It’s only taken me getting a stomach bug and discovering the joy of electric blankets to give me the time to write up my recent trip to Seattle, in particular, the Amazon Spheres. This is potentially the world’s most botanical office space (and maybe the most productive too, given how good plants make us feel, oooft!). It was truly an honour to have a tour with the head gardener, Brian (confusingly also known as Christian) and in this Substack, I’m going to give you an insight into this iconic office space!!
I was a terribly awkward minnie, and couldn’t make the official tour being held at the weekend for speakers at the Northwest Flower Show, as it clashed with some of the seminars I was giving. However, my dear friend Michael Fong (previous head gardener of the Spheres) very kindly connected me with the current head gardener, Brian/Christian. I was so pumped for the visit, in fact I had already sneaked a look by walking there at about 5am (certainly before Starbucks was open) the day after I landed, fuelled by jet lag. They just look so otherworldly and I couldn't stop staring at it that morning (that's what he said, haha).
They sit there all botanical, a medley of glass and green, sitting proud in the middle of skyscrapers and all those beige right angles.
The official essence of the Spheres is (aka the blurb from the website): “The Spheres are a result of innovative thinking about the character of a workplace and an extended conversation about what is typically missing from urban offices – a direct link to nature. The Spheres are home to more than 40,000 plants from the cloud forest regions of over 30 countries.”
The space is superb, and incorporates many layers, meeting spaces, nooks (and with plenty of actual plant layers of sound proofing throughout). It isn’t just an office space filled with plants for aesthetics though, the plants are carefully chosen, and comprise a very special collection, with some quite rare items dotted around.
At the Amazon Spheres, there are 8 full-time members of staff who maintain the space, although they often have to work in the shadows, with most (heavier) gardening happening between 5am and 9am before the offices open, or on Sundays. There are also 8 members of staff who work behind the scenes, at the nearby plant nursery. In fact, as the plants are so special, they generally hold them in 3 locations, one planted in the spheres, one at the nursery, and one always in propagation.
The Spheres generally sit at around 72F (22C) through the day, sitting at about 58F (14C) at night, and for humidity geeks - it’s generally at 65-70%! Air flow can be tough in this type of space, however as part of the installation, and constant improvement, tree trunks and faux rock are placed in spots to help to bounce the air around a bit more!
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