The India headquarters for the multinational consultancy firm of McKinsey & Co.is located in Gurgaon, a fast growing satellite city of New Delhi. In order to take a step back from the surrounding chaos and crush, the building has been designed as an “oasis”. The design, which marries the sophistication of the global to the romance of the local, is based on an abstraction of the Mughal garden and is created around a hierarchy of water bodies. One enters the offices through a pavilion that floats upon a lotus pond, and through to the central courtyard, where a canal flows from a “bubbler” into a still pond enlivened by handcrafted lotus fountains.The 90,000 structure is composed of four interconnected pavilions placed around a central courtyard garden, as is traditional in the hot arid regions of India. All support systems as well as parking for 100 cars is housed in the basement below the central garden. The building has a system of water-harvesting of rain water.

In the exterior, the sleekness of the steel and glass is juxtaposed with marble. The building is clad in hand chiseled local white marble slabs. The reveals, in polished stone are aligned to the fin-like metal shades investing the building with a modern, aerodynamic look.