flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Welcome to the Jungle: Amazon’s Spheres have opened to employees and the public

Green

Welcome to the Jungle: Amazon’s Spheres have opened to employees and the public

The Spheres provide the most unique aspect of Amazon’s downtown Seattle headquarters.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | January 30, 2018
Amazon's Spheres

Photo courtesy of NBBJ

Everyone has heard of a snow globe, but what about a jungle sphere? Designed by NBBJ, the Spheres are a new plant-stuffed workplace at the center of Amazon’s Seattle headquarters. Exposure to nature has been proven to help relax people and increase their creativity, and the Spheres and their tens of thousands of plants are meant to do just that for Amazon’s employees.

Along with the approximately 40,000 plants and trees inside the Spheres are seating areas, including the wooden “bird’s nest” seating area; suspended walkways that wind through the plants; waterfalls; and a four-story living wall that occupies 4,000 sf. The temperature inside the Spheres will kept at an average of 72 degrees with 60% humidity during the day, a climate meant to mimic Costa Rica’s Central Valley, The Seattle Times reports There will also be micro-climates within the space so employees can find a spot with the perfect temperature.

The new building can accommodate 800 people and offers WiFi throughout. Amazon badges will be used to monitor how much time an employee spends inside for safety and capacity reasons.

The three connected Spheres occupy 70,000 sf and will be open to the public via guided tours and ground floor retail space.

Related Stories

Great Solutions | Jul 9, 2021

MojoDesk creates a new solution for managing open office distractions

The MojoDome allows for a private work space while also maintaining a collaborative environment.

Resiliency | Jun 24, 2021

Oceanographer John Englander talks resiliency and buildings [new on HorizonTV]

New on HorizonTV, oceanographer John Englander discusses his latest book, which warns that, regardless of resilience efforts, sea levels will rise by meters in the coming decades. Adaptation, he says, is the key to future building design and construction.

Office Buildings | Jun 24, 2021

Springdale Green office campus granted approval in East Austin

Gensler is designing the project in collaboration with landscape architect dwg.

Office Buildings | Jun 10, 2021

The future of the workplace is social clubs

Office design experts from NELSON Worldwide propose a new concept for the workplace, one that resembles the social clubs of the past. 

Office Buildings | Jun 8, 2021

RMJM Milano wins competition to design Sanko Headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey

The project was selected for its sustainable and innovative features.

Office Buildings | Jun 3, 2021

What's next for workplace design?

Balancing personal space and the need for collaboration.

Digital Twin | May 24, 2021

Digital twin’s value propositions for the built environment, explained

Ernst & Young’s white paper makes its cases for the technology’s myriad benefits.

Office Buildings | May 18, 2021

“The Beam” will be Arizona’s first CLT project

RSP Architects designed the building.

Wood | May 14, 2021

What's next for mass timber design?

An architect who has worked on some of the nation's largest and most significant mass timber construction projects shares his thoughts on the latest design trends and innovations in mass timber.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Sustainable Design and Construction

Northglenn, a Denver suburb, opens a net zero, all-electric city hall with a mass timber structure

Northglenn, Colo., a Denver suburb, has opened the new Northglenn City Hall—a net zero, fully electric building with a mass timber structure. The 32,600-sf, $33.7 million building houses 60 city staffers. Designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Northglenn City Hall is set to become the first municipal building in Colorado, and one of the first in the country, to achieve the Core certification: a green building rating system overseen by the International Living Future Institute.


MFPRO+ News

San Francisco unveils guidelines to streamline office-to-residential conversions

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection announced a series of new building code guidelines clarifying adaptive reuse code provisions and exceptions for converting office-to-residential buildings. Developed in response to the Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse program established in July 2023, the guidelines aim to increase the viability of converting underutilized office buildings into housing by reducing regulatory barriers in specific zoning districts downtown. 



Government Buildings

OSHA’s proposed heat standard published in Federal Register

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a proposed standard addressing heat illness in outdoor and indoor settings in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would require employers to evaluate workplaces and implement controls to mitigate exposure to heat through engineering and administrative controls, training, effective communication, and other measures.

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