Immersive ‘City'

With the aim to build a workspace that would resonate with the local identity, while retaining the companys global persona, KGD Architecture was entrusted with the task to design Facebooks HQ in Hyderabad

- Carol Ferrao

Few had imagined the impact a startup like Facebook would have once it went global. If there was ever a ‘brand’ that is both global and local at the same time, then this is it. When Facebook decided to open its headquarters in Hyderabad – the social network giant’s first corporate office in India – it was clear that it would bring with it a distinct work culture in the country. The aim was to build a workspace that would resonate with local employees, while retaining the company’s identity. And Bengaluru’s KGD Architecture was entrusted in realising this vision and designing a HQ that would be worthy of this multimillion dollar company. The firm was commissioned this project after an extensive filtration process, which saw 11 firms competing over four rounds.

The design brief was straight forward. Firstly, since no job is small or big at Facebook, this aspect needed to shine through in the design scheme. Then, given that the office would mark the company’s entry into the country, the need was to represent Indian culture and bring in a local flavour, while staying clear from typical office ambiences. Additionally, the brief emphasised the need for a workspace where employees can gather, socialise and collaborate. The work environment had to go beyond desks and find different avenues where ideas can be born and bred. ‘Open culture’ was the goal and KGD had to find a localinspired design narrative for it.