Here is a list of terms that you might come across when reading about architecture, especially Art Deco buildings.
Click on a word to see its meaning and read about its use in the context of Mumbai’s Art Deco.
MEANING
A trained, and accredited design professional, who is qualified to plan, advise and aide in the construction of buildings in both private and public sectors.
CONTEXT
First generation of Indian Architects were pioneers of Art Deco in Bombay. Most of them either graduated from Sir JJ School of Art or abroad.
Some of them are: G B Mhatre; Maneck Davar; Abdulhusain Thariani; Master, Sathe and Bhuta; Merwanji, Bana and Co; Suvernpatki & Vora; and Mistry & Bhedwar.
An ornamental style of art that flourished between about 1890 and 1910 throughout Europe and the United States. Art Nouveau is characterised by its use of a long, sinuous, organic line and influenced art and architecture, especially in the applied arts, graphic work, and illustration. It was a deliberate attempt to create a new style, free of the imitative historicism that dominated 19th-century art and design practices.
MEANING
Accessible, open to air platform on the exterior of a building with a wall or railing.
CONTEXT
Balconies are spaces in apartments where one can enjoy cool breeze & city views. They may be projecting or recessed from the facade of the building and appear in a variety of shapes and forms, curvilinear, rectilinear or inspired from streamlined locomotives. They are often designed with metal or concrete grilles or ship-deck style railings.
Example: Girdhar Niwas (Colaba), Khurshed Mahal (Dadar), Kakad House (Marine Lines)
MEANING
Pattern created with the use of at least two parallel lines. These could vary in terms of size and process of creation. They could be broad or narrow; engraved, sculpted or painted. Also referred to as banding.
CONTEXT
They are horizontal or vertical patterns that accentuate the height or width of the building facade. Bands may be incised into the facade or have moulded geometric frieze patterns.
Example: Moti Mahal (Churchgate), Rajjab Mahal (Oval), Rohit Chambers (Fort)
MEANING
‘Bas-relief’ is a French word which means ‘low-relief’. Carvings or sculpted figures that project slightly from a background surface applied as an architectural decorative ornament.
CONTEXT
Appears as ornamentation on building facades or interior walls, in stone, plaster, or colourcrete. Relief work depicting symbolic features, geometric patterns and figurative ornamentation are visible on numerous Art Deco buildings.
Example: New India Assurance (Fort), Western India House (Fort), Taraporevala Aquarium (Girgaon), Cotton Exchange Building (Kalbadevi)
MEANING
Refers to a large house or a building in the Hindi language. This term is also spelt as Bhawan or Bhuvan.
CONTEXT
The names of many Deco buildings often end with Bhavan, Bhawan or Bhuvan.
Example: Laxmi Bhavan (Dadar), Shingji Bhuvan (Mazgaon)
The Art Deco style which was localised with respect to Bombay’s climate, culture and architecture.
MEANING
Horizontal member projecting perpendicularly from a wall without any supports.
CONTEXT
Elements such as eyebrows, balconies and canopies are cantilevered to the building facade. They help in providing shade and a three-dimensional geometry to the overall building mass.
MEANING
Decorative part at the top of a column, most commonly seen in Greek and Roman architecture.
CONTEXT
In Art Deco buildings, the capitals are detailed with minimalistic ornamentation or bands.
Example: Reserve Bank of India (Fort), Bank of India (Fort), BEST Bhavan (Colaba)
MEANING
Cement is a modern building material that is manufactured from limestone. It is used as a binding material which when mixed with water and left to dry forms a hard mass.
CONTEXT
Cement is a component of concrete and terrazzo, and is also used to plaster exterior walls.
MEANING
It is an elevated dome-shaped pavilion used as an element in Indian architecture. The word Chhatri in Hindi means a canopy or umbrella.
CONTEXT
Often visible on the roof, these elements are more geometric in shape and form. They also resemble a turret-like feature.
Also see Turret.
Example: Keval Mahal (Marine Drive), Chateau Marine (Marine Drive), Seva Niketan (Byculla)
MEANING
Pattern generated from the repetition of inverted V shapes.
CONTEXT
Frequently used as an architectural ornament in Art Deco buildings. Often seen on the building facade, metal grille designs and bands.
Example: Sicka Nagar (Girgaon), Kunnath House (Mahim)
MEANING
It is defined as a covering that is attached onto a wall to either protect it against bad weather or to make it look more attractive.
CONTEXT
Cladding in marble, teak wood, terrazzo and stone is popularly seen on the walls of Deco buildings, especially their entrance lobby.
