Mirai by Nirman: The future of buildings is coming
Mirai, which is the Japanese word for ‘future’, aims to bring the real estate industry into the future with its futuristic design, technological innovation and aesthetics
A 30-storey tall building is set to stand in Tejgaon, Dhaka's budding business district. It will consist of a swimming pool on the rooftop, a roof garden and a restaurant. The building will also have observation decks and viewing platforms and an optimised facade design for people to enjoy a panoramic view of the Hatirjheel lake.
Built by construction firm Nirman, the building proves its namesake. Mirai, which is the Japanese word for 'future', aims to bring the industry into the future with its futuristic design, technological innovation and aesthetics.
Nirman, founded by Bangladeshi cricket pioneer KZ Islam (Kamal Ziaul Islam), has been constructing quality buildings for 40 years that have stood the test of time. Islam has become a household name in the country for his contributions to Bangladeshi cricket as the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
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But he was a true visionary who wore multiple hats. Before he ventured into the world of cricket, Islam had founded real estate development company Nirman in 1976.
Nirman built four of Bangladesh's tallest buildings, including the Bangladesh Bank Building in Motijheel in 1985. Islam has also made a name for his company overseas, being contracted to build multiple buildings in the United Arab Emirates in the 1980s, when no other Bangladeshi company had received such honour.
Now, four decades later, Islam's son Rahat Kamal has picked up where his father left off, carrying his legacy forward through the construction of Nirman's most ambitious project yet: Mirai.
Nirman is a word that means 'to build' in Bangla. But according to Rahat, Nirman's motto was always 'to build better'. Taking that commandment seriously, Rahat has taken up the task of constructing a building that will not only stand out in Bangladesh, but will be recognised according to global standards.
Mirai is set to be completed in the summer of 2027.
"We are using modern technology to ensure that we are going to finish on time. Normally it would take six to seven years, but we are doing it in four. Satisfying our clients is our utmost priority," said Rahat.
With five basement parking floors, spacious office floors, and a unique design focusing on technology and sustainability, Mirai plans to leave an indelible mark on the city's skyline.
The firm hired Finnish architectural firm ARCO, which focuses on sustainability, to design the building. Mirva Viitanen, director of Nirman, said, "We wanted the building to feel and look like the future, taking the industry forward not just locally, but globally as well."
Technological innovation that blends safety, aesthetics and sustainability
At the forefront of what makes this ambitious project possible is building information modelling (BIM) technology. BIM is an intelligent 3D modelling tool that creates and manages fully accurate and interactable digital representations of physical structures.
"With BIM, everything you want to know about the building is already on the computer, fully realised before one brick has been laid," Rahat explained how BIM's powerful digital rendition of the planned building changes the game. He goes on to state that a building takes years of advanced planning, but with BIM they now have a digital twin, making it much easier to find sticking points and correct them quickly.
Nirman understood the importance of pre-planning and foresight. Their commitment to efficiency and determination to ensure the project is completed on schedule led them to utilise BIM for their building.
To illustrate the crucial role BIM plays in the creation of the building, Rahat provided a simple example, "In Bangladesh, the norm is to build a structure first and then think about installing plumbing and or piping. So, if they find that there is a wall where the plumbing has to go through, they then have to break the wall. This increases both the time and cost of the project.
"However, with BIM, we can foresee such a problem even before we start building, allowing us to work around it, saving both our time and the client's time and money."
While most firms still rely on 2D drawings, BIM can provide 3D models much faster, allowing access to whatever information is required, such as the length of pipes, the size of floors, or the weight of concrete.
"BIM has not yet been adopted by many companies even globally, due to inertia. It is difficult to get out of the conventional mindset," Rahat said.
Planning out everything in advance also increases the safety of the building. The machines required to build the structure have many criteria for operation, requiring specific sizes and multiple parts. With BIM, keeping track of all the different elements and ensuring nothing clashes becomes much easier.
Mirai will also be built using post-tension slabs, with heavy-duty cables going through all the floors in the building. These cables are usually used in the building of bridges to make them more structurally sound by carrying a lot of the weight of the structures, making the structures themselves much lighter.
Speaking about the choice to innovate by the cables, Rahat said, "As the cables take on a lot of the load of the building, we will be able to achieve a more robust structure while utilising less concrete, making it more cost-friendly, safe, and more environment-friendly."
In terms of safety, it was important to not only ensure safety for those who would use the building, but also for the construction workers. Along with BIM, Nirman also hired safety managers to oversee the construction process.
The machines and engines that will run the building will be located in two places. One segment will be on the roof, but due to the immense size of the building, the 12th floor will act as an intermediary between the bottom half and the top half. It will act as the centre of the building, with machines arranged in a floor that will be raised higher than the rest. This will be a technical floor, inaccessible for commercial purposes.
Arranging the technical aspects this way ensures that Mirai will be a robust structure, while maintaining its aesthetic value, no one will see the technical floor. Indeed, the aesthetic of the building is a vital element for Nirman.
To provide a unique aesthetic feature to the building, the facade of the building will have an angle in the middle, providing a diamond-like shape to the structure.
When it comes to safety, Mirai is going for the LEED Gold standard certification program for an environmentally friendly and sustainable building. Mirva states, "Pollution has become such a huge problem in the country, and people are desperate for a solution. This is why we opted for an environmentally smart structure."
International collaboration and teamwork
To build Mirai, Nirman has gathered an international team of experts from Finland, Thailand, Canada, Japan, Philippines and more.
Nirman hired Finnish architectural firm ARCO to design the building. "We wanted to build something the whole country could be proud of. We want to set the benchmark and challenge everyone else to compete with us to improve the industry. So we hired the best from all over the world," Rahat added. Arco is Finland's largest architectural firm, focusing on sustainability.
ARCO used an environmental analysis program developed by a Canadian company to analyse Mirai's microclimate, thermal and wind effects, green terraces, and their usability in Dhaka's weather conditions. ARCO realised that an energy-efficient, insulated facade would best suit Dhaka's local climate, which influenced the aesthetic of the building as well.
Furthermore, ARCO also designed the green rooftop and balconies, offering their vision for the plants and design. As the firm was not an expert on local flora and fauna in Bangladesh, a local landscape consultancy firm was hired to adjust the greenery to include locally available plants, while staying true to ARCO's vision.
Beyond aesthetics, RWDL, a Canadian company, helped conduct wind tunnel tests, making Mirai by Nirman one of the only buildings in Bangladesh to have had wind tunnel tests. It ensured that the building would maintain the highest standards of regulation.
For the test, an Australian engineering firm was involved in structural and MEP engineering, reflecting the international collaboration that went into the project. They recommended post-tensioned slabs, making the structure significantly lighter.
For a project of this size to be completed on time, it was vital for every member of the team to be on the same page. The project required careful synchronisation of numerous elements, and so, every single employee was provided insight and knowledge into the technologies related to the project, even if said employees were not necessarily going to interact personally with all the aspects. This made the team work smarter.
Mirva concluded by saying, "Mirai has gained fame in the global scene. Recently, we presented Mirai in a conference hosted by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, held in London. Architects all around the world are being influenced by this amazing building being constructed with the latest technology."
