MBA were commissioned to design ‘the perfect office environment’ for a senior partner of a major European hedge fund in a Conservation Area in leafy Wimbledon Village. An existing office building was completely remodelled to provide a trading floor with high ceilings and clerestory windows, larch over cladding, brise soleils and climbing plants, and sophisticated climate control and environmental systems. The trading space is designed as a box within a box – with perfect connection to the sky and the seasons, shielded, protected with many layers of timber, brick, plaster and glass. The whole project is designed around the activity, which is quiet, calm and focused. Environmental considerations were important: the building uses an air source heat pump and a photovoltaic array for renewable energy, sheep’s wool insulation and natural timber cladding to stabilize the brickwork’s thermal mass, and LED lighting is used throughout. Acoustic measures include high levels of attenuation, a heavy roof to limit aircraft noise, absorbent ceilings to reduce internal reverberation, and a purpose designed internal waterfall specially developed for this project which uses tubes drilled through a slate slab to produce ripples without splashes. A full scale mock up of the fountain was made and tested to ensure it produced the right sound. Purpose designed free-form dealer desks in veneered walnut allow five screens to be seen comfortably at once, and audio, lighting, data, environmental and security systems are integrated and automated. Extensive use of ‘Privalite’ glass allows the layers of the building to be exploited in different ways to control views out and levels of privacy within. The result is not bound by ‘constraints’, but by the skills of the design and construction team.