Category: News Articles

The students of Xavier Institute of Communication were accompanied on a journey down memory lane by Suhasini Krishnan, Associate Director of Art Deco Mumbai Trust, a non-profit organisation working in preserving the Art Deco style of architecture in the city. The lecture began at 11:30 am with the question ‘Where did Art Deco begin?’ Suhasini explained the origin of the style, which was in 1925 at an Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. Experts from all over the world gave their interpretation of ‘Modern Architecture’, which gave rise to the Art Deco.

Moving on to its emergence in the city of Bombay, she explained the factors contributing to the city adopting it. “To accommodate the growing middle-class population, the back bay area of the city was reclaimed”, said Suhasini. She added, “And with the upcoming cement marketing companies, the style of architecture was adopted in parts of the city along the coast as cement was a primary material used in Art Deco constructions.”

It is a common misconception that the Art Deco style of architecture is only found in the Southern parts of Bombay. Suhasini showed a map of the city, which proved this wrong as it indicated that the highest concentration of Art Deco buildings is in Dadar (192) and Matunga (160). The next three places in the top areas were Fort, Bandra and Sion.

Further diving into the characteristics of the Art Deco style of building, she explained how it uses tropical features of the location these structures belong to in the decorative details. Suhasini presented pictures of a few examples, like the Sunshine Building and the Rajjab Mahal at Oval Maidan which feature stylised sunrays. The tropical features like waves, sunrays, moon, flora and fauna of the region are depicted through the grills and intricate sculptures. One iconic Art Deco building is the Shiv Shanti Bhuvan, whose highlight is the symmetrical sunshades (chajja). The residents of this building collectively decided to only get a window AC to maintain the aesthetics of the street-facing façade of the building.

The city also boasts this style of architecture in splendid recreational centres like cinema theatres. Suhasini named a few like Regal, Eros, Liberty and Metro. She mentioned, “Art Deco style is not just about the facade of the structure. It is also about the interiors of these structures that tell a story.”  Highlighting the thoughtfulness of the architects and designers, she stated how these structures, which were built in the 1930s, have facilities like lifts and headphones attached to theatre seats.

The lecture ended with a short question and answer session where students asked their queries about the Art Deco architecture. Suhasini distributed a bookmark and a map of the Art Deco structures in Mumbai printed by the Art Deco Mumbai Trust. The lecture truly encourages the class to explore the architectural heritage of the places around the city.

The recently inaugurated elevated nature trail walkway at Malabar Hill and its popularity among the citizens is a testament to how the people of this city cherish its green spaces. A similar demonstration of love for nature was observed as a group named ‘Mumbai Coastal Forest’ started an online petition in February, addressing PM Narendra Modi, CM Devendra Fadnavis, DCM Eknath Shinde and BMC Chief Bhushan Gagrani, to build a forest cover along the newly opened Mumbai Coastal Road. The team of MCF includes climate experts, architects and residents who deeply feel that this is an opportunity to transform the city and fight back against many environmental issues. 

The underdeveloped land along the Coastal Road is soon to be landscaped by the BMC, this project has been awarded to Reliance under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). While talking with M. M. Swami, Chief Engineer Mumbai Coastal Road Project, about BMS’s suggested plan for the empty land, he mentioned some of the propositions made by the city planners and architects during a one-day workshop in April 2023 while creating the coastal road landscaping plan. (Video IMG_8265) He said, “After our studies and research we have a few conditions like building a biodiversity park and butterfly garden that we will be suggesting for implementation.” (The link to video IMG_8257)

The need for green space is higher than ever in the city today. “The per capita requirement for green space in the city is far lower from what is needed. Therefore this proposal of a coastal forest can definitely help the city,” informs M. M. Swami. A native forest, unlike gardens and parks, does not require much maintenance and is more sustainable. Nature treats everyone equally, therefore, we interviewed people of Mumbai from different demographics. Here is what they had to say about the need for such a space and the issues it will help tackle. (Link to a compilation of people talking about the need) The list of environmental impacts we are fighting today is a long one. Check out this article detailing about the city’s fight with ecological concerns. 

We asked Arushi Shah, a volunteer at Mumbai Coastal Forest, about their next step to push this movement forward. (Hyperlink to Arushi video) “As the residents and users of this public land, we are open to collaborate with all the stakeholders involved in the process including the private company that will be taking this plan ahead,” she said.

This initiative, if implemented, will give a boost to the Mumbai Climate Action Plan launched in 2022, to mitigate the impact of climate change. Mumbai is the city of dreams, and the future of this city is demanding a greener tomorrow.