New India Assurance Building

New India Assurance Building
New India Assurance Building in 2008
General information
Type	Office
Architectural style	Art Deco
Location	Mumbai, India
Construction started	1935;90 years ago (1935)
Completed	1937;88 years ago (1937)
Client	Maharashtra
Technical details
Floor count	6
Design and construction
Architecture firm	Master, Sathe and Bhuta

Detailed reliefs on the facade

The New India Assurance Building is an Art Deco office building made of reinforced concrete and designed by Master, Sathe and Bhuta, with artistic designer N. G. Pansare. ^[1] It was constructed in 1937 in Mumbai, India for New India Assurance Co. Ltd., an Indian insurance company which was founded by Sir Dorabji Tata in 1919. ^{[1] [2]}

Architecture

The New India Assurance building's design has been described as Indo-Deco, an architecture style that combines Indian design elements with Art Deco. ^{[1] [3]} The building's architectural style combines modern art deco features with a modified classicism, evidenced in the strong vertical ribs of the façade that give the building a monumental appearance, making it seem larger than it is in reality. ^[4]

The entrance is flanked by bas-reliefs featuring women in saris and men in traditional dhoti and turbans, working in fields and in factories. ^{[5] [6]}

The New India Assurance Building featured on the New India Assurance Centenary stamp

Included in the design was a modern forced air-cooling system with centralized duct work. Projecting surfaces on the eastern and western sides protect windows from the sun. To deal with potential power failures, the windows were constructed to open and close. ^[4]

Notes

1. "Carving a legacy of his own : N. G. Pansare, his life and works". Art Deco Mumbai. 25 May 2020. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
2. "New India Assurance's 100 year journey: Private to public and soon-to-be only PSU insurer". Moneycontrol. 23 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
3. "Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 27 July 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
4. Lang, Jon T. (2002). A concise history of modern architecture in India. Orient Blackswan. p. 16. ISBN   81-7824-017-3 . Retrieved 25 April 2009.
5. "Swadeshi Moderne: Aesthetics, Politics & Appropriation in Bombay's Deco". Art Deco Mumbai. 20 December 2019. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
6. "Art Deco-ded: Explore south Mumbai's timeless architecture". Hindustan Times. 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2024.

External links

Media related to New India Assurance Building at Wikimedia Commons

• "The Akola District Co-operative Bank Building (The New India Assurance Co.Ltd.'s Divisional Office)". wikimapia.org. Retrieved 25 April 2009.

18°55′49″N72°49′54″E / 18.9304161°N 72.8316503°E / 18.9304161; 72.8316503