Like, what? Amazon just opened its own rainforest in Seattle!
Amazon.com Inc on Monday opened a rainforest-like office space in Seattle that it hopes will spark new ideas for employees.
While cities across North America are seeking to host Seattle-based Amazon’s second headquarters, the world’s largest online retailer is still expanding its main campus. Company office towers and high-end eateries have taken the place of warehouses and parking lots in Seattle’s South Lake Union district. The Spheres complex, officially open to workers on Tuesday, is the pinnacle of a decade of development here.
The Spheres’ three glass domes house some 40,000 plants of 400 species. Amazon, famous for its demanding work culture, hopes the Spheres’ lush environs will let employees reflect and have chance encounters, spawning new products or plans.
The space is more like a greenhouse than a typical office. Instead of enclosed conference rooms or desks, there are walkways and unconventional meeting spaces with chairs.
“We wanted to create something really special, something iconic for our campus and for the city of Seattle,” John Schoettler, Amazon’s vice president of global real estate and facilities, said in a ceremony opening the Spheres.
Amazon has invested $3.7 billion on buildings and infrastructure in Seattle from 2010 to summer 2017, a figure that has public officials …read more
