Mumbai International Cruise Terminal Showcases Ar. Santha Gour’s Eccentric Aesthetics

Architect Santha Gour has been working extensively for the past four years as an Architectural Designer and Project Manager for the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal. A very iconic project since its inception, the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal promises to usher in an era of luxury cruise vacations starting from India. A part of the Government of India’s initiative to unlock the untapped potential of India’s beautiful coastlines, the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal asserts the best in class infrastructure and stunning design.

Design Philosophy

The Architectural program of the Mumbai International Cruise Terminal has a particular section which is a custom notified area that is open only to cruise passengers and the other is a retail space, which will be available to the common public. Previously situated in an area which was closed to the general public, the addition of the retail mall will open up this beautiful location for everyone in the city of Mumbai. The location has some of the best panoramic views of the bay of Mumbai on the Eastern side. The Architectural plan follows International standard as needed for a Cruise Terminal. The Terminal was designed, keeping in mind the possibility of the World’s largest cruise liners docking at its berth. Thorough research went into arriving at the areas dedicated to the activities of the Terminal as per International standards. In fact, in many places, Santha Gour and Team have bettered International standards to provide an easy and hassle-free entry into the country for cruise passengers.

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The Architectural design of the structure has a double skin façade- the inner part unfolds a glass façade, and the outer skin showcases a design which is inspired by the fabric sails fluttering over coastal fishing boats. An important parameter that was kept in mind while designing the façade was to provide complete privacy as demanded from the Indian Navy towards the western façade of the building. The requirement was fulfilled by creating a composite façade of GRC modules on the western façade. Also, just the placing of all the service areas along the western façade ensures privacy for the Navy. This building would be the first that International passengers would come to see when they land in Mumbai – it is the Gateway into the country. Architect Santha Gour and Team have also planned the façade lighting for the building, which enhances its beauty at night by multi-folds. The facade which will be light up by programmable LED lights, would be visible from across the bay.

Challenges

Due to the dual program of the Terminal along with the retail mall, Architect Santha Gour and Team had to pay attention to avoid mixing of passengers of the cruise vessel with a person coming to visit the retail mall in the building. They achieved the same by creating two Vestibules in front of the building that facilitates movement for a person coming to visit the mall. The building provides unhindered and beautiful visuals of the eastern seafront of Mumbai and is an apt location for setting up restaurants, banquets etc.

While designing, Architect Santha Gour and Team also had to keep in mind the traffic movement around the building. The berth that is used for docking of the cruise vessel is also used as docking for cargo vessels on some days. The entire traffic movement is designed in a way that there is never any mixing of traffic and people.

Midway through the project, Architect Santha Gour and Team faced an enormous challenge when they were asked to retrofit the building to take care of the passenger load of another passenger liner. Nevertheless, the same was achieved by also keeping the integrity of the design intact. Other than the Architectural challenges, the most challenging part of the project was the effort that was put in detailing the back end of the building. A lot of attention went into detailing the security and safety aspects of the building.

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The structural design for this building is also very complex as part of the berth is on a slab over the sea, and the other part of it is on reclaimed land. Due to the unavailability of any previous structural drawings, there were quite a few surprises in store for Architect Santha Gour and Team once they started constructing the foundations.

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In words of Architect Santha Gour,

There is no project without its share of challenges, or restrictive parameters dominating the design programme. Understanding that as a given and moving ahead to surmount all that comes along, to create something that retains its integrity is Architecture. My learning from this and various other large projects that I am working on currently is that how Architecture design ceases to be a small part of the time invested in a project and how most of the time gets used up in compliances, approvals and documentation. Also, beyond the aesthetics of the building lies a tremendous amount of effort in making the facility run like a well-oiled machine. However, the end result always justifies the effort.