Tech giant Amazon took a big step towards completing its incredible nature-filled biospheres last week. The company celebrated its ceremonial “first planting”—an Australian tree fern—inside the campus’ three giant geodesic spheres. The 11-foot-tall fern is the first of what will be hundreds of tropical plants to fill the domes in the heart of Seattle.
Designed by NBBJ, the three steel-framed spheres are part of Amazon’s $4 billion planned campus that will cover 10 blocks of downtown Seattle when complete. Although the greenhouse-like biospheres will not have official office space, they will be filled with hundreds of tropical plants. Workers can use the space as a therapeutic outlet, which the company believes will help encourage employees to “think and work differently.”
Related: Amazon’s biosphere domes are slowly taking shape in Seattle
The giant spheres—the tallest of the three reaches 90 feet in height and 130 feet in diameter—will be set to 60 percent humidity and 72 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. The multistory glass buildings can accommodate over 800 staff and personnel. Over 3,000 exotic plant species are currently being incubated and tested for the spheres at a nearby greenhouse. The high-tech greenhouses are slated for completion in early 2018.
Via Daily Mail
Images via seattle spheres
