A Brief History
 A plot of ground admeasuring 2365 sq
yards put up by the Bombay Municipality for sale in Bombay was purchased by Tatas. It was
observed that the various Tata concerns could not be accomodated in Navsari buildings and
Navsari Chambers which they had been occupying since 1904.
Plans for the new building suited for the requirements of all the Tata companies were made
by the famous architect Mr. George
Wittet who was at one time consulting
architect to the Government and who later joined Tatas as the head of the then Tata
Engineering Company Limited. While construction was completed in July 1924, all the Tata
concerns moved into the new building , called the " Bombay House".
Construction
Material and Architecture
Bombay House is
a beautiful colonial structure located near the Flora Fountain. It is an
elegant 4 storey building built with Malad
stone.
The building
owing to its status in town needed to be cleaned as a part of urban revitalization, by the
long standing patrons of art and heritage.  The occasion was utilised to conduct minute
repairs to the external masonry, external woodwork, canopies, and for painting works. Mist
cleaning was deployed for the job done under vigilant supervision.
Building Condition
 Due to dramatic increase in the pollution in the air
the facade was somewhat looking faded. The facade status on lower floor is ' rusticated '
to giveit a sturdy appearance and soiling was observed at those levels. Also the cornices
and drip courses were showing signs of staining. It was nearly for repairs painting of
wood work.
In short the building needed " spring
cleaning ".
| Soiled
and grimed external surface including tar coating, oil paint, grafffiti, stubborn
adhesives, growth of vegetation was cleaned and made free of any foreign matter. |
| Corrosion
of reinforcement in R.C.C beams and columns, main entrance canopy etc. was given the
appropriate treatment. The broken surface was made good with special polymer mortar. |
| Slightly
faded paint on the wooden windows metal surfaces and external plaster surfaces were given
the suitable quality paint finish. |
| Special
heat resistant paint for the chimney and high quality water-proof paint for the canopies. |
| Dry
rotten wood at some places in the wooden chajjah and on the roof shelter of terrace were
replaced / repaired with durable ones. |
|
