The recently built Surat Diamond Bourse in the Indian state of Gujarat has claimed the title of the world's largest office building, surpassing the Pentagon, according to a CNN report.  Surat is known as the gem capital of the world where 90 percent of the world's diamonds are cut. The newly-constructed Surat Diamond Bourse will be a "one-stop destination" for over 65,000 diamond professionals, including cutters, polishers, and traders.

Spanning over 35 acres of land, the sprawling 15-story complex has been constructed to house the diamond industry. It features a series of nine interconnected rectangular structures emanating from a central "spine."

The office has 7.1 million square feet of floor space, making it larger than the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defence, which held the crown for nearly 80 years.

The building will be officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November this year. It took four years to complete the construction of the building.

According to the SDB website, the complex has a recreational zone and parking area spread across 20 lakh square feet.

The bourse boasts more than 4,700 office spaces, which can also serve as small diamond-cutting and polishing workshops. The development also includes 131 elevators, as well as dining, retail, wellness, and conference facilities for the workers.

The CEO of the project, Mahesh Gadhavi, highlighted the advantages of the Surat Diamond Bourse, emphasizing how it will save thousands of people from daily travel to Mumbai by train for business purposes. He described it as a "better option" for conducting diamond trade activities.

The Surat Diamond Bourse was designed to meet the growing demand within the diamond industry. The architectural layout, featuring interconnected structures with a central spine, provides an optimal trading environment. All the office spaces within the building were already purchased by diamond companies before construction commenced, reflecting the high demand and market anticipation.

Architectural design firm Morphogenesis which is the mind behind the design of the building, researched the way trade is conducted traditionally in the diamond industry and set to inculcate in the design of the building according to the architecture firm’s co-founder, Sonali Rastogi.

Comparing the landscaped areas to “a traditional bazaar,” Rastogi said the firm was influenced by the fact that many informal transactions take place outside the office environment.

Image source: Moneycontrol