The architecture of Colonial Bombay

1. Colonial
Bombay

2. The Great Architecture of Mumbai blends Gothic, Victorian,
Indo-Saracenic & Contemporary architectural styles. Many
buildings, structures and historical monuments remain from
the colonial era.
The Colonial Architecture of
Bombay
Victorian
Gothic Architecture
(1740 To 1890)
Indo-Saracenic
Architecture
(1858 To 1947)
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE

3. VICTORIAN GOTHIC
ARCHITECTURE
1

4. • Mumbai architecture came to be present
through the British in the 18th and early
19th centuries.
• At first it was the neoclassical style of
architecture but later, the Victorian
gothic style came to dominate the city.
• Where the neoclassical has an orderly
monochromatic presence, the gothic
style is expressive with carved elements,
consisting of flying buttresses, lancet
windows and stained glass.
Victorian Gothic
Architecture

5. 1
Victoria Terminus
Introduction Of The Railway To
India

6. Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj Terminus
The Victoria Terminus, as it was previously known, is an
outstanding example of Victorian Gothic Revival
architecture in India, blended with themes deriving from
traditional Indian palace architecture like stone dome,
turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plan. The
complete construction of the building took ten years,
which was the longest time taken by any building of that
era in Bombay.

8. CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ TERMINUS
• Designed by British architectural engineer Frederick William Stevens.
• Victorian Gothic Revival architectural Style of construction.
• Its construction began in 1878, and completed in 1887.
• Spread across a 2.85 hectare area
• The property is protected by a 90.21 hectare buffer zone.
• First terminus station in the subcontinent.
• Outstanding example of the fusion of two cultures, as British architects worked with Indian craftsmen to include
Indian architectural tradition and idioms.

9. CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ TERMINUS
• Constructed on a C-shaped plan spread
across over 2.85 hectares.
• Two wings either side of the central dome, the
north attached to the train-shed; providing
the waiting rooms and other passenger
facilities, and the south housing the offices for
the staff, police, postal services and a library.
• Main structure made of sandstone and
limestone; interiors of the station are lined
with high-quality Italian marble.
• This form is borrowed from Indian palace
architecture, while the towers and spires
recall European castles and cathedrals.

10. First Floor Plan Second Floor Plan Third Floor Plan
Left Elevation
Front Elevation

11. Peacock Windows Lion Sculpture at the Entrance
The authenticity of the structure expresses the rich Italian gothic style
through the eye catching 3D-stone carvings of local species of animals,
flora and fauna, symbols, arched tympana, portrait roundels of human
faces, and stone mesh works on the decorated rose windows.

12. Pointed Arch and Gargoyle Detail
Detail of the Wall Decoration
Elements like gargoyles, allegorical grotesques carrying
standards and battle-axes, and figures of relief busts
representing the different castes and communities of India.

13. • Entitled Progress, the station’s tallest statue stands on top of
the central dome.
• Carved from marble by Thomas Earp, it depicts a woman
holding a torch symbolizing knowledge and a spoke wheel
representing forward progress and transport.
• Progress is surrounded by other statues of Agriculture,
Commerce, Engineering, Science and, all integral elements of
the idea of progress.
The Statue of Progress
The Statue of Progress

14. • The interior’s ribbed vaulted ceiling features
pointed Gothic arches and is supported by
columns of Italian marble.
• Each column features a base and capital of
intricately carved Indian stone.

15. The floors and walls in the interior are covered
with Indian stone and Italian marble.

16. Intricately carved stone accents reflecting Indian
motifs can be seen in trim work and around the
edge of the central dome.

17. 2
Watson’s Hotel
“Something likea huge birdcage had
risen like an exhalation from the
earth”

18. Watson's Hotel
Watson's Hotel, currently known
as the Esplanade Mansion, is
located in the Kala Ghoda area of
Mumbai and is India's oldest
surviving cast iron building. It was
named after its original owner
John Watson and designed by
civil engineer Rowland Mason
Ordish.

19. • The building was fabricated in England between
1867 and 1869 from cast iron 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.

20. Crystal Palace
Watson's
Hotel
• The materials for this building were wholly English, the iron frame from Derby, the bricks & cement from
the banks of the Thames
• The tiles from Staffordshire and finally, the red stone plinth and column bases from Penrith, Cumberland.
• The material was conveyed from England to India by sailing ships via the Cape of Good Hope in the year
1864-5.

