The future of art deco

Perhaps valuable lessons could be learnt from efforts made in Miami Beach, where an entire precinct containing buildings comparable to Mumbai were restored over the years and have now become a significant international tourist attraction for the city, contributing substantially to its revenues. In fact, Bombay’s collection rivals that in Miami beach and is a great asset which could position Mumbai uniquely both from a tourism perspective but also its image as a world city.

In this context, it has been suggested by the Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI) that the Government of Maharashtra apply to UNESCO for World Heritage Site status for this amazing Art Deco collection possessed by the city. In order to make a coherent argument for the declaration of such a protective zone for these buildings, it was suggested that this be combined with the Gothic buildings along the Oval maidan as collectively this makes for a most unique ensemble with two centuries of buildings separated by an open space (which itself is a Grade I listed space in the Heritage Regulations of Greater Mumbai).

The suggested statement for world heritage listing could read thus: ‘The Gothic buildings along the eastern edge of the Oval maidan (the central section of the former Esplanade, a compulsory open space that provided a clear range of fire for the Bombay fort) were originally conceived to sit along what was in the 1860s the western sea front of Bombay…

…What was particularly important about the design and positioning of these buildings was their brilliant interface between the urbanity of the Fort and the green of the Esplanade. But more importantly, together they perhaps represent the first consciously conceived urban design gestures to be found in colonial India. Today, these buildings are among the finest group of Gothic Revival buildings in the world.

In the 1930s a row of residential houses, conceived in the Art Deco style were built along the western edge of the Oval maidan, anchored at the northern end by the Eros Cinema. Despite the varying scales and styles of buildings, the open maidan, or urban void, created an absolutely fantastic setting and urban composition with two centuries of building styles valiantly and defiantly fronting each other across the maidan.

Even more importantly (as in any conservation movement) it is the role that these Gothic and Art Deco structures have played in the architectural and social history of the Nation that needs appreciation. In the last few years, conservation legislation has come to protect both sets of buildings.

Through the work of the recently formed 20th Century Architectural Society of India (20CASI) and the MMRDA Heritage Society, documentation projects and awareness programmes are underway for the Art Deco buildings in the city.

And as appreciation grows, perhaps collectively as a society in Bombay and India, we will be able to harness support and the will to conserve this important moment in our architectural and cultural history for future generations to appreciate.’

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