Amazon unveils 22-story Helix building as heart of HQ2 campus in Arlington

Washington Post
By Fredrick Kunkle
Feb. 2, 2021

Amazon unveiled plans Tuesday to build a 22-story, futuristic building modeled after a double helix to serve as the centerpiece of its Arlington, Va., headquarters.

In artists’ renderings, the 350-foot-tall building — designed by the architectural firm NBBJ to reflect nature’s fondness for the helix in areas from DNA to the Milky Way galaxy — climbs above its National Landing neighborhood like the swirl on an ice cream cone or the tip of a giant screw that has punched through the Earth’s surface.

Amazon officials said the structure is intended to be an alternative workspace, not a traditional office building, where employees would be able to air out ideas and find downtime beyond their cubicles. Trees dot terraces along two walkways that spiral upward, evoking the feel of a stroll through the Blue Ridge Mountains. The streetscape below, with wood-frame retail pavilions and green space, is designed to appeal to people and keep them around when the workday ends.

Company officials said they want the corporate complex to blend with the neighborhood, offering features such as a community center, an amphitheater, a dog run, new bicycle lanes and 2.5 acres of green space that would be open to anyone. The Helix would include an artists-in-residence program and on occasional weekends would open its doors to the public.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/02/02/amazon-arlingon-headquarters-helix/

One has to ask, will the bathrooms be decorated with anti-union messages? I suppose they can afford all this architectural excess on the backs of low-paid workers.

Doesn't this look like it was based on a poop emoticon?