• Mumbai?s Churchgate and Fort: Art Deco Reflection
• Marine Drive: Art Deco Drive to Past
• The jewel of Mumbai, Requisites Some of The Best Art Deco Buildings On The Edge.
• All About Art Deco Residences

Mumbai, earlier known as Bombay, captures some of the best architectural marvels in the world. The architecture of Mumbai can be observed in the streets of the main city or the main town. Mumbai incorporates various architectural styles from Victorian to contemporary reflecting the city’s and people’s timeline. One of the most important art movements is Art Deco. The Indian Institute of Architects was established in Bombay in 1929 and was the driving force behind the Art Deco trend in that city. These Indian architects were influenced by what they saw in the West and the modernism that the Art Deco style brought, as the style was sweeping through Europe at the time. 

In the 1930s, Bombay experienced rapid growth due to the middle class and a surge in population migration, necessitating the construction of new public and residential structures. Since Art Deco was viewed as aspirational, it was incorporated into these new structures and spread over the city. When strolling through the several areas of Mumbai, residents and tourists may enjoy a fascinating window into the past thanks to the numerous buildings that still stand today.

Rich people erected beautiful Art Deco villas in Cumbala hills and Malabar. Colaba, Dadar, Mahim, Fort, Apollo Bunder, and other districts of the city also saw the development of residences, apartment complexes, and office buildings designed in the Art Deco style. Soon after, work on Marine Drive started to build a 40-foot-wide road and a 10-foot-wide pavement. Alongside this, Art Deco apartment buildings with views of the Arabian Sea were built. The Oval Maidan divided the contemporary steel and concrete buildings from the Victorian medieval structures that lined the street behind these apartment towers. The magnificent new movie theatres, such as Regal, were the focal points of the Art Deco celebration of modernity.

Mumbai?s Churchgate and Fort: Art Deco Reflection

The area is rich with its string architectural background, giving character to the entire precinct. Various buildings are truly art deco buildings. 

The Art Deco buildings have strong and bold forms with intricating detailing enhancing the overall forms and volume with its eye-catching details. In the photograph above, the right image is Rajesh Mansions, with its bold circular form on the corner junction of the road which sets that standard for the landmark. The left image is the Eros cinema, which is a V-shaped mixed-use building that features red Agra sandstone on its exterior, which contrasts with the light cream-painted fa?ade. A conspicuous tower resembling a ziggurat, as well as the use of red to highlight decorative details on the fa?ade, give the appearance that the structure is taller than it is. As part of the Backbay Reclamation Scheme, the Eros serves as a conspicuous landmark in the Churchgate district.

The above image is Empress Court, the building characters the geometric ornamentation, with a leafy detailed entrance; the prominent art deco characterization. The overall building form is simple with symmetry and repetition of details. 

Marine Drive: Art Deco Drive to Past

The jewel of Mumbai, Requisites Some of The Best Art Deco Buildings On The Edge

All About Art Deco Residences

Mumbai’s massive collection of residential buildings along Oval and Marine Drive changed the city’s image from a Gothic colonial outpost to a contemporary, cosmopolitan global city, while its cinemas contributed to the popularisation of Art Deco style. A magnificent urban composition is created by the open Maidan in the centre, which is surrounded by residential Art Deco structures on the western part of the Oval that faces imposing Victorian Gothic buildings. Standing tall as an autonomous cluster of buildings from the two centuries’ heydays, these structures engage city dwellers in a fascinating dialogue between the two styles despite their various styles, scales, functions, and materials. 

The Art Deco structures in Mumbai serve as a testament to a significant era in both the city’s and India’s histories. They embodied, in physical form, the hopes and dreams of a colonised India poised for modernity and independence. The goal of these living areas’ design was to evoke a sense of ownership that would last a lifetime. The majority of city dwellers, spanning many generations, nevertheless recognise them and engage in daily interactions with them. The reason they remain relevant and significant is that, despite being one of the world’s greatest collections of Art Deco buildings due to their sheer number throughout the city, they are still used by locals. As a result, this sector contributes significantly to Mumbai’s contemporary architectural legacy.

Sources

• https://gannet39.com/2020/02/08/mumbai-a-tour-of-art-deco-architecture-in-churchgate-and-fort/
• https://www.artdecomumbai.com/
• https://www.artdeco.org/mumbai-art-deco-architecture
• https://dreamofacity.com/2018/04/29/bombay-art-deco-churchgate-and-marine-drive-and-malabar-hill/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Deco_in_Mumbai
• https://scroll.in/magazine/824773/mumbais-iconic-art-deco-heritage-is-coming-alive-on-social-media#:~:text=Opposite%20the%20utilitarian%20landmark%20of,Mumbai%20between%201930%20and%201950.