The creation of a corporate headquarters is an important moment in the life of a company. A great headquarters becomes both a symbol of the company and the symbol of the city. A headquarters building should bring people together and create a work environment both pleasant and stimulating. In the design of a new headquarters there is the opportunity to shape the workplace in a way that reflects the aspirations and culture of the company. To begin, we thought of a space that would be like a courtyard, in the tradition of Islamic architecture. Here the courtyard is formed by two bars set apart as wings connected by a central vertical courtyard atrium. We examined the city of Abu Dhabi: its strong urban grid. The plan reflects this. The wing to the north follows the city grid while the wing to the south appears to open like a book, opening to the sea, the vista and towards Mecca. The opening draws the sea and green of the Corniche into the building. A series of gardens in the sky become an extension of the green parkway. The scheme is simple. ADIA?s future requirements demand a large single floor plate with a large central common zone on each floor for meeting and social interaction. This central zone has become our vertical atrium garden, the heart of our scheme unifies the whole building and represents the organisation and its openness. The design concept further refines the idea of creating an indigenous form, a form inspired by the special character of this waterfront site and the buildings importance as an international headquarters. The key to the design is the acknowledgement of the profound importance of the sea in the development of the site and of the urban plan as a garden city. The growth of the city begun at the old fort. Over time, a green zone was established and then extended along the formal planted roads. These roads which pass the site are like great arms reaching to the sea and linking the fort to the sea and its commerce. The gardens of the fort and those adjacent to them create a wide green zone with further reinforces the seaward connection. Our site is incorporated into this garden zone. The success of this urban design strategy for landscaping has earned Abu Dhabi the title ?Garden of the Gulf?. The scheme has two great arms or fingers reaching into the sea, the extensive ground floor planting reinforces the original urban landscape strategy, tying our site to the urban plan.