Architecture of Mumbai
Encyclopedia
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
blends Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
, Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
, Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
, Indo-Saracenic and contemporary architectural styles. Many buildings, structures and historical monuments remain from the colonial era. Mumbai, after Miami, has the second largest number of Art Deco buildings in the world.
Gothic and Victorian architecture
According to writer Jan MorrisJan Morris
Jan Morris CBE is a Welsh nationalist, historian, author and travel writer. She is known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy, a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities, notably Oxford, Venice, Trieste, Hong Kong, and New York City.With an English mother and Welsh father,...
, "Bombay is one of the most characteristically Victorian cities in the world, displaying all the grand effrontery of Victorian eclectism". The British influence on buildings in the city is evident from the colonial era. However, the architectural features include a range of European influences such as German gables, Dutch roofs, Swiss timbering, Romance arches and Tudor casements often interfused with traditional Indian features.
Bombay City Hall was built during the period 1820 and 1835, by Colonel Thomas Cowper. The University of Mumbai
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
Library and Rajabai Tower
Rajabai Tower
The Rajabai Clock Tower is a clock tower in South Mumbai, India. It is located in the confines of the Fort campus of the University of Mumbai. The tower stands at a height of 85 m .-History:...
, Xavier's College, The Secretariat, Telegraph Office, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus , is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and historic railway station in Mumbai which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. Situated in the Bori Bunder area of Mumbai, it was built as a new railway station on the location of the Bori Bunder Station in 1887...
are also fine examples of gothic architecture in the city.
Rajabai Tower
The Rajabai TowerRajabai Tower
The Rajabai Clock Tower is a clock tower in South Mumbai, India. It is located in the confines of the Fort campus of the University of Mumbai. The tower stands at a height of 85 m .-History:...
in South Mumbai
South Mumbai
South Mumbai , sometimes incorrectly referred to by English Media as "SoBo" , the southern-most precinct of the city of Mumbai, India, comprises the city's main business localities and its adjoining areas...
is located in the confines of the Fort campus of the University of Mumbai
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
. It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott
George Gilbert Scott
Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
, an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
architect, and was modelled on Big Ben
Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...
, the clock tower of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's houses of Parliament in London. The foundation stone was laid on March 1, 1869 and construction was completed in November 1878. The tower stands at a height of 85 m (280 ft) and at the time it was the tallest building in India. The tower fuses Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
styles. It is built out of the locally available buff coloured Kurla
Kurla
Kurla is a suburb of Mumbai. It is also the name of one the busiest railway stations on the Mumbai suburban railway on the central and harbour railway lines of Mumbai...
stone and stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
.
Indo-Saracenic
Indo-Saracenic
The Indo-Saracenic Revival was an architectural style movement by British architects in the late 19th century in British India...
style developed in the second half of the 19th century, combining Islamic and Hindu architectural styles with its characteristic domes, arches, stained glasses, spires, and minarets. The Gateway of India
Gateway of India
Its design is a combination of both Hindu and Muslim architectural styles, the arch is in Muslim style while the decorations are in Hindu style. The Gateway is built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete. The stone was locally obtained, and the perforated screens were brought from Gwalior.The...
and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya are good examples of this architectural type in the city.
Gateway of India
The Gateway of India is one of the major monuments in the city, located in the Apollo Bunder area in South MumbaiSouth Mumbai
South Mumbai , sometimes incorrectly referred to by English Media as "SoBo" , the southern-most precinct of the city of Mumbai, India, comprises the city's main business localities and its adjoining areas...
. It is a distinct 26 metres (85 ft) high arch built from yellow basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
and reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
. Many elements of the arch are derived from the Muslim architectural styles of 16th century Gujarat, the pillars are derived from the design of Hindu temples and the design of the Gateway's windows derive from Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....
.
The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
to Bombay, prior to the Delhi Durbar
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar , meaning "Court of Delhi", was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the coronation of a King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. The 1911...
, in December 1911. The foundation stone was laid on 31 March 1911, by Governor of Bombay Sir George Sydenham Clarke, and the final design of George Wittet
George Wittet
George Wittet was a Scottish architect who worked mostly in Bombay , India.-Life:George Wittet was born in Blair Atholl, Scotland in 1878. He studied architecture with a Mr...
was sanctioned in August 1914. The foundations were completed in 1920, and construction was finished in 1924.
