The client engaged our firm to design a new Embassy in Ottawa. We used the Sumerian Ziggurat as the historical reference from which we evolved a more abstracted modern form. The ground floor has the largest mass while the second and third floor have the same smaller plate sizes in order to create a unified smaller mass. The fourth floor has the smallest mass. A small mechanical penthouse crowns the building. The upper roof terraces created by this massing are used for passive recreational and social purposes.