Gates Foundation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest grant-giving charity, commissioned a new campus in Seattle as headquarters for the foundation's work to reduce inequalities around the world.  Its brief was: first to create a workplace which was future-proof – a hard task for the headquarters of such a dynamic and fast-growing organisation.  Second, funds allocated to the building were 'humble and mindful', spent wisely on the basis of informed decisions.  AMA won a global competition to help achieve this.  Drawing on the battery of research tools at its disposal, AMA revealed current working practices and space use and recommended the configuration and management of the new space.