuristically over the Silicon Valley skyline. Mr. Gehry's creative partner, Craig Webb, told them that Zuck himself requested a "low-key" design:

Some of the earlier ideas, such as one that envisioned the building's ends flaring out like butterfly wings, were dropped, Webb said.

"They felt some of those things were too flashy and not in keeping with the kind of the culture of Facebook, so they asked us to make it more anonymous," Webb said.

Rather, the structure will be composed of white stucco, most of the building won't top 45 feet and it'll be largely obscured by landscaping and a rooftop park. (The park will include oak trees.) Mr. Webb explained: "Our intent is that it almost becomes like a hillside, with the landscape really taking the forefront."

Okay, Mark 'Frodo' Zuckerberg, enjoy your new headquarters in the Shire.

Mark Zuckerberg (flickr.com/gpaumier)

We can cluck all we like at Facebook's IPO woes, but things are still going well enough for the social networking giant that legendary architect Frank Gehry is collaborating with Zuck to build Facebook West. As Bloomberg tells the story, it sounds like Mr. Gehry's creation may end up being a giant, wide-open, techie's paradise:

"If you decided to traverse the huge floor via RipStik, you might wave to co-workers talking outside pop-up pavilions called war rooms and devoted to launching products.

"You would pass no private office or cubicle, but you could circle a glass-partitioned space at the very center of the floor where you might find Zuckerberg."

There will even be outdoor cafes serving "sushi and barbecue."

A RipStik, by the way, is "a two-wheeled cross between a skateboard and snowboard," according to Bloomberg's James Russell, who writes that it might be "the perfect means" to traverse Facebook West's 10 acre space.

The goal for Mr. Gehry's wide-open and RipStik-friendly space is to inspire Facebook staff and create an atmosphere that generates innovation and brilliant new ideas. Mr. Gehry told Bloomberg he seeks "a kind of ephemeral connectivity that you can't take a picture of."

Mr. Gehry also admitted to Bloomberg that he "has yet to master Facebook," but being 83 and a famous architect, he really doesn't have to. No one apparently bothered to ask if he could work a RipStik, which might be a much more interesting question.