Example: Seksaria Building (Marine Drive), United India building (Fort), Kulsum Terrace (Colaba)
MEANING
An artistic concrete mixture created using rapid hardening cement, white or grey in colour. Along with this cement base, the mixture also contains natural oxides that imbue colour and suitable aggregates that are similar or complimentary in colour to the overall mixture. Commonly also referred to as “Colorcrete” or “Snowcrete”.
CONTEXT
Coloured concrete is widely seen as a rendering material, elaborate motifs and bas-relief on the building facades.
Example: Empress Court (Oval), Swastik Court (Oval)
MEANING
A wall that demarcates the building’s property line.
CONTEXT
All Deco compound walls have a similar visual quality: partial walls with piers adorned with perforated ornamentation; lower than eye-level in height and comprised of basic elementary shapes. In Bombay, these have been designed either with a combination of metal grills with concrete walls or only plain concrete.
Example: Al-Sabah Court (Marine Drive), Samudra Tarang (Dadar)
MEANING
A composite stone-like material which is made by mixing together cement, sand, small stones, and water.
CONTEXT
Concrete has been commonly used as a construction material to build Art Deco buildings. Structural slabs, walls, lintels and balconies have been executed using this material. Concrete grillework is commonly seen in balconies and compound walls.
MEANING
The decorated projection at the top of a wall to ornament or protect the wall face. The term is used for any projecting element that crowns an architectural feature, such as a doorway.
CONTEXT
Cornice is seen on exterior facades or in the interior spaces. In Deco buildings these are usually geometric patterns using cement or plaster of Paris depending on its location.
Example: Amar Building (Fort), Bombay Mutual Building (Fort), Bhagirathi Prasad (Dadar)
MEANING
Contained by, consisting of, curved line(s).
CONTEXT
In Deco buildings, many elements such as facade, balcony, eyebrow, turret and canopy that are curvilinear symbolise streamlining.
Example: Shengre La (Cumbala Hill), Philo Mena (Dadar), Sadhana (Wadala)
MEANING
A covering that provides shade and shelter to the building’s entrance.
CONTEXT
Canopy highlights the building entrance. It cantilevers from the facade and is often seen in forms like semi-hexagonal, semi-circular, rectilinear.
Example: Picardie (Tardeo), Mafatlal Bungalow (Cumbala Hill), Sea Face Park (Cumbala Hill)
MEANING
A horizontal ledge extending outward above a window to serve as a sun shade.
CONTEXT
Eyebrows vary in shape – rectilinear, angular or curvilinear, or form – singular or continuous. It is also commonly known as chajja in India.
Example: Currimbhoy Manor (Cumbala Hill), Windcliffe (Cumbala Hill), Ram Mahal (Churchgate)
MEANING
The front elevation of a building or any wall that faces the street.
CONTEXT
A common term used while describing the external elevation of a building.
MEANING
The arrangement, proportioning and design of windows in a building.
CONTEXT
In Art Deco buildings, the primary focus is on the design of fenestration. There is a higher ratio of openings in the form of windows, balconies and ventilators. The openings help in multiple ways to regulate the indoor temperature in tropical climate of Mumbai.
Example: Framroz Court (Marine Drive), Shiv Shanti Bhuvan (Oval)
MEANING
A series of shallow semi-circular grooves.
CONTEXT
Fluting pattern is commonly seen in bands highlighting building entrance, eyebrow, balcony.
Example: Chateau Windsor Hotel (Churchgate), Bueno Vista (Cuffe Parade)
MEANING
A decorative band, commonly found at the top of a wall.
CONTEXT
Friezes of geometric patterns, tropical imagery, and human figures in relief work appear as ornamentation on Deco buildings.
Example: Maskati House (Mohammed Ali Road), Sheri House (Fort)
MEANING
A historical symbol of eternal life depicted using an imagery of a symmetrical water fountain.
CONTEXT
The frozen fountain was re-popularized in the early 20th century by the French glass designer René Lalique. The motif is prevalent as a decorative feature in building facades, metal grilles, concrete grilles and glass panels.
Example: Belvedere Court (Oval), Firuz Ara (Oval), Liberty Cinema (Marine Lines)
MEANING
An open grating that forms a screen to a door, window or other opening.
CONTEXT
Expressive grille work can be seen on different parts of Deco buildings such as the balcony, windows, compound wall and stairwell. These features are inspired directly from various themes such as tropical flora & fauna and nautical themes, among others. Grilles can be of metal or concrete depending on their location and use.
