The dramatic “Spheres” at the new Amazon headquarters in downtown Seattle have joined the Space Needle, downtown Seattle Library, Smith Tower, and Pacific Science Center as architectural icons of the city. The project includes meeting spaces for Amazon employees and a botanical garden with over 40,000 plants.  Information about the building and its contents can be obtained at the “SeattleSpheres” website.

A partial list of firms involved in creating the Spheres follows: NBBJ (architectural design); Magnusson Klemencic Associates (structural design); Sellen Construction (general contractor); Front, Inc. (structural details and analysis); Canron Western Constructors/Supreme Steel (steel fabricator and erector); Mohawk Metal (steel fabricator); Albina Co. (steel bending and rolling); Enclos (glazing contractor); Northwestern Industries, Inc. (glass fabricator); and Vitro Architectural Glass (glass supplier).  Further information about the design and construction challenges overcome on the project can be found on these firms’ websites.

The Spheres are open to the public two Saturdays a month by reservation only. A display area on the ground floor, called Spheres Discovery at Understory, is open to the public daily.

Photo of Karl Oles Karl Oles

Karl Oles, a partner of the firm practicing in the Construction and Design group, has for more than 30 years helped owners, architects, engineers, and contractors solve complex legal problems through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and trial. Karl has also drafted, negotiated, and…

Karl Oles, a partner of the firm practicing in the Construction and Design group, has for more than 30 years helped owners, architects, engineers, and contractors solve complex legal problems through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and trial. Karl has also drafted, negotiated, and analyzed multimillion-dollar design and construction contracts on a wide variety of construction projects. He has served as an arbitrator on the American Arbitration Association’s construction panel. He is coauthor of the current standard treatise on Washington lien law (available for free by following this link). He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© for Litigation-Construction from 2013 to 2018.

Click here for Karl Oles’ full bio.