The social networking site Facebook has turned its hand to urban design, reports WorldArchitectureNews.com.

Facebook hosted a design charrette on March 5 in Belle Haven, Virginia, inviting 174 architects, designers, students and stakeholders to create a vision for the Belle Haven and Willow business area.

In similar style to the recent WAN Urban Challenge event involving the city of Detroit, the professional thinkers were split into four teams to brainstorm ideas which could regenerate the region, presenting back to the group and local residents at the end of the day.

Architect David Schnee commented: “Think about how you can share this space with the most people. It’s the same idea behind Facebook; how can you share your stuff with the most friends?”

Design concepts ranged from rooftop gardens, to community libraries and even a Facebook Visitor’s Centre to educate children on advancing technology.

A formal presentation of the day’s outcome will be presented to the City Council at the beginning of May.

www.worldarchitecturenews.com