ABSTRACT
This building is the headquarters of the international Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP). It accommodates office processes similar to those found in corporate headquarters around the globe and means that the environmental specification is, in its general nature, similar to that of any building of this type, wherever it is located. When set against the extreme climate of the region, however, this makes the environmental design challenge particularly demanding. For six months of the year the ambient temperature is > 40°C and relative humidity is often > 90%. The solar altitude at this latitude leads to high levels of incident radiation on the ground and on the roof surface of any building.