Example: Karim Court (Colaba), Kirti Kunj (Matunga), Lalchand Mansion (Colaba), Shah Baug (Cumbala Hill)
Ideal Home Exhibition organized by the Indian Institute of Architects at Town Hall in November 1937, enlightened the public about new styles, furniture, and such building materials as reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferrocement, making the architectural movement more visible within the city as well as the country.
The Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) is the National body of Architects in the country established in 1917. It started as The Bombay Architectural Association and was later renamed to its present name in 1929. The organisation was formed to promote aesthetic, scientific and practical efficiency of the profession both in Practice and in Education.
MEANING
A fusion of Art Deco elements combining Indian icons, themes and symbols.
CONTEXT
The Art Deco style in India was localised with Indian themes related to mythology, materials and building names.
Example: Lakshmi Insurance Building (Fort), Bambuli Niwas (Mahim)
A revivalist style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries employed by some British architects- a synthesis of Hindu and Islamic decorative details, frequently employing traditional craft techniques and European building design. This style preceded the modern Art Deco style and was predominantly seen in Bombay.
Design magazine published in Paris from 1920-1926 devoted to the promotion of the then developing ideas of MODERNISM in art, architecture and all other aspects of design. The architect Le Corbusier and the painter Amedee Ozenfant were principal contributors to the magazine and promoted this movement.
MEANING
The art of detailing and designing each alphabet in a composition.
CONTEXT
Deco typefaces are characterised by straight lines and segments of circles and appear on buildings in a variety of materials, including stucco, wood, metal and stone. These nameplates in Bombay are either in Devanagari, Gujarati or Latin.
Example: Uday Vihar (Dadar), Ferreira Mansion (Mahim), N M Petit Fasli Agiary (Churchgate)
MEANING
In Hindi, it refers to a mansion or a palace.
CONTEXT
Many buildings that were commissioned by princely families took on this title following its given name.
Example: Hira Mahal (Wadala), Ling Mahal (Chembur), Madhu Mahal (Matunga)
MEANING
A term used in architecture to define a building’s overall form and size.
CONTEXT
The massing of Deco buildings may be streamlined, symmetrical, or with ziggurat-like stepped profiles, and often curve at street corners.
MEANING
Decoration of a surface with designs made up of closely spaced, multi-coloured small pieces of stone, tiles or glass.
CONTEXT
Mosaics are usually seen in the flooring, wall cladding and stained glass window panes.
Example: Beacon (Colaba), Elysium Mansion (Colaba)
MEANING
A motif is a design which is used as ornamentation or as a part of an artistic pattern.
CONTEXT
Geometric or tropical themed motifs are often seen as bas-relief and friezes on Deco buildings.
Example: Bell Building (Fort), Bai Pirojbai Dadabhoy Maneckji Vatcha Agiary (Fort)
MEANING
The vertical member between the panes of a window or the panels of a screen.
CONTEXT
Mullions on window shutters in Deco buildings are often designed to form geometric patterns and may be rectilinear or angular.
Example: Bhasin Nivas (Matunga), Shera Villa (Dadar)
MEANING
Designs inspired by the sea, ships, and luxurious ocean liners that reflected Bombay’s identity as a port city.
CONTEXT
Features such as porthole windows, ship deck railings and observatory towers are common nautical features to be spotted.
Example: Shireen Mansion (Tardeo), City Ice (Fort), Sonawala Building (Marine Drive)
MEANING
To inhabit a space. The word comes from Hindi language and is also spelt as Niwas.
CONTEXT
The names of many Deco buildings often end with Niwas and Nivas.
Example: Zaveri Nivas (Girgaon), Shri Laxmi Niwas (Matunga)
MEANING
A low height wall built along the edge of a roof.
CONTEXT
Parapets in Art Deco buildings are detailed with bands, fluting patterns or ziggurat-like forms.
Example: Natalwala Building (Mahim), B.L. Ruia High School (Vile Parle)
A landmark exhibition that was held in Paris from April 1925 to October 1925, gave rise to a new international style which was later termed as ‘Art Deco’.
It was led by artists such as René Lalique, Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann and Pierre Patout. About twenty countries participated and International pavilions were set up by countries including Great Britain, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Japan and Soviet Union.
MEANING
Vertical decoration that projects slightly from the surface of exterior walls, built to resemble a structural column.
CONTEXT
Often done in marble or plaster with standard capitals on top.
