Facebook this week opened a new Hong Kong office in a sparklingly new building, One Taikoo Place. But the office itself features many nods to Hong Kong's past, most notably in the gloriously retro canteen and a neon-festooned 'secret room'.
The office features works by several Hong Kong artists under an Artist in Residence program, alongside cultural references such as the employee-selected meeting room names: “Lion Rock” (a Hong Kong geological feature/landmark), “In the Mood for Love” (the great film by Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai) and “Cook Phone Congee” (an idiom that means to talk for hours on the phone). A Facebook Live Studio features a wall that looks like the inside of a Hong Kong MTR station.
Attendees at the opening ceremony included Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, chief secretary for administration of the HKSAR government, as well as Facebook vice president Dan Neary.
“Hong Kong is an important market for us in Asia Pacific," Jayne Leung, VP and head of Greater China at Facebook, said in a release. "Our expanded office reflects our continued commitment to helping Hong Kong fuel its economic engine by bringing in technological innovations, and shape a better tomorrow by bringing communities together."