Bank breaks ground on new Dubai HQ
01 April 2011
STANDARD Chartered has broken ground on its new head office in the UAE, which will be a state-of-the-art facility that aims to meet the bank’s requirements and occupancy needs for the next 15 years.
The new office premises located in Downtown Dubai, adjacent to Emaar Square, will have eight floors, spanning 125,000 sq ft.
The ground-breaking ceremony was held in the presence of Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, governor of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and chairman of Emirates NBD and Mohammed Al Shaibani, CEO of Investment Corporation of Dubai.
Under the lease agreement, Standard Chartered will have full and exclusive naming rights for the building. The lease agreement enables the bank to accommodate future increases in staff and includes built-in scalability for further expansion. The leased space will have capacity for about 1,250 staff and will include a state-of-the-art trading floor and will now be centralised in one office as it consolidates its existing presence.
The building is being developed by Gulf Resources Development and Investment (GRDI), a development and investment company, at a cost of Dh514.2 million ($140 million).
The concept architect is KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates) and design architect is Arif Bintoak.
The new UAE office has incorporated many green features in the building to ensure minimal impact on the environment. The project site was selected, in part, for its proximity to the Dubai Metro, to encourage its employees to take advantage of this “green” public transport option.
The new building will achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) Gold certification by implementing energy-saving and water-efficiency measures. It has been designed to use 30 per cent less water compared to conventional buildings by using recycled wastewater for irrigation and installing water-conserving fixtures. The building’s façade has been created to decrease heat build-up in the interior spaces, thereby reducing the energy required to cool the building in the hot summer months.
In addition, it maximises on natural light and minimises building material pollutants, thus providing a comfortable, safe and pleasant workplace.
The project is expected to be completed in 2016.
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