Did you know that the Surat Diamond Bourse has over seven million square feet of office space, houses nearly 70,000 workers and ranks as the largest office building in the world?

In December 2023 the title of world’s largest office building was taken from the United States' Potomac polygon (Pentagon) and handed to a gigantic new development in Indian's Diamond Research and Mercantile (DREAM) City in Surat, Gujarat — The Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB), the world's largest diamond trading hub as well as the world's largest office building designed by the architecture firm, Morphogenesis.

The SDB is spread across 14.38 hectares (35.54 acres) with availability of 61,000 square metres (660,000 square feet) built-up area. The bourse comprises nine interconnected towers, each with 15 floors, accommodating 4,200 offices ranging from 28 square metres (300 square feet) to 700 square metres (7,500 square feet), out of which 2,700 offices are with 28 square metres (300 sq ft) area each in five towers, 900 offices with 46 square metres (500 sq ft) area in one tower, 400 offices with 93 square metres (1,000 sq ft) area in another tower, and two towers offering 350 larger offices exceeding 93 square metres (1,000 sq ft) area. 

The nine towers are connected with each other by a central corridor, with access to services and facilities similar to an airport terminal. There are nine Panchtattva courts in between the nine buildings, created as recreational and green spaces. There are 131 lifts, with a speed of three metres per second. It has a two-level underground parking space, capable of accommodating 4,500 cars and 10,000 two-wheelers. All of the offices are centrally air-conditioned through a chilled water-cooling system. 

The building provides amenities such as conference halls, multi-purpose halls, restaurants, banks, and retail shops along with security plans. In addition, there is a dedicated custom clearance house for import and export of diamonds, a National Diamond Research Institute (NDRI), an international convention centre, international education facilities, and five-star hotels.

The SDB project was launched by the former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel, after the laying the foundation stone for the construction of the complex, as well as of the Diamond Research and Mercantile City, on 15 February 2015. The overall structure of the complex was completed in May 2022, and the overall construction was finished on 26 July 2023. It was officially declared as the world's largest office building, surpassing The Pentagon, by the Guinness World Records on 22 August 2023. It was supposed to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2023, but due to some internal works pending, the SDB was delayed, and was inaugurated and opened on 17 December 2023.

With a focus on sustainability, the SDB minimizes its environmental impact by adhering to the principles of Panchtattva, aligning with the five elements of nature. The building consumes 50% less energy by using natural lighting systems, achieving a remarkable 45 kWh/sq.m./yr compared to the industry green benchmarks of 110 kWh/sq.m./yr. as per Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), thus earning it the prestigious Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) Platinum rating. 

The SDB also features one of the world’s largest radiant cooling systems. A combination of thermal mass and porosity in relevant areas results in low external heat gains and lower cooling loads. Hybrid climate systems integrate passive strategies for natural ventilation with energy-efficient mechanical cooling. The central spine flares into vertical fins to funnel low-intensity winds using the Venturi effect, while staggered atria allow for the escape of hot air through the stack effect, thereby maintaining a pleasant microclimate, or interior temperature. The radiant cooling systems cool the interiors by an energy-efficient system, that uses chilled water on the floors and ceilings. 

The rooftop solar project executed for SDB by the Ahmedabad-based startup, URON Energy, is one of the most unique and is one of the highest solar energy-generating rooftop solar projects in the world, with some very rare and ground-breaking features, such as: It is the largest floating foundation rooftop solar project in India, utilizing over 545 tons of ready-mix concrete (RMC); Around 40 tons of hot-dipped galvanzied (HDG) mounting structures have been set up, setting a new standard and a record for similar capacity solar plants in India; It has a unique 3rd generation inverter technology and solar panels have the ability to generate energy from both front and back sides; A waterless robotic cleaning solution on the solar panels has been set up to save water and maximize energy generation.

Other features such as sustainable waste disposal systems have been set up, and there is adequate green area in the SDB's premises in order to make the premises eco-friendly and to promote afforestation.

Source: Wikipedia | The BIM

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