Amazon. The plans of com Inc. for its new Northern Virginia headquarters have an outdoor theme, the latest sign that major tech companies are getting more creative with office space rather than giving it up.
Phase two of the company’s development in Arlington, Virginia, calls for three 22-story office buildings and smaller retail buildings surrounded by woodland, an outdoor amphitheater, a dog run, and parking for approximately 950 bicycles.
The centerpiece will be the site’s fourth and tallest tower, a 350-foot structure called the Helix because it will have two spiral outdoor walkways with Virginia trees and plants twisting to the top of the building.
Amazon, which unveiled the designs Tuesday, said the cluster of new office and retail buildings will accommodate approximately 13,000 employees, with room for more. The project is part of Amazon’s more than $ 2.5 billion, 25,000-employee office campus, which the Seattle-based company calls its second headquarters.
While numerous tech companies have pledged to allow employees to work from home even after the coronavirus pandemic contained, Amazon, Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google. and others have continued to expand their urban office footprint. By investing heavily in metropolitan real estate, they bet office space will be an important part of their corporate culture after the pandemic is over.