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
| Mar 26, 2013
Will Google Glass revolutionize the construction process?
An Australian architect is exploring the benefits of augmented reality in the design and construction process.
| Mar 24, 2013
World's tallest data center opens in New York
Sabey Data Center Properties last week celebrated the completion of the first phase of an adaptive reuse project that will transform the 32-story Verizon Building in Manhattan into a data center facility. When the project is completed, it will be the world's tallest data center.
| Mar 22, 2013
8 cool cultural projects in the works
A soaring opera center in Hong Kong and a multi-tower music center in Calgary are among the latest cultural projects.
| Mar 22, 2013
Earn $500 as a DOE proposal reviewer
The DOE'S Building Technologies Office this morning put out a call to the AEC industry for expert reviewers for its new energy-efficiency initiative for small commercial buildings, which make up more than 90% of the commercial building stock.
| Mar 21, 2013
Best Firms to Work For: Enermodal Engineering is green to the core
At Enermodal Engineering, there’s only one kind of building—a sustainable one.
| Mar 21, 2013
Are charter schools killing private schools?
A recent post on Atlantic Cities highlights research by the U.S. Census Bureau's Stephanie Ewert that shows a correlation between the growth of charter schools and the decline in private school enrollment.
| Mar 20, 2013
Folding glass walls revitalize student center
Single-glazed storefronts in the student center at California’s West Valley College were replaced with aluminum-framed, thermally broken windows from NanaWall in a bronze finish that emulates the look of the original building.
| Mar 20, 2013
Architecture Billings Index up again in February
The American Institute of Architects reported the February ABI score was 54.9, up slightly from a mark of 54.2 in January. This score reflects a strong increase in demand for design services.
| Mar 18, 2013
Toyo Ito named 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize recipient
Toyo Ito, a 71 year old architect whose architectural practice is based in Tokyo, Japan, will be the recipient of the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize.
