Photos: Glenn Fleishman
When I toured the Amazon Spheres with one of the building’s lead architects, its head horticulturist, and Amazon’s real-estate chief, they didn’t conceal their delight while showing off botanic and design treasures in the gem-like building. The three interlocked glass-and-steel geodesic domes are filled with a combination of ordinary and exotic plants mixed together in the kind of harmony typically found in long-established and richly endowed horticultural collections at institutions such as the Huntington Library in California or public collections such as the United States Botanic Garden in Washington D.C.
Yet the Spheres aren’t intended for public consumption. The building is meant for internal use by Amazon employees, providing a contemplative break from the boxy shapes and right angles of the surrounding urban neighborhood. Rounded and organic forms–both constructed and natural–literally take the edge off.
