From the fourth floor of a striking rainforest-like conservatory¹ built of glass and white steel in downtown Seattle, Amazon.com boss Jeff Bezos turned toward the top of his newest headquarters building to summon his favorite assistant.

亚马逊最新总部坐落在西雅图商业区，高达四层，是座热带雨林般的温室建筑，由玻璃和白色钢筋建造而成，老板杰夫·贝佐斯(Jeff Bezos)站在顶楼招呼员工。

In a proud little show on Monday for the media and dignitaries — which also doubled as product placement for Amazon's voice assistant — the world's richest man ordered out loud, symbolically²: "Alexa, open The Spheres."

周一，贝佐斯为媒体和官方开启了一场微型秀，也是为亚马逊的产品语音助手打call，贝佐斯大声地说：“Alexa，开启苍穹”

The domed³ structure is only steps away from the executive office tower where Bezos leads the online retail⁴ behemoth. It's part of the company's urban campus near downtown Seattle that is largely made up of unmarked office buildings where more than 40,000 people report to work.

这座圆形建筑离贝佐斯的办公室只有几步远，是亚马逊公司靠近西雅图商区的一部分，办公楼特征并不显著，但是有超过4万人在此工作。

The four-story Spheres structure from the outside looks like three connected glass orbs⁵ planted into the ground in a caterpillar⁶ shape. Lighting⁷ mimics⁸ a position near the equator, with 12 hours of shade and sun. During the day, the interior is maintained at 72 degrees with 60 percent humidity, to emulate⁹ a cloud forest ecosystem¹⁰.

这座四层的圆形建筑远看像拔地而起的三个草堆做的毛毛虫。光线像是从赤道发出来的，12小时光影太阳不停歇。白天，建筑内部22度，湿度60%，仿照云雾笼罩的密林生态系统。

Amazon's Amazonesque rainforest-like conservatory is now home to more than 40,000 plants from 50 countries on five continents. Its centerpiece is a 50-foot (15.2-meter) fig¹¹ tree. Most plants will flower and some can yield fruit, though visitors must keep their hands off all plant life. About 90 percent of the plants were grown and tended to in a suburban¹² greenhouse for years in anticipation¹³ for their permanent home in The Spheres.

亚马逊雨林式的温室办公楼有来自五大洲50个国家超过4万株的植物。中心是一棵高达15.2米的无花果树。大多数树都开花，有一些甚至会结果，但是游客禁止触碰植物。90%的植物都在郊区温室种植多年，就是为了能在亚马逊的苍穹落户。

Though masked by nature, the sleek¹⁴ and minimalist "alternative work space" is also designed to make you forget you're at work, in a startup environment that is rumored¹⁵ to be aggressively demanding.

亚马逊办公楼以自然做装饰，非常平整而简约，这样另类的工作空间就是为了让人忘记工作，毕竟在要求严苛的创业公司亚马逊，这样的设计别有用意。

"The idea is that we connect them with nature. We get them away from their normal desk environment so you don't see any desks or cubicles¹⁶ around," said Ron Gagliardo, Amazon's leading horticulturist.

亚马逊首席园艺师罗·戈里亚多（Ron Gagliardo）说：“我们把工作环境和自然联系起来，让大家远离普通办公桌，在这里看不到办公桌和小隔间。”

The corporate¹⁷ office space, however selfie-worthy, is already such a hit that the company had to create a reservation system to contain the flow of traffic for the time being. Employees will have to snag a reservation to get in but it's currently already booked out until April. The building has capacity for about 1,000 people but is more comfortable with about 800 at a time.

不管公司办公区域的拍照价值有多大，都得建立预约系统以确保当前不会发生人员堵塞。员工要抢预约名额，眼下四月之前的都已经预约完了。这栋建筑能容纳1000员工，人数维持在800是最合适的。

Once inside, workers can use nooks with tables and chairs that can serve as a casual meeting space. Coffee breaks can be taken in a cafe and "picnic" area offering an interior reprieve¹⁸ from Seattle's unrelenting rainy season.

建筑内部，员工可以用桌椅的边角组成会议区域，咖啡时段可以去咖啡厅，也可以去“野餐区”，以避开西雅图连绵不绝的雨季。

Critics have called the Spheres a vanity project, illustrating¹⁹ Seattle's sometimes strained relationship with its largest employer. The company's presence has changed the local economy and raised its cost of living — but none of that was on show at the unveiling of the Spheres.

评论人士说“苍穹”毫无价值，西雅图和亚马逊的关系非常紧张。亚马逊改变了当地经济，使消费水平增加，这些在苍穹的开幕式上都没有提及。

Instead, Bezos received glowing praise from the governor, mayor and county officials for his recent commitments to the city's homelessness crisis plus a personal donation of $33 million to a scholarship foundation that helps immigrant youth in the country illegally.

但是西雅图州长、市长和郡县官员都对贝佐斯赞赏有加，贝佐斯刚对西雅图流浪汉危机做出了一番馈赠，也以个人名义向某奖学金项目捐赠330万美元，帮助非法移民西雅图的年轻人。

Bezos was coy when asked by The Associated Press whether the company's much-anticipated second headquarters to be built in an undetermined U.S. city will have another statement building space like the Spheres, saying: "We'll see."

美联社（The Associated Press）问贝佐斯，万众期待的亚马逊第二总部是否会成为其他城市的苍穹，贝佐斯说：“可以期待一下。”