April 28, 2022

Amazon's eye-catching HQ2 gets final go-ahead

Renderings by NBBJ [enlarge]

The Helix tower is the anchor building for HQ2.

[enlarge]

Phase one of development, Metropolitan Park, is currently under construction.

Last weekend, Arlington County's board voted unanimously to approve PenPlace, the final phase of Amazon's HQ2 project in Virginia.

The HQ2 campus, designed by Seattle-based architect NBBJ, is approximately 3.3 million square feet and consists of three office buildings, a spiral Helix office tower, three retail pavilions and an underground parking garage.

The just-approved approximately 355-foot-tall Helix tower anchors the new campus. This unique building takes a spiraling form that some have compared to a soft-serve ice cream cone. An urban “mountain climb” winds around the outside of the largely glass structure. The climb is intended to resemble a local hike with plantings found in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.

Amazon said that the climb will be open to the public on weekends for those wanting a bit of respite in nature and exercise in the heart of the city.

NBBJ said that the entire Helix tower design was inspired by the concept of biophilia — “that describes humanity's innate connection to nature.” The Helix will offer a variety of alternative work environments for Amazon employees amidst lush gardens and flourishing trees native to the region.

The campus also includes over two-and-a-half acres of publicly accessible open park space and will accommodate a community high school, along with ground-level retail. In addition to expansive retail and restaurant options, there will be a dog park and spaces for food trucks.

Following the decision from the county, the project team can now begin permitting phase two. Construction is set to start sometime this year, with opening planned for 2026.

Clark Construction will serve as the general contractor. HQ2's first phase, Metropolitan Park, should be delivered in spring or summer 2023. That site sits immediately south of PenPlace. Clark Construction is also building phase one.

(Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the general contractor.)

The HQ2 project team also includes New York landscape architecture firm SCAPE, Seattle real estate firm Seneca Group, civil engineering firm Vika, Seattle structural engineering firm Magnusson Klemencic Associates, and New York engineering firm Buro Happold Engineers, which is advising Amazon on mechanical, electrical and plumbing components.