India- World's Largest office

The largest center for the global diamond and jewelry trade. It includes 4,500 offices and more than 130 elevators.

Pentagon's 80 years of dominance is over! Surat now home to the world's biggest office building.

The Pentagon, home of the US Department of Defense, has proudly held the title of largest office building in the world for the past 80 years. The Pentagon's eight-decade record of holding the title has recently been surpassed by a recently constructed office building in Surat, Gujarat.

Situated in India's diamond hub, Surat, the all-new Surat Diamond Bourse occupies more than 7.1 million square feet of floor space and 35.5 acres of ground. CNN reported that the complex will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this year.

The expansive 15-story building, which has marble floors and a well-lit core area, has 4,500 office spaces that range in size from 28 square meters to 7000 square meters. These spaces were originally intended to be workshops for the merchants to cut and polish diamonds. In order to meet the demands of its tenants, it also features 131 elevators in addition to dining, shopping, wellness, and meeting spaces.

The Indian architectural firm Morphogenesis was the mastermind behind the Surat Diamond Bourse design. Mahesh Gadhavi, the project's CEO, told CNN that it was not the objective to outgrow the Pentagon in size.

The Pentagon boasts 6,500,000 square feet of office space, which is three times the floor space of the Empire State Building, according to the US Department of Defense. Its 28 kilometers of corridors and 7,754 windows make up this structure. The US Capitol building is supposed to fit snugly inside any one of the structure's five wedges. According to the US Defense website, "its spoke-and-ring design means it takes only about 7 minutes to walk between the furthest two points in the building."

According to the CNN article, the project will probably cost about $388 million, or roughly Rs 3,200 crore. After four years of building, the first set of inhabitants will arrive in November, despite being impacted by the Covid epidemic for two years.

The diamond bourse's architecture is centered on sustainability as well, with energy-saving elements including solar-powered communal areas and natural ventilation covering around half of the building.

Concurrently, plans are underway for Surat's "Dream City" project, which intends to reshape the city over 1,730 acres.

Strategies for change

Surat Diamond Bourse's surrounds are surprisingly low-rise for the time being, according to aerial photos of the enormous structure. However, if plans for a significant reconstruction of the 7 million-person metropolis, known as "Dream City," materialize, this might alter.

Prime Minister Modi has publicly praised the ambitious proposal, which seeks to develop a "smart" metropolis spanning over 700 hectares (1,730 acres) in south Surat. According to Gadhavi, the new diamond hub would act as the neighborhood's "anchor tenant." Meanwhile, Rastogi revealed that her company is now discussing additional local projects, such as a conference center, with possible clients.

The architect expressed hope that sustainable design may influence Surat's future growth, despite the city's lack of a "very remarkable architectural language of its own." Surat's summer temperatures often reach above 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

According to Morphogenesis, their design uses up to 50% less energy than what is required to receive an Indian Green Building Council "platinum" grade. The architects claim that the structure's central spine's flared shape was intended to channel prevailing breezes through it, and that "radiant cooling"—a system that circulates cold water beneath its floors—lowers interior temperatures.

While individual offices will use conventional air conditioning, Rastogi estimates that natural ventilation cools around half of the building, with solar energy powering common areas.

"We chose to design something memorable, that draws inspiration from its surroundings and the community we are collaborating with,” the speaker continued, noting that the building's concept was "more focused on sustainable and environmental design than on a specific architectural style."