Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) was established in 2006 as a commercially driven enterprise that operates in energy and sustainable technology industries worldwide. A part of the Masdar City master plan is the construction of the Masdar Institute for Science and Technology (MI), a research-driven graduate institution focused on science and technology in advanced energy and sustainability fields of study and hub for global innovation.  The project, constructed in several stages, started in 2007 and is reaching completion by mid of 2013. RW Armstrong is the architect and engineer of record and will coordinate day-to-day activities up to the completion and testing of the entire project. RW Armstrong was appointed to carry out the detailed structural design, electrical and mechanical design, infrastructure chilled water systems, sustainability management, permitting, and site supervision. The firm’s role on this project, together with other consultants, is to provide consultancy services for the schematic and detailed design stages, prepare submissions for all required permits and follow-up approval processes, and advise all sub-consultants and specialized contractors on local authority requirements.   RW Armstrong was also appointed to be the lead consultant during the construction stages of the project (Phase 1A and 1B) to provide design management, site supervision and administration services for the entire team.   The Masdar Institute received worldwide recognition for the project’s unique design and sustainability achievements which are the result of solar studies, wind tunnel testing, and energy simulation. The campus and its associated buildings are designed to reduce energy by optimizing building form and orientation and carefully configuring streets and urban spaces.

Highly sustainable features of the completed buildings include low-flow fixtures, efficient appliances, a gray water treatment system that receives condensate from cooling towers, an exterior envelope with a high insulation value, a sophisticated network of sensors to maintain good indoor air quality, roof-mounted PV panels to provide electricity while shielding the interior, and evacuated thermal collectors that provide about 75 percent of hot water demand. 
The buildings help accelerate the movement of air, such as a steel-framed wind tower with operable louvers that adjust to guide air downward, while MI is sprayed from the top. Within the buildings, circulation areas are treated as climate lobbies; transitional zones maintained at a warmer temperature than the regularly occupied interior spaces.