Amazon Spheres | NBBJ

Waterfalls and a pair of densely planted living walls create the sense of a jungle. To keep all of this flora happy, the climate in the Spheres is set at 72 degrees Fahrenheit and 60 percent humidity during the day, then shifts to 55 degrees and 90 percent humidity at night. The 67,000-square-foot Spheres represent just two percent of the Amazon project but serve as a magnet to bring people together. Open to Amazon employees, they offer a range of places to meet, work, and dine—from a wood-slatted “birds nest” to terraces with banquettes and chairs.

© Bruce Damonte Architectural Photographer

© Sean Airhart Photography

Working with structural engineers at Magnusson Klemencic Associates and NBBJ’s own design computation team, NBBJ architects devised a steel frame made of 180 elongated pentagonal modules inspired by the work of Belgian mathematician Eugène Charles Catalan and defined by the points of five welded arches. While the frame is curved in two directions, the panes of clear, low-iron glass are flat. A 400,000-pound ring beam at the base of the building transfers gravity, wind, and seismic forces from the glass-and-steel façade to concrete columns in the floors below and a central concrete core. The Spheres combine the mathematical and the organic, the pragmatic and the poetic.

© Stuart Isett

The Glass (By Vitro Architectural Glass)

Solarban 60 and Starphire Ultra-Clear glasses were chosen by NBBJ for their clarity and ability to facilitate photosynthesis. Maximizing the amount of solar energy entering the building while limiting heat was imperative, according to David Sadinsky, a senior associate with the firm.  “Anything we did on the glass or low-e coating that would interfere with that process was a barrier,” he explained. “That led us to look at glass composition, which eventually drove us to low-iron glass and a specific low-e coating that allowed for 480 nanometers of light to come in while rejecting heat.”

Floor Plans

NBBJ modeled more than two dozen glass products before specifying Solarban 60 coating on a Starphire Ultra-Clear glass substrate. “The primary performance criteria we were looking for was the ability of the glass to transmit a specific portion of the solar spectrum to facilitate photosynthesis, while still providing a nice architectural appearance and a clean, white-appearing light,” Sadinsky added.

When united in a standard 1-inch insulating glass unit (IGU), Solarban 60 on Starphire Ultra-Clear glass produces visible light transmittance (VLT) of 74 percent and a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.41.

Northwestern Industries, Seattle, a Vitro Certified™ Network member was the glass fabricator. ENCLOS, Seattle, engineered, fabricated and erected the curtain wall.

Sections

To learn more about Solarban 60 glass, Starphire Ultra-Clear glass and other high-performance Vitro Architectural Glass products, visit www.vitroglazings.com or call 1-855-VTRO-GLS (887-6457).