Schoettler confirmed that construction of the first phase of the building began in January of this year. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2025. The facilities will encompass an estimated 260,000 square meters distributed across three office buildings.
Taken from El Tiempo
Amazon is preparing a new, futuristic building. Images of the structure were revealed in a post on the company's blog.
John Schoettler, Amazon's global vice president of Real Estate and Facilities, explained the details of the project, which was presented in 2017.
The tower, which will serve as Amazon's second major headquarters, will stand approximately 106 meters tall. The project is located in Arlington County, Virginia, USA.
The building was named HQ2. It was also known as 'The Helix', due to its architectural shape.
The plans in the images allow you to appreciate its appearance, which is similar to a large double helix or a crystal mountain. The architecture firm in charge of the project is ZGF Architects, and its main contractor is Clark Construction
Schoettler confirmed that construction on the first phase of the building began in January of this year. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2025.
This project has been controversial since the year it was announced. In 2017, Amazon held a sort of contest to choose the city that would host the building.
Regarding the conditions governing the event, the media outlet 'Magnet' commented that the cities had to have "more than one million inhabitants, good infrastructure and communications, a good standard of living (prices not too high), plenty of room to grow and tax incentives.".
It was a race among the country's largest cities to attract the company's attention. According to the same source, the city mayors competed with eye-catching ideas.
“In New York, they illuminated their main buildings with Amazon’s corporate colors. Tucson, Arizona, even sent a giant saguaro (a type of cactus) to the company’s current headquarters in Seattle; the mayor of Kansas City reviewed more than 1,000 products on Amazon with five stars (promoting his city),” commented Magnet.
The truth is that, amidst so many offers and million-dollar tax incentives, Arlington County, Virginia, took first place.
Schoettler reiterated in the blog the characteristics of the building and the benefits it could have for the citizens.
For residents, the arrival of the company's second headquarters would bring 25,000 jobs and a $2.5 billion investment (approximately 8 billion pesos) over the next decade. Furthermore, average salaries would be above $150,000 (around 5 million pesos).
Photo: Aboutamazon.com
Amazon's investment aims to stimulate a revitalization of consumption in auxiliary industries and the housing market, which, according to Schoettler, would lead to economic stability.
The facilities will encompass an estimated 260,000 square meters, distributed across three office buildings. They will also be surrounded by a vast open space, for which a public park and a commercial area are planned.
The company's buildings are notable for being designed to the LEED Platinum standard. Therefore, all the energy for the new building will be supplied by a solar farm located in southern Virginia.
Furthermore, a unique feature is that an entire underground structure was designed for cars and public transport, as the idea is to maintain an upper area focused on nature and commerce.