21. • The design responded to the
tropical environment by
placing the access on external
cantilevered walkways that
surround the main facades,
and incorporating a large
lightwell behind
• The main facade of the hotel
is distinguished by wide,
open balconies on each floor
that connected the guest
rooms, which were built
around the atrium in a
courtyard arrangement.

23. • Long heading towards
decline, the building
ceased to be a hotel
by 1960 and was sold
and renamed the
Esplanade Mansion.
• The building’s rooms
were rented out to
commercial and
residential tenants, as
it continues to be up
to this day.

24. INDO-SARACENIC
ARCHITECTURE
2

25. Indo-Saracenic
Architecture
• This style merged the greatest architectural achievements of
western history (as the British saw it) with those aspects of
Indian architectural history that they deemed admirable.
• Characteristic Features - domes, arches, stained glasses,
spires, and minarets.
• Bombay was destined to wed two styles, the Indo-
Sarascenic and the Victorian-Gothic.
• The Indic references were predominantly borrowed from the
early Buddhist, Sultanate, and Mughal periods.

26. 1
The Gateway of India
At one point of time, this monument
represented the grandeur of the
British Raj in India.

27. Gateway Of India
• One of Mumbai’s most recognized monument.
• Constructed to commemorate the visit of King
George V and Queen Mary to the city.
• Was designed keeping in mind the first thing that
tourists would see when approaching the city by a
boat.
• The Gateway was completed in 1924 and remains
a striking symbol of the British era.
• After the Britishers left in 1947, the last of the troops
departed the country through this Gateway.
• Its architecture is Indo-Saracenic, combining
Islamic and Hindu styles with Goth.

28. • The Scottish
architect, George Wittet combined elements
of the Roman triumphal arch and 16th century
architecture of Gujarat.
• The gateway's arch has a height of 26 meters
(85 feet) with its central dome being 15 metres
(49 feet) in diameter.
• The monument is built of yellow basalt and
reinforced concrete.
• The stones were sourced locally while the
perforated screens were brought in from
Gwalior.
• The monument features intricate
stone latticework (also known as the jali work).

29. • It is located on the waterfront at an angle, opposite the Taj
Mahal Palace Hotel. The monument faces towards the
Mumbai Harbor.
• There are four turrets on the structure of the gateway, and
there are steps constructed behind the arch of the
gateway which lead to the Arabian Sea.
• On each side of the arch, there are large halls with the
capacity to hold 600 people
• The cost of the construction was ₹21 lakhs borne by the
then government.
• Due to a paucity of funds, the approach road was never
built. Hence, the gateway stands at an angle to the road
leading up to it.

30. 2
Taj Mahal Hotel
Steeped in grandeur and reminiscent
of a royal past, this palace hotel is
the epitome of luxury

31. Taj Mahal Palace
• The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, which
opened in 1903 is located in the heart of the
city and overlooks the majestic Gateway of
India.
• This iconic hotel has played host to kings,
dignitaries and eminent personalities from
across the globe, and is acknowledged as a
world leader in hospitality.

32. Taj Mahal Palace
• The 122 year old Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai
is the only trademarked building in India.
• The noted Indian industrialist Jamshetji Tata
commissioned the hotel at the end of the
19th century.
• The distinctive red-tiled Florentine Gothic
dome crowns the elegant Indo-Saracenic
arches and architraves of the hotel
• Its 565 rooms are decorated in Moorish,
Oriental, and Florentine styles.

33. Taj Mahal Palace
• The Taj Mahal Palace was originally
designed by Indian architects DN Mirza and
Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya.
• The hotel building has onion domes and a
grand pointed arch depicting 16th-century
Islamic architecture.
• The building has a central iconic red dome
and two wings topped with smaller domes.
• The façade of the hotel is of oriental style.
• During World War I, the hotel was used as a
hospital and kitted out with 600 beds.

34. Built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete
while the dome is constructed with imported
steel that was used for Eiffel Tower.

35. • The dome is 240 feet high, and for
more than 50 years since it was
built, it was the only marker of the
Bombay Harbour.
• The hotel building has onion
domes and a grand pointed arch
depicting 16th-century Islamic
architecture. The building has a
central iconic red dome and two
wings topped with smaller domes.
• The wing incorporates unique
Indian style designs such as
Tanjore pillars

36. The ceilings of the hotel are vaulted in
alabaster and onyx columns.
The building has graceful archways

37. The building has a cantilevered stairway

38. Thank you!
SHIVANG MADAAN - 42
AADITYA CHAUDHARY - 71