flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

First look: Revised plan for Amazon's Seattle HQ and 'biodome'

First look: Revised plan for Amazon's Seattle HQ and 'biodome'

Spheres will offer climate-controlled environment featuring "montane ecologies" of plants, plus space for work, shopping, and amenities.


By BD+C Staff | May 24, 2013

NBBJ has released renderings of a revised plan for Amazon's new three-block headquarters in Seattle. The proposal would replace a previously approved six-story office building with a three-unit "biodome": spheres that will hold large, mature trees and other plants in open, high-bay space. Retail stores are programmed for the ground floor of the spheres, which will comprise about 65,000 sf of space for work, dining, meetings, and recreation. Varied botanical zones will be created, based on diverse climate patterns.

The five-acre complex will also contain three 38-story office towers, providing some 3.3 million sf of space. Smaller, mixed-use buildings are also planned for the development, with facilities linked by pathways and green space.

The proposal is just the latest in a series of large-scale headquarters developments in the works or recently completed for the world's high-tech firms, including Apple, Google, Samsung, and Facebook. The renderings below, provided by NBBJ, give a feel for the proposal: a plum project for a city that already has what's touted as the world's greenest office building.

(http://www.fastcoexist.com/1682132/amazon-is-building-a-biosphere-for-its-employees#1)

 

Related Stories

| Jun 30, 2014

Research finds continued growth of design-build throughout United States

New research findings indicate that for the first time more than half of projects above $10 million are being completed through design-build project delivery. 

| Jun 30, 2014

Narrow San Francisco lots to be developed into micro-units

As a solution to San Francisco’s density and low housing supply compared to demand, local firms Build Inc. and Macy Architecture each are to build micro-unit housing in a small parcel of land in Hayes Valley.

| Jun 30, 2014

Arup's vision of the future of rail: driverless trains, maintenance drones, and automatic freight delivery

In its Future of Rail 2050 report, Arup reveals a vision of the future of rail travel in light of trends such as urban population growth, climate change, and emerging technologies. 

| Jun 30, 2014

4 design concepts that remake the urban farmer's market

The American Institute of Architects held a competition to solve the farmer's markets' biggest design dilemma: lightweight, bland canopies that although convenient, does not protect much from the elements.

| Jun 30, 2014

Harvard releases the State of the Nation’s Housing 2014

Although the housing industry saw notable increases in construction, home prices, and sales in 2013, household growth has yet to fully recover from the effects of the recession, according to a new Harvard University report. 

| Jun 30, 2014

OMA's The Interlace honored as one of the world's most 'community-friendly' high-rises

The 1,040-unit apartment complex in Singapore has won the inaugural Urban Habitat award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which highlights projects that demonstrate a positive contribution to the surrounding environment.

| Jun 30, 2014

Work starts on Jean Nouvel-designed European Patent Office in the Netherlands [slideshow]

With around 80,000 sm and a budget of €205 million self-financed by the EPO, the complex will be one of the biggest office construction sites ever in the Netherlands. 

| Jun 30, 2014

Growth of crowdfunding, public-private partnerships among top trends in architecture marketplace

A new report by the American Institute of Architects highlights several emerging trends in the architecture marketplace, including the growth of the P3 project delivery model and designing for health. 

| Jun 30, 2014

Report recommends making infrastructure upgrades a cabinet-level priority

The ASCE estimates that $3.6 trillion must be invested by 2020 to make critically needed upgrades and expansions of national infrastructure—and avoid trillions of dollars in lost business sales, exports, disposable income, and GDP. 

| Jun 30, 2014

Gen X, not Baby Boomers, spending the most money on homes [infographic]

It turns out that Generation X, who have the highest incomes of the three generations surveyed, are paying the highest home payments and tend to have the largest households. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021