New Saudi Stock Exchange to be Sustainable Building

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(DUBAI, UAE) --  A Japanese design and engineering company with an office in Dubai is building the new headquarters of the Saudi Stock Exchange, Tadawul in Arabic. At a cost of $27 million, Tadawul will be designed by Nikken Sekkei, a leading firm in sustainable design. 

"The new stock exchange at the heart of King Abdulla Financial District in Riyadh will be a state of the art and intelligent building of the future," said Mitsuo Nakamura, Chairman of Nikken Sekkei.

The King Abdullah Financial District is a multi-year project for Saudi Arabia, the world's oil capital, to reinforce its bid to be the Middle East's financial capital. Listed companies on Tadawul are worth about $319 billion, nearly the total value of the other Gulf markets.

Nikken Sekkei is one of the world's largest architectural and engineering practices with 2,300 professional staff, won the design and engineering contract in a competition with six international companies out of 32 prequalified firms.

"Our sustainable design was chosen because it balances construction value, sustainability and iconic design. In our design we strived to reflect the identity of Tadawul and incorporate several major energy saving technologies, complying with the latest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards (LEED)," Nakamura said.

The building will include a "sunlight scooper" to introduce natural sunlight, photovoltaic panels to reduce  energy consumption, dry mist cooling of exterior space, and a cool trench to pre-cool fresh air with geothermal energy at lower levels

Nikken Sekkei has invited 10 Saudi nationals to intern at the head office in Tokyo. "We hope to enhance cross-cultural values as well as long-term relationships," said Fadi Jabri, General Manager of Nikken Sekkei's Dubai office.

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