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LOWER PAREL | Namaste
Tower | 300 m | 62 fl | Site Prep
Say Namaste to the Namaste tower! Designed by the Atkins design
studio, work IS currently underway on this 300m-62 storeyed mixed use tower
that will encompass a hotel, office and retail space. The location is Ambika
mills which is a couple hundred meters south of the The developer of the
project is unknown.
The renders and text were submitted by Atkins to the World Architecture
Festival in Barcelona (3-5 Nov 2010).
Namaste: Hotel and Office Tower
Category: Future Projects - Commercial
Location: Mumbai, India
Architects: WS Atkins, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Atkins, United Arab Emirates
Following the long tradition of great Indian Architecture it was our aim that
the Namaste Tower will stand as a landmark structure, representative of the
burgeoning economic and cultural significance of India. We aimed to design a
building that would become representative of the city: the picture postcard
of Mumbai.
Key Statistics:
• 120,000 m2 of Gross Construction Area
• 380 key luxury hotel
• Exclusive restaurants, bars, banqueting and spa facilities
• 9,000 m2 of A grade office space
• 6,000 m2 of world class retail space
• 300 m overall building height
“Namaste"
The traditional Indian greeting of ‘Namaste’, where the hands are clasped
together in greeting, is the inspiration for the design of this tower. In
Sanskrit “Namaste` means “I bow to you`. It has a spiritual significance of
negating one’s ego in the presence of another.
The Architecture of the Namaste Hotel builds on this ancient Indian
expression. The two wings of the hotel are clasped together like hands
greeting the city of Mumbai. In this way the architectural design of the
hotel provides the ultimate symbol of hospitality and welcome, as seen in the
as seen in the cultural context of India.
Visual Relationships to and from the Site
With a proposed height of 300 m the tower will be seen from a distance of
more than 40 km. Therefore the visual appearance of the project as a major
landmark is of great importance to the city of Mumbai.
Views from the tower will extend to the South over the Mahalkshi Race course
towards the Mumbai Peninsula and to the South West over the Indian Ocean. The
views to the north East are towards a number of adjacent towers that are
currently being constructed. The orientation and massing of the tower have been
designed in order to make the very best of these visual relationships.
The Building Skin
The tower has been designed to cater for large scale Indian weddings. The
occasion of a Mehndi ceremony (where the hands and feet of the bride and
groom are decorated with henna) is often one of the most important
pre-wedding rituals in India.
The design seeks to build on the theme of the clasped hands by referencing
the intricate Mehndi patterns through the treatment of the building skin. The
tower is will be clad in fritted glazing that combines to form an
architectural scale graphic on the exterior of the building. This will create
a sense of transparency and depth to the building while at the same time
helping to maintain the thermal qualities required to meet the building’s
envelope design criteria.
It is proposed that the large scale canopies over the drop-off points area
support an array of solar thermal collectors. Given the available surface
area and annual sunlight conditions these have the potential to provide 12%
of the energy required to heat the hot water for the hotel.
Location (View on google maps):
^Site prep underway
General Arrangement
The tower is made up of two separate wings (or hands) which together form the
architectural expression of “Namaste”. The space between the wings forms the
corridor spaces. At either end of the corridor space a pair of open atria
will offer hotel guests dramatic framed views out over the city.
Internal Atrium Gardens
These atria also serve to bring natural light deep into the plan. At the
plant floor levels these atria are broken with internal gardens that serve to
bring greenery into the corridor and atrium spaces. It was a central design
aim to ensure that the circulation areas of the hotel, (including corridors)
are just as impressive as the rooms themselves.
The Podium
The geometry of the podium is designed to integrate fully with the design of
the tower. Thus it is a highly symmetrical form that responds to the wing
like canopies above the drop off. Containing mostly retail, the facade of the
podium is activated with water features and fountains that cascade down to
street level.
The Summit
At the summit of the building a generous quadruple height atrium space
encloses a Sky Restaurant and Bar which will provide a unique vantage point
for patrons to gain panoramic views out over the city.
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