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All the United States Washington Seattle Amazon Spheres
AO Edited

Amazon Spheres

The tech giant built three enormous glass orbs in Seattle so employees could work inside a rainforest greenhouse.

Seattle, Washington

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Jake Uitti
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Amazon Spheres from Doppler.   SounderBruce
Amazon Spheres close up.   SounderBruce
Shiny spheres.   mitchell haindfield
The spheres under construction in March 2017.   SounderBruce
Slabs and spheres at Amazon HQ.   Joe Wolf
Amazon Spheres.   Joe Wolf
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Bird’s nest   JBecks / Atlas Obscura User
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Corspe Lilly in bloom October 21, 2018 viewed from 6th Avenue   ShotgunProse / Atlas Obscura User
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About

For generations, the word “Amazon” has been associated with the sprawling South American rainforest. More recently, however, the name belongs to the online retail giant, and now the tech company has created something of a Venn diagram of the two.

In 2017 and after six years of planning, Amazon built a mini rainforest biosphere in Seattle, known as the Amazon Spheres. Located in the downtown South Lake Union Seattle neighborhood, the lush, verdant, multi-leveled workspace was created primarily for Amazon employees to help spark creativity for the often overworked and desk-bound staff. 

Comprised of three giant three-story glass orbs, the structure looks futuristic from the outside. But on the inside, it looks like an office park overtaken by some 40,000 plants from more than 400 species of plants, many of them tropical. On the top floor is a brainstorming area known as the “bird’s nest.” In total, the structure amasses 620 tons of steel and 2,643 panes of glass—though it includes no formal offices. And while the biosphere is elegant and, well, fresh, it may end up attracting more Amazon employees to the Emerald City. So if you want your chance to smell the proverbial Amazon flora, best get your reservation in now.

Related Tags

Spheres Biodiversity Flora Rainforest Architectural Oddities Design Plants Shops Architecture

Know Before You Go

The spheres are open to visitors on the first and third Saturday of each month. While public admission to the facility is free, those interested must make a reservation. The tours, as one might expect, are popular.

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Jake Uitti

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Jumboto, Meg, megancovington, ShotgunProse...

  • Jumboto
  • Meg
  • megancovington
  • ShotgunProse
  • Taterchips
  • davidklein23
  • Aty Trocious
  • JBecks
  • kks523
  • zharlita03

Published

April 6, 2018

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Amazon Spheres
2111 7th Ave
Seattle, Washington, 98101
United States
47.616108, -122.339854
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