Example: Smith House (Mazgaon), Savitribai Phule Girls’ Hostel (Girgaon)
MEANING
A doorway, gate or entrance, especially a large and imposing one.
CONTEXT
Portals of Deco buildings are often ornamented with bands, reeding and fluting details, have successively receding edges or may have a ziggurat-like profile. They often have ornate metal gates.
Example: Dhanraj Mahal (Colaba), Eros Cinema (Oval)
MEANING
The attempt to make land suitable for building.
CONTEXT
In Bombay, the land was predominantly reclaimed from the sea and in some parts from the marshy land. A scheme popularly known as the Backbay Reclamation Scheme was initiated and implemented from 1928 to 1942. It was one of the largest in scale and encompassed neighbourhoods of Oval, Marine Drive and Navy Nagar in Colaba.
MEANING
A series of convex semi-circular ridges frequently used on columns.
CONTEXT
Frequently used as ornamentation in form of banding on facades.
Example: Buona Casa (Fort), Mimson House (Mohammed Ali Road)
MEANING
Method of moulding, carving or stamping in which designs stand out from a plane or curved surface.
CONTEXT
Relief work is seen in the form of bas-reliefs, friezes and cornices in Deco buildings. This relief work commonly depicts emotions and occupations such as tragedy, comedy, farmers, labourers, and filmmakers.
Example: New India Assurance (Fort), Western India House (Fort), Cotton Exchange (Kalbadevi)
MEANING
A flight of stairs, its supporting framework, and, usually, a handrail.
CONTEXT
The staircase block often forms the central axis in buildings with symmetrical facades. The staircases sometimes have ornate posts and handrails with grille work.
Example: Empress Court (Oval), Hari Kripa (Matunga)
MEANING
Fine exterior or interior plasterwork used as three-dimensional ornamentation, as a smooth paintable surface.
CONTEXT
It appears on Deco buildings as Lettering and Bas-Relief.
Example: Syndicate Bank (Fort), Hera Court (Mahim), Mariam Manzil (Mohammed Ali Road)
MEANING
A pattern of lines representing sunrays radiating from a centre. Also referred as Sun rays.
CONTEXT
Sunray or Sunburst is a tropical Deco motif commonly seen on grilles, bas-relief and between the windows on the facade.
Example: Mhaskar Building (Matunga), Peteville (Bandra), Sunshine (Oval)
MEANING
A tropical hardwood tree.
CONTEXT
Teak wood was commonly used in door and window frames, staircase handrails, and wall panelling especially in building lobbies.
Example: Moonlight (Oval), Lily Court (Churchgate), Regal Cinema (Colaba)
MEANING
A type of finishing material consisting of marble chips set in cement or epoxy resin that is made smooth when dry after casting on site.
CONTEXT
Terrazzo flooring is extensively seen in Deco buildings in the interior flooring and lobby area.
It is either cast in place or cast into tiles that are typically laid as flooring.
Example: Brightlands (Colaba), Court View (Oval), Maison Belvedere (Churchgate)
MEANING
Design inspired from tropical flora and fauna, sun-rays and waves of the ocean.
CONTEXT
Drawing inspiration from Bombay’s tropical vegetation and proximity to the sea, tropical imagery is commonly found in Deco buildings in the city. Stylised imagery of sea waves, sunburst rays, clouds, the moon, tropical flora and fauna appear in bas reliefs, metal grills, railings and glass panels.
Example: Rajjab Mahal (Oval), Vasant Building (Matunga), Patel Chamber (Fort)
MEANING
A small circular tower-like projection at the roof level of a building, often at the corner or angle of the structure.
CONTEXT
Turrets often function as sheltered viewing galleries atop roofs of Deco buildings.
Also see Chhatri.
Example: Sunder Mahal (Marine Drive), Suleman Chambers (Colaba), Yusuf Chambers (Byculla)
MEANING
Pyramidal tower in ancient Mesopotamia, surmounted by a temple and with tiered surfaces or a continuous ramp leading to the top.
CONTEXT
Inspiration from Ziggurat is widely seen on the facade, grillework and compound wall in Deco buildings.
Example: York House (Colaba), Oval View (Oval), Eros Cinema (Oval)
MEANING
Patterns created using jagged lines.
CONTEXT
Zig-zags appear as decorative motifs on building facades, in the form of bas reliefs, flooring pattern and deco bands.
Example: Strand Hotel (Colaba), Karim Building (Mohammed Ali Road), Pearl Mansion (Marine Lines), Rawji Sojpal Building (Dadar)