((PKG) AMAZON SPHERES
((Banner: A Green Building))
((Reporter: Natasha Mosgovaya))
((Camera: Aleksandr Bergan))
((VOA Russian))
((Adapted by: Zdenko Novacki))
((Map: Seattle, Washington))
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
Welcome to the Spheres. They are a relatively new addition to Amazon’s campus. They opened at the end of January, and the Spheres were built out of this idea that we wanted to give our employees an alternative space to work.
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
This building is really intended for Amazon employees to use. It is basically a greenhouse. The Spheres are filled with over 40,000 different types of plants from over 50 different countries and six continents. So, not your average plants that you might find in your backyard and throughout the Spheres, there are little work spaces, little tables for folks to bring their laptop, to have a meeting, to come have lunch and just to experience something that feels really different than their typical office space.
((NATS))
((Tim Bomke, Military Program Manager, Amazon))
That takes a little bit of getting used to, but, I think, for me at least, I really enjoy that it adds to the freedom and the creativity that you have. It's the first building that we've done where you don't have a desk. It's just kind of all free spaces, and if you are an early bird, you can pretty much pick where you want to work.
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
These, right here, are your modern age phone booths. There’s actually no phones in them. You would just bring a cell phone but it’s a quiet space in case you really needed to focus on your work or make a personal call because a lot of times our offices are open spaces. So, these are just a good quiet spot but they’re very new age, very modern.
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
So, behind me is our community banana stand. We have two of these on Amazon’s campus and they’re really just a fun way for us to say, “Hey, we love being in this neighborhood. We love working in Seattle. Anybody passing through the neighborhood, please grab a banana, on Amazon.” The folks who work at the banana stand are called banistas. They arguably have the greatest job at Amazon and they hand out thousands of bananas to passersby every single day.
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
There’s been a lot of scientific research that shows that when you are surrounded by green, surrounded by nature, your brain works a little bit differently, maybe it thinks more creatively. So, we’re really excited to give our employees this opportunity to come in here, to work in a place that feels a little bit different, that feels really refreshing, and also to educate them on all of the different types of plants that are here from all over the world.
((NATS))
((Allison Flicker, Spokesperson, Amazon))
Because the Spheres were really exciting for this entire community when they opened, a couple weekends a month, we open the Spheres to the general public, and folks can sign up online to come visit and see inside and just see what this space has to offer.
((NATS))