Art Deco
Eros Cinema
Eros Cinema is an Art Deco style Movie theater located in Mumbai, India. It has a seating capacity of 1204 people per show.Architects Shorabji Bhedwar designed the Streamline Moderne building, it marked the beginning of Back Bay reclamation in early 1938.The foundation of Eros Cinema was laid in 1935...
is a typical art deco building, designed by architect Sohrabji Bhedwar. The foundation of Eros Cinema was laid in 1935. The cinema opened in 1938 and construction of this building on the then newly reclaimed Backbay plot housing shops and other businesses, apart from the cinema, took about two and a half years to complete. Partially faced with red Agra sandstone, this building is painted cream. The two wings of this Art Deco building meet up in a central block. The foyer is in white and black marble with touches of gold. Marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
staircases with chromium handrails lead up to the upper floor. The murals are in muted colours depicting Indian architectures.
The Metro Adlabs Cinema, located on Mahatma Gandhi Road, at Dhobitalao Junction is also a good example of the Art Deco style of architecture that appeared in the 1930s in the city. The Metro Cinema opened on 8 June 1938 and was designed by noted American theatre architect Thomas W. Lamb
Thomas W. Lamb
Thomas White Lamb was an American architect, born in Scotland. He is noted as one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas in the 20th century.-Career:...
. It was built for Metro Goldwyn Mayer and seating was provided for 1,491 people in orchestra and balcony levels. The auditorium reopened in 2006 and was sub-divided into six large luxury screens. The cinema features mainly Bollywood and Hollywood films.
Contemporary architecture and development
As the wealthiest city in India, Mumbai attracts an enormous amount of international investment and has seen a large number of modern high-rise office buildings and flats spring up in recent decades. In many parts of the city, particularly the newer suburbs, modern buildings dominate the landscape away from the old part of the city. Mumbai has by far the largest number of skyscrapers in India, with 956 existing buildings and 272 under construction and many more planned as of August 2009.The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority
Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority , commonly abbreviated as MMRDA, is a body of the Government of Maharashtra that is responsible for the infrastructure development of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region...
(MMRDA) was established in 1974 by the Government of Maharashtra
Government of Maharashtra
Government of Maharashtra is the government for the state of Maharashtra in Western India.It is an elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the legislative assembly for a 5 year term.-Ministers:...
to manage the planning and co-ordination of development activities in the city and to overlook the architectural development of the city.
In 1995 the Heritage Committee in Mumbai was established, unifying architects, historians and citizens to preserve the city's tradition architectural heritage. A grading system has since been used under the heritage regulations to categorize buildings according to importance: the most important landmarks of national significance are categorized as Heritage Grade I, buildings of regional importance as Heritage Grade II and buildings of urban importance as Heritage Grade III.
Notable buildings
Many notable buildings exist in Mumbai, some of which attract tourists. These include the Gateway of IndiaGateway of India
Its design is a combination of both Hindu and Muslim architectural styles, the arch is in Muslim style while the decorations are in Hindu style. The Gateway is built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete. The stone was locally obtained, and the perforated screens were brought from Gwalior.The...
, Mahalakshmi Temple, Jahangir Art Gallery, Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court at Mumbai, Maharashtra, is the High Court of India with jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra & Goa, and, the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli...
, Crawford Market
Crawford Market
Crawford Market is one of South Mumbai's most famous markets. It is named after Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal Commissioner of the city. The Market was later named after Mahatma Jotirao Phule after a long struggle by the President of Mahatma Phule Smarak Samiti, Mukundraoji Bhujbal Patil...
, Taj Mahal Hotel, Flora Fountain
Flora Fountain
Flora Fountain, at the Hutatma Chowk , is an ornamentally and exquisitely sculpted architectural heritage monument located at the southern end of the historic Dadabhai Naoroji Road, called the Mile Long Road, at the Fort business district in the heart of South Mumbai, Mumbai, India...
, Afghan Church
Afghan Church
The Church of St John the Evangelist, better known as the Afghan Church is a Presbyterian Church in South Mumbai, India, built by the British to commemorate the dead of the disastrous defeat in the First Afghan War of 1838...
