Several years ago, The Spheres were only a seed of an idea. An indoor garden from the start, The Spheres were envisioned as a curved glass building filled with plants and tall trees.
“Our goal with The Spheres was to create a unique gathering place where employees could collaborate and innovate together, and where the Seattle community could gather to experience biodiversity in the center of the city,” said John Schoettler, Amazon Vice President of Global Real Estate and Facilities.
About a year later, the horticulture team began to fulfill the vision of the indoor garden by gathering and growing the plants in the off-site greenhouse.
It wasn’t until May 21, 2015 when that seed was planted. After months of planning, the team broke ground on The Spheres. Since the start of construction, more than 600 skilled tradespeople worked over 866,000 hours to fabricate and build the structure. Over the years, the team installed 2,643 panels of energy-efficient glass, raised the 50-foot living wall, and brought home Rubi, a 49-foot ficus tree.
Since the grand opening in January 2018, thousands of visitors, employees and public visitors alike, have enjoyed The Spheres’ indoor cloud forests.
