A Multipolis Mumbai #AVIDWORKSHOP on the architectural legacy of the British Raj in Mumbai looking at some of the finest examples in the Fort area which has been newly christened a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Augustus said of Rome, “I found it mud; I leave it marble,” and the visitor to India who traverses the Fort and the Esplanade Road after so long an absence as mine might justly exclaim “I left Bombay a town of warehouses and offices; I find her a city of parks and palaces.”<br

-From the book ‘India Revisited’ by Edwin Arnold Published in London, 1886

How did German gables, Dutch roofs, Swiss timbering, Tudor casements and Mughal minarets come to adorn the streets of Bombay? What was the role of architectural styles in lending shape and identity to Bombay: Urbs Prima in Indis? To what degree were they innovatively adapted to suit local conditions of climate, building materials and craftsmanship? How were these styles distinct from the grammar of other colonial Presidencies and which has today merited World Heritage significance?

Avid Learningpresents Gargoyles to Gateway : The Architectural Legacy of the British Raj in Bombay, a day-long workshop that decodes building styles in colonial Bombay with a specific focus on the design and elements of Victorian Gothic Revival and Indo-Saracenic architecture.

Read on below for more details on the workshop:

An introductory overview will establish the context that birthed both styles after dismantling the Fort in 1862 thus seeding a new architectural imagination and urban possibility.

Architect and Urban Conservationist Kamalika Bose will elucidate the intricate architectural design, flair and whimsy of Victorian Gothic structures. Architect and Professor at Sir J.J. College of Architecture Mustansir Dalviwill discuss the emergence of Indo-Saracenic design at the turn of the 20th century alluding to iconic as well as little known examples.

This workshop comes close on the heels of the exciting announcement in June 2018 that Mumbai’s precinct that houses The ‘Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai’ has been awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO. This precinct will become the city’s third World Heritage Site joining the Elephanta Caves and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) in receiving this prestigious nomination.

This discussion is part of our Multipolis Mumbaiseries, which decodes the past while looking to the future and finding novel ways of engaging, interacting with and re-energizing the city we love!

This series was begun and had a successful run in 2012 and we revived it in June 2017. In the second iteration, we seek to go deeper and unearth more fascinating nuggets about our ever-surprising Mumbai! We've already had panels on the re-haul of our historic precincts, the role of the business families of Bombay, Art Deco in the City and looking at the city through a child's eyes. More recently, we’ve had discussions around how art institutions and practitioners in the city are harnessing the power of tech, how poets and women writers engage with and write about the city and now, we shall look more closely at celebrated classical architecture of one of our oldest areas.

Whether you are an urbanist, historian, student of architecture or simply a city-lover come celebrate this special honour for Mumbai and learn more about the architectural styles that populate this unique and historic precinct.