Transparency was paramount in the design of this four-storey complex, reflecting the company’s non-hierarchical working ethos. Daylight floods in through full-height glazing, regulated by sun-shading fins and louvered clerestory windows. A naturally ventilated atrium, with a stream running beneath its partially glazed floor, blurs the boundary between interior and exterior, and acts as both entrance and social space. The open-plan offices are punctuated by informal meeting places demarcated by loose boundaries and changes in scale. All views are oriented towards the courtyard, atrium and a natural rocky outcrop on the site, rather than to the bleak industrial-estate surroundings. Shiny, corporate facing materials are avoided in favour of fair-faced concrete columns and some timber.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture