Confidential Financial Services Regional Headquarters

The design of this financial services client’s Dubai-based headquarters was driven by the goal of creating a dynamic user experience that focuses on its regional context while remaining true to its global brand. An innovative approach to community spaces as well as digital placemaking strengthens the connection between the local and global elements of the design to create a seamless, balanced workplace experience.

Gensler partnered with the client to provide design consultancy for its new, built-to-suit regional headquarters, consisting of a G+5 building with approximately 75,000 square feet of space. Prior to the pandemic, our design team first engaged stakeholders in order to guide a workplace strategy, then began the project including adding an atrium, before the company's workforce switched to working from home. This marked a pivotal moment to re-evaluate the workplace vision and adapt to new post-COVID needs, including replanning the workspace to support social distancing and agility.

By gaining a deep understanding of the client’s business, aspirations, and ways of working, particularly during a transformative time, the design team was able to create a fluid workplace that meets its expectations, optimizes performance, and addresses effectiveness and experience in tandem. The new, purpose-driven headquarters promotes mobility and flexibility through alternative workspaces, offers a variety of “neighborhoods” such as informal meeting areas and work cafes, features the client’s newest technology, and incorporates amenities and biophilia to improve workers’ wellbeing. It also deepens a connection with its surroundings through a communal ground floor that invites the public inside as part of the experience.