The building needed to adhere to high security standards whilst remaining accessible and inviting for clients. Designed like a fortress on the outside, it has an ‘armour’-like shell of glass-fibre reinforced concrete with a fair-faced finish. This masks the light and airy atmosphere inside, created by alternating atriums on different levels and partial glass roofs. The ‘armour’ is pierced at certain locations, to hint at the openness within. The north façade faces an expressway, the south façade a pedestrian street. High-security functions are located within the sloping base of dark natural stone, taking advantage of the level difference between expressway and pedestrian zones.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture