In this first-prize-winning entry for the 2014 gateway gardens competition with Coop Himmelb(l)au, we started out with a massing which fits onto a difficult site surrounded by a challenging local environment near Frankfurt airport, including nearby connections to the autobahn with attendant issues of noise and air pollution. Two vertical garden atria as buffer zones on the east and west sides were inserted into the volume, so that the office areas could be located on the north-and south-facing sides where the thermal loads are lower and the conflicts between solar shading requirements and daylight and views are easier to deal with. The vertical garden spaces are employed in the climate control concept to allow the building to breathe at this difficult location, one serving as a supply air path, the other for the collection of return air, and to accommodate circulation and shared meeting spaces. In addition to their energetic and functional attributes, they also provide the often-missing element of vertical spatial connectivity in the skyscraper typology.