Chief Minister's Secretariat, Karachi

The Government of Sindh appointed the practice to design and deliver a new Chief Minister's Secretariat in Karachi: ground plus five storeys and 210,247 sq ft on a plot of 52,100 sq ft.

A secretariat has to be permeable to the people who work in it and closed to everyone else. Two check posts, a compound wall, three steel gates and a controlled approach establish the perimeter; inside it, office floors, internal circulation and open spaces are planned so that officials, staff and visitors move on separate terms. CCTV, firefighting, fire alarm and intercom systems run throughout.

The building carries its own services rather than relying on the city's: an underground and an overhead water tank, a pump room, a substation, lifts and a gas and diesel generator. In Karachi that is the difference between a building that works during a power cut and one that stops.