, Xavier's College, the Bombay Stock Exchange
Bombay Stock Exchange
The Bombay Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located on Dalal Street, Mumbai and is the oldest stock exchange in Asia. The equity market capitalization of the companies listed on the BSE was 1.63 trillion as of December 2010, making it the 4th largest stock exchange in Asia and the 8th largest...
and Mumbai General Post Office.
Taj Mahal Hotel
The Taj Mahal Palace hotel resort was commissioned by TataTata Group
Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Tata Group is one of the largest companies in India by market capitalization and revenue. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy,...
and first opened its doors to guests on 16 December 1903. The original Indian architects were Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza, and the project was completed by an English engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
W. A. Chambers. The cost of construction was £250,000 (£127 million today). During World War I, the hotel was converted into a 600-bed hospital. The dome of the hotel is made from the same steel as used in the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
. Jamsedji Tata imported the same steel during that time. The hotel was the first in India to install and operate a steam elevator.
Crawford Market
Crawford MarketCrawford Market
Crawford Market is one of South Mumbai's most famous markets. It is named after Arthur Crawford, the first Municipal Commissioner of the city. The Market was later named after Mahatma Jotirao Phule after a long struggle by the President of Mahatma Phule Smarak Samiti, Mukundraoji Bhujbal Patil...
, in south Mumbhai is named after Arthur Crawford
Arthur Crawford
Arthur Crawford was first Municipal Commissioner and collector of Mumbai . Crawford is famous as an able administrator as well as his underhand financial dealings....
, the first Municipal Commissioner
Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai
The Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai is the chief of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Though the Mayor is the head of the house, his role is largely ceremonial and almost all powers are vested in the Commissioner...
of the city. The building, completed in 1869, was donated to the city by Cowasji Jehangir
Cowasji Jehangir
Sir Cowasji Jehangir, 2nd Baronet, GBE, KCIE was a prominent member of the Bombay Parsi community. He was the son of Sir Jehangir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney, 1st Bt...
. In 1882, the building was the first market in India to be lit up by electricity. The edifice is a blend of Norman, Flemish and Gothic architectural styles. The frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
s on the outside entrance depicting Indian farmers, and the stone fountains inside, were designed by Lockwood Kipling, father of novelist Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
. The market covers an area of 22,471 sq m (24,000 sq ft) which 5,515 sq m (6,000 sq ft) is occupied by the building itself. The structure was built using coarse buff coloured Kurla stone, with redstone from Bassein
Bassein
Bassein may refer to:* Pathein, the capital city of Ayeyarwady Division, Myanmar ; formerly known as Bassein.* Vasai, a city in Thane District, Maharashtra, India; known as Bassein during Portuguese rule....
.
Watson's Hotel
Watson's Hotel
Watson's Hotel, currently known as the Esplanade Mansion, is India's oldest surviving cast iron building. It is located in the Kala Ghoda area of Mumbai...
, currently known as the Esplanade Mansion, is located in the Kala Ghoda
Kala Ghoda
Kala Ghoda is a precinct or district in South Mumbai, India.The name means Black Horse, a reference to a black stone statue of King Edward VII mounted on a horse. It was built by the Jewish businessman and philanthropist [Albert Abdullah David Sassoon]...
area of Mumbai and is India's oldest surviving cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
building. It was named after its original owner John Watson and designed by civil engineer Rowland Mason Ordish
Rowland Mason Ordish
Rowland Mason Ordish was an English engineer. He is most noted for his design of the Winter Garden, Dublin 1865 Albert Bridge, a crossing of the River Thames in London, completed in 1873, and for his detailed work on the single-span roof of London's St Pancras railway station.William Henry Le...
, who was also associated with the St Pancras Station in London. The building was fabricated in England between 1867 and 1869 from cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
components and was assembled and constructed on site. The external cast-iron frame closely resembles other high-profile 19th century buildings such as London's Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
. The main façade of the hotel is distinguished by wide, open balconies on each floor that connected the guest rooms, which were built around the atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
in a courtyard arrangement.
Neglect of the building has resulted in decay and, despite its listing as a Grade II–A heritage structure, the building is now in a dilapidated state. The condition of the building was publicized by Italian architect Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
and heritage activists, and as a result of their efforts, the building was listed in June 2005 on the list of "100 World Endangered Monuments" by the World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....
, a New York-based NGO.