IMPROVISE wITH NATURE

AMAZON SPHERES

Amazon’s campus near Downtown Seattle consists of multiple blocks in the Belltown area. It is an urban renewal project that pushes forward innovative architectural and site design. Providing public open spaces and enhancing friendly multi-modal transportation framework at street perimeters are among the important goals.

“The Spheres” Bio-Dome is envisioned as a unique conservatory environment that transports employees out of their workday routine into a space that sparks curiosity, inspires creativity and recharges both body and mind. Flora Yeh was the lead design landscape architect during schematic design with Site Workshop as part of the design team led by NBBJ.

Nestled in the cloud forest there are informal meeting spaces, tree house pods, and cafe seating. The living walls, nearly five stories high, include a vast range of plants. The outdoor park includes a lawn terrace, a dog area, garden pockets, seat steps and accessible walkways. The “cycle track” is designed to provide a more protected and comfortable space for cyclists than a conventional bike lane. It separates cyclists from both vehicular traffic and pedestrian sidewalks with a lane distinguished by materials and buffered with planted areas.