Amazon wants to build its Seattle workers a massive biosphere

This is bound to raise more than a few eyebrows. Amazon plans on building a massive biosphere for the workers in its Seattle offices.

The ecommerce giant this week submitted drawings for a series of giant, domed greenhouses which will be capable of housing multiple forms of plant life as well as mature trees and are intended to provide a space where Amazon employees can “work and socialize in a more natural, park-like setting”.

The newly proposed domes are meant to be an accompaniment to the company’s planned skyscraper project and will apparently off-set some of the problems associated with conventional office spaces.

“The generative idea is that a plant-rich environment has many positive qualities that are not often found in a typical office setting,” according to the design documents.

“While the form of the building will be visually reminiscent of a greenhouse or conservatory, plant material will be selected for its ability to co-exist in a microclimate that also suits people,” the documents continue. “To encourage growth and maintain the health of the plants, the building’s interior will include high bay spaces on five floors totaling approximately 65 000 SF [square feet] and capable of accommodating mature trees.”

While the domes do look very sci-fi there is precedent for this kind of structure. Among the influences mentioned by the design document are the Renzo Piano’s “Bolla” in Genoa, Italy, The Royal Greenhouses of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium and the Mitchel Park Conservatory in Milwaukee, USA. The architects say that the domes will mirror “botanical zones modeled on montane ecologies found around the globe.”

As Geekwire notes, the project might therefore also be an attempt by the company to live up to its namesake in the natural world.

Amazon is set to build its new Seattle headquarters over a six-year period. Alongside the domes will be three 37-story office towers encompassing about 3.3-million square feet.