The Surat Diamond Bourse has beaten the 80-year record holder The Pentagon to be the world’s new largest office building.
The newly-opened Surat Diamond Bourse is situated about 150 miles north of Mumbai, India, Surat, where around 90% of all the world’s diamonds are cut. The building was designed by the Indian architecture firm Morphogenesis and has been set to welcome its first occupants in November after four years of construction work. It is expected to be officially opened by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a native of Gujarat, who previously served as the state’s chief minister.
The building structure features a series of nine rectangular structures that extend outward from a central “spine” and are connected to each other. This extensive 15-story complex covers an area of over 35 acres of land. The trading center possesses over 7.1 million sq ft of floor space surpassing the Pentagon as the world’s largest office building. The office building also houses 131 elevators, including dining, retail, wellness, and conference facilities for workers.
CNN reports that the office building is a “one-stop destination” for over 65,000 diamond professionals, which include cutters, polishers, and traders. The project’s CEO, Mahesh Gadhavi, also claimed that Surat Diamond Bourse will save thousands of people from traveling frequently to Mumbai to do business.
Though the building does not possess “very remarkable architectural language of its own,” the goal was that its sustainable design will shape the future development of a city where summer temperatures can exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
Morphogenesis claims that the building design utilizes up to 50% less energy compared to the maximum allowed, qualifying it for a “platinum” rating from the Indian Green Building Council. While individual offices rely on traditional air conditioning, Rastogi estimates that about half of the building is cooled via natural ventilation, while common areas are powered using solar energy.
The architecture firm said of the building project, “We decided to create something that is iconic, that borrows … from its context and the community we are working [with]… based on environmental and sustainable design more than a particular architectural language.”
A total of 32-billion-rupee ($388 million) was spent on the building development.
