The first explosion of the Art Deco aesthetic occurred at the landmark architectural exhibition held in Paris in 1925.
Over the next 100 years, neon-lit jazz bars and an ornate building style reminiscent of the golden age of big movies rapidly spread around the world.
It has moved from the famous pastel hotel facades of Miami’s South Beach to the mansion apartments that line Mumbai’s Marine Drive waterfront.
Art Deco’s distinctive motifs – represented by geometric shapes ziggurat (stair tower), gentle curves, sunburst design, nautical elements and roofs with circular or turrets – symbolizing a clear break from the past, celebrating the beginning of a new, imposing post-war modern era of the 20th century.
In a short time, the style has transcended architecture to influence home interiors, furniture, fonts, jewelry and the design sensibilities of some of the world’s most iconic cinemas (from New York’s Radio City Music Hall to Mumbai’s Regal, Liberty and Eros cinemas).
“It symbolizes hope, optimism and speed, coinciding with the advent of the automobile and concrete as a building material that can be worked on in a tenth of the time and at a fifth of the cost compared to stone,” Atul Kumar, founder of the Art Deco Mumbai Trust and curator of a new exhibition celebrating the city’s Art Deco centenary, told the BBC.
“It was not as elaborate as previous Victorian Gothic designs, but brought with it a classicism and simplicity that has survived the test of time,” he said.
And nowhere is this more evident than in Mumbai, which, according to Mr Kumar, is home to the world’s largest collection of Art Deco buildings. Other estimates place Mumbai in second place after Miami.
What made the encounter between Art Deco and Mumbai particularly interesting was how the city embraced its character in a truly all-encompassing way.
Like Miami, this style emerged in the city during a time of economic flux and change fueled by the modern, commercial energy of the port city.
But unlike Miami, which “arrived as a projection of leisure or spectacle,” in Mumbai “the style resonated across a variety of building types, including schools, movie theaters, bungalows, gas stations and banks,” Kumar said.
Mumbai’s Art Deco buildings are hidden in plain sight, and even residents are often blissfully unaware of their cultural anchorages.
But their architectural shadow spread across the city is perhaps why Art Deco has “permeated the larger public imagination and is associated with Mumbai’s emotional quotient,” Kumar added.
This style was brought to Mumbai during colonial rule.
A group of India’s first homegrown architects – pivotal figures such as Chimanlal Master, Laxman Vishnu Sathe and Gopalji Mulji Bhuta – incorporated it in their designs after returning home with degrees from the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.
“They were suddenly exposed to a new European sensibility and wanted to bring it back to their country, which had been deeply colonized by the imposition of Victorian-era buildings,” Kumar said.
However, they adapted and localized Art Deco, introducing their own design patterns and taking inspiration from different regional elements, including the ocean liners docked in Mumbai port and the lattice screens typical of Mughal architecture.
The British initially dismissed Art Deco, calling it “low-class architecture,” but they were probably threatened because it signaled the dawn of a new era and a new identity that was shaping India’s public spaces, Kumar said.
It was only a matter of time before South Mumbai’s skyline transformed into a rich confluence of Indo-Saracenic, Gothic and Art Deco buildings.
Today, Mumbai is again a city of rapid change. Building codes are dominated by real estate moguls who seek to maximize floor space index, giving way to utilitarian rather than stylistic considerations.
Dozens of Art Deco buildings have been replaced with glass and steel facades and hundreds more are under threat.
Over the past 10 years, Mr. Kumar has documented more than 1,500 buildings representing this style, but only 70 of them are protected.
As authorities are indifferent to the preservation of buildings, his organization communicates directly with people and provides free repair and restoration consultations to prevent them from handing over their properties to builders for redevelopment.
“The response has been positive as people have seen their property values increase after the renovation,” Mr Kumar said.
Then, people like architect and designer Nidhi Tekwani hope to reimagine Art Deco artwork and adapt it for a modern context.
For example, Art Deco furniture was often bulky, lighting fixtures matched high ceilings, and vanities were too elaborate for today’s compact apartments. Ms Tekwani aims to design and launch more seamless products while maintaining core Art Deco principles.
“The hope is to turn it into something modern and well-suited to current lifestyle requirements,” Mr. Tekwani said of efforts to keep Art Deco a living tradition in a city that is reinventing itself in the blink of an eye.
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