SEATTLE — Amazon's newest construction is turning heads in downtown Seattle.
The futuristic spheres have taken shape and more details have emerged about a forest-like atmosphere planned for their interiors.
The spheres are on the site of Amazon's newest three-block campus, which is connected by streetcar to the company's South Lake Union buildings. The spheres are on Lenora Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
Geometrically speaking, each one of the three spheres are pentagonal hexecontahedrons.
The steel skeletons, made out of 60 repeated shapes, are supposed to mimic the look of sprouting vines growing over each other.
The eye-catching domes are between 80 and 95 feet high and will feature five floors of office space.
The idea is to create a place for employees to work and socialize in a more natural, park-like setting.
To that end, Amazon will pay a full-time horticulturalist to tend to exotic plants and trees inside the domes.
According to reports, thousands of different plant species will be inside and thousands of universities from around the world have donated seed from rare plants, many of which are extinct in the natural world, hoping they will thrive in the spheres.
Amazon is basically creating a four-story forest to help inspire employees.
To accommodate the plants, the temperature and humidity will be carefully regulated.
According to the architectural firm building the spheres, for 12 hours a day, the temperature inside will be 68 to 72 degrees with the average humidity seen in Seattle.
At night, the temperature will go down to 55 degrees and the humidity will pushed to 85 to 90 percent,to help the plants grow.
Amazon hasn't said when the spheres will be completed, but it will likely be some time next year.
Cox Media Group
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