Glimpse into Amazon's futuristic living spheres

Sasha Lekach
Updated

Amazon is showing off its bizarre plant-filled balls on Instagram. 

The company calls them "The Spheres" and they've been in construction around its Seattle headquarters for the past few years. 

The Spheres, as seen from 7th Ave, are situated as the centerpiece of Amazon's urban campus. Redevelopment of the Regrade commenced late 2014, with completion of The Spheres scheduled for 2018.

A post shared by The Spheres (@seattlespheres) on Mar 13, 2017 at 2:43pm PDT

Last week the giant domes made their online debut with their own dedicated Instagram account. So far, almost a dozen pictures have gone up, including some from inside the structures.

This is the 6th Ave conservatory. With an interior apex of 50 ft, visitors will be able to sit in the shade of palm trees and giant tree ferns.

A post shared by The Spheres (@seattlespheres) on Mar 13, 2017 at 3:41pm PDT

The three spheres are expected to open in 2018. They'll be open spaces where Amazon employees can work, unwind, and connect with nature in the middle of Seattle, according to Amazon. The biggest is more than 90 feet tall and 130 feet wide. 

The company says there will be more than 3,000 plant species from 30 countries in the bio-domes. 

This test planting for The Spheres' living wall panels is growing in the greenhouse, which currently houses over 3,000 species of plants. When completed, the living wall will stand at 60 ft tall with over 400 individual panels.

A post shared by The Spheres (@seattlespheres) on Mar 13, 2017 at 3:01pm PDT

So why would Amazon employees want to hang out in them? 

  • The temperature inside will be a comfortable 72 degrees, with 60 percent humidity.

  • There will be tree house meeting rooms.  

  • The four-story living wall sounds amazing. 

  • Waterfalls and trees are a nice touch. 

We admit this sounds super cool, but maybe not conducive to conference calls or getting any real work done. We'd be way more likely to use them for Instagram and Snapchat photo shoots.

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