What’s inside Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Spheres?
SEATTLE, USA — Amid the vast desert that is the Washington State lies an oasis, a patch of green called Seattle, which made it earn the moniker “Emerald City.”
As such, Seattle has become one of the world’s biggest producers of cherries, hops, grapes, potatoes, and the ever-famous Washington apples.
But within this luscious city is another world of green: The Spheres by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Fondly called by the media as “Bezos’ balls” because of their spherical shape, The Spheres are co-working conservatories that are part of Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle developed in 2012.
Bezos himself dedicated The Spheres on January 29, 2018, and ceremonially opened its doors using an Alexa voice command.
Designed by NBBJ and landscape firm Site Workshop, the three glass domes have a biophilic design that incorporates nature into the built environment.
Apart from employee lounges, workspaces, cafes and retail shops, The Spheres house over 40,000 species, including Asian carnivorous plants and small fish in aquariums and manmade lakes. The Spheres can accommodate up to 800 people at a time.
Access to The Spheres, however, is limited to Amazon employees, but these are open to the public via weekly tours and a ground floor exhibit.
Filipino-American Amazon employees Leony and April recently gave Philstar.com and other media outlets a tour of their co-working space at the heart of Seattle city in Washington State.
According to April and Leony, Amazon employees also call The Spheres as “Campus.”
Leony, who moved to Seattle from Quezon City and has been working for Amazon for three years now, said The Spheres is a showpiece where she always brings visiting relatives and friends.
For April, The Spheres give a much-needed “change of environment” from her computers, though she admitted she usually just goes there for the free coffee (employees are entitled to only one coffee a day – and their consumption is tracked electronically when they swipe their IDs to redeem the free daily drink).
Outside The Spheres is a community caravan that gives away free Cavendish bananas since Bezos reportedly loves bananas, believing these help improve employees' physical and mental well-being, April quipped. According to reports, Bezos also instigated the banana stand as employee incentives that do not need packaging. Peels are also collected back to be used as compost.
When asked if employees also bring a date to The Spheres, April nodded: “Yes, because my boyfriend is also an Amazon employee!” — Video by Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo, additional video editing by Martin Ramos
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Editor's note: The tour to Seattle was hosted by Philippine Airlines to promote tourism in the area. At no stage does the host organization have a say on the stories generated from the coverage, interviews conducted, publication date and story treatment. Content is produced solely by Philstar.com following editorial guidelines.
